Although the
museums reopened after a few weeks of lock down, it is still quite an
enterprise to enjoy the ones in other towns and cities. I have a railway card,
a season ticket which I paid for and
which includes 10 days of almost free unlimited day travel a year. Because of
all the restrictions since March, I had hardly been able to make use of my
card. The same applies to my museum card. There are many interesting exhibitions,
planned long before this disastrous year for the Arts, and I would love to see some
of them. The method is to book immediately the museums are open, as only online
tickets with a time slot are valid, even if the entrance is free with a season ticket.
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| Bartje, a character from a well-known childrens book, standing in front of the museum, corona proof! |
There is a
very interesting exhibition of paintings by a well-known Dutch artist, Henk Helmantel in the Drents Museum
in Assen, a train ride of almost 2,5 hours from where I live. In order to get my daily dose of exercise I
walked to the station, a 35 minute walk, bringing my packed lunch, a ryebread
sandwich with cheese. Of course, one can’t eat nor drink anything on the train
as mouth masks are compulsory at all times on public transport. A friend joined
me in Amsterdam. Once arrived at Assen, our destination, we bought
a take-away coffee at a stall. Although normally there are tables and chairs,
all restaurants and café s are closed, which means we were not allowed to sit
down except on a public bench outside to drink our coffee. In November this
isn’t always an inviting idea, so we drank our coffee on the hoof, out of
necessity, knowing that the very attractive museum café with its delicious
cakes and sandwiches, would also be closed. Fortunately the powder rooms were
open!
Details form larger paintings
The
exhibition was worth the long train journey. We spent almost 3 hours there, admiring
and taking in the astonishing paintings. When we were done, lunch was far
overdue. Normally my friend and first
go for a coffee with a treat, then do our museum tour, after which perhaps some
shopping may be included, followed by a nice meal in a place which had taken
our fancy, before setting out for home again. Alas, given the circumstances
this was no option, so we headed directly back to the station, eating our late lunch,
a packed sandwich, on the way there. Back in my hometown, I grabbed a
microwave dinner and walked home again as the buses don’t go that frequently.
At least
the exhibition was well worth the effort and discomfort. Besides, there were
some health benefits as well as I had taken over 14.000 steps, and done almost
10 km’s, not at all bad.
Food for thought?
I thought the
exhibition was wonderful - for those who like contemporary figurative art. Perhaps
not interesting for modernists, but I was in awe. Having had no lunch, his larger
than life painting of cheeses, originally for a cheesemaker, and his crusty
loaves, made me hungry! Most paintings have a grey blue background, and often
he uses red as a striking contrast. Living next to one of the many historic
churches up North, his church interiors have a certain serenity. Helmantel plays
around with light, shining on and through old glasses and bottles. His fruit and
vegetables, eg. onions in a cardboard box, can almost be plucked from the
paintings. He has an amazing eye for the smallest detail. Some of the paintings are large, and they were given the appropriate
space so that they could impress even more. But also the very tiny ones,
paintings of dead birds for instance, moved me. Such a waste, a delicate and colourful bird, even more beautiful in death.
