Laren
Kees van Dongen's Road to Success | exhibition Singer Laren
The blockbuster exhibition Kees van Dongen - 'The road to success' is now on show at Singer Laren. Expect bold colours, solid paint strokes and a touch of Paris.
How did the young artist Kees van Dongen manage to break through in Paris and become one of the most famous artists of the 20th century in a short time? That question is at the heart of the exhibition.
Public favourite
It is one of the public favourites of Singer Laren: The blue hat by Kees…
The blockbuster exhibition Kees van Dongen - 'The road to success' is now on show at Singer Laren. Expect bold colours, solid paint strokes and a touch of Paris.
How did the young artist Kees van Dongen manage to break through in Paris and become one of the most famous artists of the 20th century in a short time? That question is at the heart of the exhibition.
Public favourite
It is one of the public favourites of Singer Laren: The blue hat by Kees van Dongen (1877-1968). Anna Singer, founder of the Laren museum, received the canvas as a gift from Hein Siedenburg as thanks for her financial support at the time of the Van Dongen exhibition in 1937. The blue hat is the direct reason for Singer Laren to dedicate an exhibition at Singer Laren to one of the greatest Dutch modernists.
Ambition
"Mark my words, I am going to be famous." These highly ambitious words were spoken by the young artist Kees van Dongen from Delfshaven. He is proven right and grows into one of the best-known artists of the 20th century, along with such luminaries as Matisse, Braque and Picasso. The exhibition at Singer Laren highlights the very beginning of Van Dongen's career and his breakthrough in Paris shortly after 1900.
On show are prominent loans from the Netherlands and abroad, including from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Stedelijk Museum, Rijksmuseum, Museum Voorlinden, Statens Museum for Kunst Copenhagen, Centre Pompidou, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Musée national Picasso-Paris, the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco and from a great number of private collectors.
Innovator through colour and touch
Kees van Dongen is among the vanguard of Dutch artists seeking artistic innovation in Paris around 1900. There, he embraced the avant-garde. In 1905, Picasso invited him to move into a studio at the Bateau-Lavoir. In free Montmartre, Van Dongen finds himself at the centre of innovation. In this environment - following in the footsteps of Van Gogh - he develops into a painter of figure and innovator through colour and touch.
The road to success
"Van Dongen: an artist who is being watched and who is taken into account." Anita Hopmans, senior curator at the RKD and an expert in Van Dongen's oeuvre, curated the exhibition and is the author of the accompanying catalogue. She brings together hitherto unknown paintings and takes you, the visitor, step by step along Van Dongen's path towards success.
When
- Daily until may 7th, 2023 from 09:30 to 17:30
