The remarkable work of art shown in this post is called “Jarden d’Email,” or “Enamel Garden” in English. It’s a 1974 creation by Jean Dubuffet, who clearly created it entirely as a site-specific work. Calling it a sculpture feels weak, because it feels like so much more. Even with all my wonderful experiences dating back the 1980s at Storm King, this particular, truly wonderful creation really took my imagination to new places. I visited it each of the three days on which I entered the museum & park.
The Kröller-Müller Museum stemmed from the collection of an early 20th century art collector (and manufacturing heiress) and her husband, who built themselves a lovey house on a lake north of where the current museum sits. Above is a main set of windows from their house, and below are some shots from the museum itself with various sculptures and windows plus another window from the house and shots from the house tour looking out. I’m back at work but for now still sticking with shots from the recent action-packed vacation even as work reabsorbs any extra energy I have :-).
This trip is built upon my years-long desire to finally visit both the Hoge Veluwe National Park (largest in NL, meaning probably comparable in size to Manhattan), and the Kröller-Müller museum which sits inside it. The museum is most famous for its large collection of Van Gogh painting as well as other beloved 20th century painters. I’d known it has a sculpture garden, but not quite how park-like and wonderful the garden is. It’s spawned a new series for me, because I spent today surrounded by nature both in the museum grounds looking at sculpture, and outside on my bike ride before the museum opened. More from the inside (and outside) later, but here a some introductory tastes of the museum’s sculpture park.
(so much world, so little time....) 