Rijksmuseum displays De Kooning beside Night Watch
From 9 October until 17 January, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is showing two masterpieces by Willem de Kooning right beside Rembrandt's Night Watch.
From 9 October until 17 January, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is showing two masterpieces by Willem de Kooning right beside Rembrandt's Night Watch.
The details:
- The displayed paintings are Woman I from 1950 to 1952 and Woman and Bicycle from 1952 to 1953.
- Both hang in the eregalerij (Gallery of Honour), which is reserved for the most significant works of Dutch painting.
- Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits explained that De Kooning has Dutch roots and fits within the long heritage of Holland's masters.
The big picture: The presentation serves as an additional homage alongside a retrospective titled Willem de Kooning at work. That exhibition brings together over 120 paintings, sculptures, and drawings, marking the first time a major retrospective of his graphic work appears in the Netherlands.
Context: Born in Rotterdam in 1904, De Kooning reached the United States as a stowaway aboard a freight ship in 1926 and lived there until his death in 1997. He achieved his artistic breakthrough during the late 1940s as part of the New York School, joining abstract expressionists such as Jackson Pollock.
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