Discover the Modern

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Discover the Modern

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Benno Tempel

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WWW.GEMEENTEMUSEUM.NL

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This publication is more than a book about modern art. It reads like an exciting exploration of modern times.

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In Discover the Modern, Benno Tempel, director of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, tells the story of modern art. An examination of different themes creates an atmospheric picture of the dynamic development of fine art from the nineteenth century to the present day. Embedded in political and social events, links are established between photography and painting, between space travel and utopian projects. This leads to fascinating comparisons, for example between Claude Monet and Wasssily Kandinsky, Francis Bacon and Gerhard Richter, or Anton Heyboer and Vincent van Gogh. The result need not be a clash. It can create harmony and surprising insights.

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If one wants to understand modern art one cannot ignore the historical events that helped shape it. This book reveals fascinating links between artistic innovations, idealism and social developments that left their mark on the modern era.

11-04-12 17:08

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Content

Introduction

7

Stagnation and movement

13

Child and savage

55

Tradition and experiment

99

Game and utopia

135

Discomfort and appropriate

157

6

[1]

[1] Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing nr. 1020, 2002 Isometric Form, Acrylic

7

Introduction

Museums are a nineteenth-century idea born

I have adopted a thematic approach in this book

of the desire to gather together remarkable

introducing the highlights of our modern art

objects from the history of the world for the

collection. I would like briefly to explain why.

purposes of education and entertainment. The

A chronological, encyclopedic arrangement

ideal was the so-called encyclopedic museum

by styles seems outmoded today. History is no

housing a collection illustrating virtually every

longer experienced as a succession of events

era and style. That megalomaniac ambition

about which a single Truth can be told. Modern

has nowadays been toned down, although

society is in flux. The digital revolution has

there are still museums that seem to want

demolished the gap between generations,

to possess and preserve ‘everything’. The

genders and origins, partly through the medium

Gemeentemuseum Den Haag is different.

of the worldwide web. Young people are

Its special nature was already apparent when

teaching their elders how to use the new media,

it was founded in 1866. A number of Dutch

and users worldwide are no longer allowing

artists donated works to the City of The Hague

time zones or ethnic differences to stand in the

for the establishment of a museum. Those

way of communicating. Shared identity and

origins proved decisive for the growth of the

common interests determine who we speak to.

collection. Artists have felt a special bond with

Helping each other for free by means of open

the Gemeentemuseum right up to the present

source creates a different economic principle.

day.

People tell each other about sources and pass

The museum now has a world-famous

on tips. At present that mainly takes the form of

collection of modern art. It includes many

the large-scale sharing of music, for example.

masterpieces, but it certainly cannot be

And the powers-that-be react with old-

described as comprehensive. Personally I do

fashioned, rigid copyright. But the sharing of

not see that as a shortcoming. It is precisely

knowledge will expand even more dramatically

because we have our strong points and

in the future, so in some areas the role of the

nonexistent showings in other areas (Pop

authorities will decline. Because everyone can

Art, for example, has left barely a trace on the

air his or her own opinion. I think that this will

collection) that we have a very distinct profile.

give rise to a new mentality that will also have

The museum consists of several departments.

consequences for the stories that museums

In addition to the large collection of modern

have to tell.

art there are the applied arts, fashion,

The traditional museum is based on a

photography, musical instruments, and

succession of movements. That, though,

drawings and prints. The Gemeentemuseum is

simplifies the facts in order to suit the goal

like a diamond - precious and multifaceted.

of proclaiming that one true Truth. And the

8

international museum world shows exactly

lines of influence instead, for example. That

where that can lead. Many collections resemble

also enables us to set up confrontations

each other, and the same artists are displayed

between artistic ideas. The result need not be

in the same constellations at different places

a clash. It can create harmony and surprising

in the world. The museums are consequently

insights.

presenting a static history of art that is becoming over-familiar and borders on the

their time. I do not believe it. Artists actually

boring.

reflect the times in which they live. Consciously

Such an overarching view is not what we

[2]

It is often said that artists are way ahead of

or unconsciously. They dare to look with a gaze

want in the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag.

that sees things that ordinary peoplem iss. Art

New associations are created by combining

can thus give us a better understanding of an

our highlights differently, shrugging off the

age. Just as events in society can colour the

straitjacket of movements in order to trace

significance of a work of art.

9

[3]

The highlights of our modern art collection are

does not have just a single truth but a story

presented accessibly in this book in the context

that plots different lines of development that

of events in society as a whole. That context

in many cases do not lead to clear-cut answers.

is important, particularly when you want to

By doing so I hope to put the reader on a trail

demonstrate that art is not just a succession of

that turns looking and thinking about art into an

styles.

experience.

Modern art, like poetry, is regularly very self-referential. A work of art comments on

The history of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag

forerunners or contemporaries or, just as often,

and its large collection of modern art stretches

is about the act of creation itself. You could

back more than 150 years. Although chance

say that a work of art of that kind is about

often played a part in its acquisitions there is

how you make a work of art of that kind. As a

a cohesion. Many of the pieces have visionary,

result people sometimes get the idea that art

poetic and human features.

is difficult to approach. That, though, is very

A lot of the artists whose works are in the

much open to question. Art sometimes needs

museum pursued visionary ideas. There is

explaining, but that is true of a great deal in our

the hope, for example, that was cherished by

society. My experience is that if you give the

Mondrian and the members of De Stijl that

viewer the context, even artistic processes and

their art would hasten the dawn of a better

intentions become fascinating.

future. And for decades Constant constructed

In making the selection for this book I set out to tell a different story for a change. One that [2] Gemeentemuseum Entrance

[3] Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing nr. 1018, 2002 Isometric Form, Acrylic

a completely new Europe. The artists were searching for a new world and dared to dream.

10

The poetic aspect is provided by the inter-

modern art with one of the most beautiful

action between the aesthetics of the building

buildings in the Netherlands. It was designed

and the works of art. As shown by Sol LeWitt’s

by the architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and

murals. Even works that attract little attention

opened in 1935. Berlage excelled himself with

when presented in isolation in a neutral

this, his last building. It is still a true temple for

building soon acquire an aesthetic in the

art. The galleries are a pleasing size and most

Gemeentemuseum.

of the artworks are lit by daylight. And here

The human element is largely due to the

too the human dimensions contribute to the

relationship that springs up between the visitor

pleasure of a visit. The galleries are never too

and the works. They are not remote pieces of

large, and they vary in size, giving you the sense

intellectual navel-gazing by artists who behave

that the museum is breathing. The result is a

like hermits. They are paintings and sculptures

building in the International Art Deco style with

that very decidedly adopt a standpoint, have an

exceptional refinement in its details.

aura. And it is because they are in this beautiful

When he designed this, the largest and one

museum building that we can do justice to their

of the most impressive International Art Deco

empathetic quality.

works in the country, Berlage drew inspiration from buildings by the American architect

To me, the special attraction of visiting a

Frank Lloyd Wright. The result was an interplay

museum is the fact that you step briefly into

between exterior and interior, with a brickwork

a different world. A museum is a building that

facade.

you experience differently from a train station, say, or a town hall or a hospital. You often slow

The entrance is remarkable in itself. Lying

your personal tempo down to fit in with it, you

between two lakes there is a glass walkway

look more keenly and try to understand the

that puts visitors in the mood for what they are

reasons that prompted an artist to make a

about to experience. They then see unfolding

particular work. That is why the way the works

before them a museum with which one can

are presented is so important for the viewer’s

fall in love. I hope that this book will give you

experience.

the feeling of re-experiencing a visit to one of

In the case of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag it is a pairing of exceptional, international

the most important museum buildings of the twentieth century.

Benno Tempel

11

[4]

12

13

Stagnation and movement

“Life in its thousand expressions, ever changing, ever new” Emile Zola

If there is one thing that characterises the nineteenth century in Europe it is the Industrial Revolution with all its new inventions and resultant urbanisation.

More and more people abandoned the countryside for the city, upsetting a centuries-old social balance. From around 1860 a metamorphosis took place in many European cities. The old walls and gates were torn down to make way for new residential districts to accommodate the influx of workers. The advent of the steam train led to the demolition of entire city blocks to create room for the railway network. And so it was that the modern city was born, the modern city that is still part of our European landscape today.

More than any other city, Paris underwent a magnificent transformation in both nature and appearance. The old Paris was pulled down under the direction of the engineer and architect Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Many small, winding streets disappeared, and the medieval houses were razed to the ground. In April 1868 it was the turn of Rue des Franc-Bourgeois in the St Marcel neighbourhood.

The Dutch artist Johan Barthold Jongkind, who lived in France, painted the scene [ill. 7]. We can see what a laborious job it must have been. The buildings were demolished with pickaxes from the roof downwards, floor by floor. The old city was literally levelled, and in its place came broad avenues, boulevards

Å [5] G.H. Breitner Untitled (detail), 1900/1996 Gelatin silver print, 13.8 x 20.1 cm Gift Willem van Zoetendaal

14

The new successful elite wanted to proclaim its status to the world, and art gave it an ideal way of doing so

[6]

[6] Claude Monet Quai du Louvre, c. 1867 Oil on canvas, 69.7 x 124.5 cm Bequest private collection

[7]

and squares. The new city owed its grandeur to its parks and wide pavements, and to the shopping arcades catering for the tastes of the prosperous middle class. For the metamorphosis of the French capital also mirrored the rise of the bourgeoisie. And of the nouveau riche and fortune-hunters. Society changed, and its old leaders gradually surrendered power. The new successful elite wanted to proclaim its status to the world, and art gave it an ideal way of doing so. The nouveau riche was looking for an art that did not require any knowledge of mythological tales, battles or episodes from the Bible. It also wanted to set itself apart from the old guard, the aristocracy and the moribund royal houses. The bourgeoisie wanted an art that fitted their newly acquired position and the world they lived in.

That world was set largely in the public space. The well-to-do Parisian dandy paraded in the most public place that there was: the city itself. He walked in the streets, enjoyed what the cafĂŠs and restaurants had to offer, and visited the opera, theatres and museums with his mistress. He was a peacock, dressed in the latest fashion with a tall hat. He and his kind can be seen strolling around [7] Johan Barthold Jongkind Demolition of the Rue des Franc-Bourgeois St. Marcel, 1868 Oil on canvas, 56.7 x 66.1 cm Purchased with support of the Rembrandt Association

15

16

Artists did not just look at what they encountered close at

[8]

hand, out on the street. Trains, omnibuses, bicycles even, made it easier to get out of town. They explored the contrasts between city and countryside.

in Claude Monet’s Quai du Louvre [ill. 6]. Sunlight sparkles through the leaves of the trees, and one can almost hear the clatter of the carriages and horses’ hooves clip-clopping on the cobblestones. And the swish of the ladies’ gowns.

The gentlemen’s walking sticks click on the pavement. The city is a stage full of impressions, of seeing and being seen.

A group of artists, the Impressionists, wanted to record all those impressions.

They found a contemporary response to old artistic forms. Their new painting matched the lifestyle of the nouveau riche. The painters fastened their gaze on modern, fashionable life.

They did not just look at what they encountered close at hand, out on the street.

Trains, omnibuses, bicycles even, made it easier to get out of town. Artists explored the contrasts between city and countryside. It was a fascination spawned partly by the way in which cities had grown. There was no longer a clear dividing line between the city and its surroundings. With no town walls to contain it the built-up urban area merged gradually into countryside. Garden allotments, factories and sheds sprang up along the city limits. Jean François Raffaëlli painted a view of the Seine with smoking factory chimneys in the background [ill. 8]. The message is that although we are out in the country we are still only

just a stone’s throw from town. Jacob Maris’s Vegetable Gardens shows the area where The Hague stops and the countryside begins [ill. 9].

[8] Jean François Raffaelli View of the Seine Oil on canvas, 92 x 108.6 cm Bequest private collection

[9] Æ Jacob Maris Vegetable Gardens near The Hague, c. 1878 Oil on canvas, 81 x 72 cm