LeDFAS - Visit to the Netherlands 24-29 April 2006

Leatherhead Decorative & Fine Arts Society
Visit to the Netherlands – 24-29 April 2006

Our journey began with a very early pick-up, travelling via Euro-tunnel to Ghent.

Here we had an opportunity to view Van Eyck’s amazing altarpiece, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb with its wonderful colours and luminosity.

After lunch we were able to relax and continue our journey to Amsterdam as we became familiar with the flat Dutch landscape.

Day two was spent in Amsterdam beginning with a short guided walk round the busy streets before arriving at the Museum Amstelkring. This former 17th Century merchant’s house, still furnished in authentic style, gave a clear idea of the inspiration behind many Dutch interior paintings.

The great surprise was the 'secret' church known as Our Lord in the attic which covers the upper floor of this and two adjacent houses.

Its sheer size with two upper galleries, plus all the furnishings of a church – organ, pulpit etc was so unexpected. Its purpose had been to enable local Catholics to worship discreetly in what had become officially a Protestant city.

After lunch we met for a guided tour of the Rijksmuseum. Although partly under renovation, there proved to be more than enough to see, the highlight being Rembrandt’s The Nightwatch, where our excellent guide provided so much added meaning.

A complete change was provided the next day. In the morning we drove to the Royal Palace of Het Loo, built in 1685 for William III and Mary and the favourite residence of Queen Wilhelmina till her death in 1962. Now a national museum, its rooms provide a snapshot of royal life, though many of our party found them very dark.

The formal gardens, in Baroque style, were beautifully kept featuring fountains, statuary and many interesting plants.

Our afternoon drive to the Kroller-Muller Museum revealed a different aspect of the Dutch countryside with heathland and forest. This purpose-built museum, constructed in 1938 to house the very fine private collection of Helene Muller, includes the works of a variety of more modern artists and is noted for its collection of 278 Van Goghs which are displayed in rotation.

It sits in its own sculpture park where artefacts are dispersed round the lawns and woodland. The whole is centred in a thousand-acre national park, the home of a variety of wildlife and an area much enjoyed by cyclists and walkers. This proved to be the favourite of many of our group.

On day four we went first to the Hague for a visit to the Mauritshuis, an elegant 17th century mansion and one of the finest galleries in Europe. The Dutch paintings in this extremely well-laid out museum were shown to us by exceptionally good guides. In our limited time we saw works by Vermeer, including the famous Girl with a pearl earring, Fabritius' The Goldfinch, and others including Van Steen, Rubens, Avercamp. Van Dyck , Membling and Rembrandt.

That afternoon we travelled on to Delft, the birthplace of Vermeer, where we first wandered round the market and sampled delicious Dutch pancakes for lunch.

We then visited the Royal Dutch Porcelain Factory to view a variety of fine Delft ware and hear and see how hand-painted ceramics are still made there.

A short drive to Haarlem the next morning took us first to the Great Church of St Bavo’s.

This huge, impressive building houses the enormous Christian Muller organ, 30 metres high and with 5068 pipes, played in 1766 by Mozart and also by Handel. Our visit coincided with a group of children who were treated to the sounds of this magificent instrument. We were able to enjoy this experience which included variations on the tune of Twinkle, twinkle little star!

From there we moved on to the Frans Hals Museum, a most attractive 16th century former almshouse complex built around a central courtyard. It contains only a small number of Frans Hals works, mainly of larger groups, but also works of other Dutch artists.

Before returning to Amsterdam for our final afternoon we visited Volendam. Once a Dutch fishing village it now proved too touristy for most of our group, though the fish and chip lunch, served in record time, which our guide located for us was very welcome on a cold windy day!

Back in Amsterdam, members of the party went their own ways, some to the Van Gogh Museum, some to the Rembrandthuis etc.

That evening we ate together at the Sea Food Palace, a floating Chinese restaurant. The food was good and it proved a pleasant change and finale to our Amsterdam stay.

Breaking our journey at the Keukenhof Park on our return proved very worthwhile. Luckily the sun shone and the spring flowers were at their peak. The swathes of colour in the 28 hectares of grounds, all so beautifully arranged, were almost unreal.

It was a holiday of contrasts – the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam, smaller towns like Haarlem and Delft, the flat countryside of canals and quiet roads followed by heathland and forest, and of course the amazing variety of art. The weather was cold - but it did not rain!