“Last year I painted almost nothing but flowers to accustom myself to a colour other than grey.” Vincent van Gogh, Paris, 1887
The Kroller-Muller Museum
I found myself at the Kroller-Muller Museum as part of an Avalon Waterways famil where I was challenged to trial at least one of all of their excursion types during my week on the water. This was one of the classical excursions, but it was one I’d decided I’d do as soon as I saw it on the itinerary.
Firstly, walking up to the museum was nothing like I expected. Beyond the necessary research to figure out what I’m seeing, I hadn’t looked into the building the collection was held in. I wasn’t expecting to see a low lying – modern building among the trees and the stark white of the interior – but it resonated with the style of hidden camp amongst the trees that I seem to find myself constantly stumbling across on Pinterest and Instagram.
The Kroller-Muller Museum hosts one of the largest Van Gogh collections in the world with around 40 pieces on display in the Van Gogh Gallery. Works by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso also grace the walls. We were guided through the collection, earpieces and group size confirming us to be a “tour group” and unfortunately our guide seemed quite uninterested with the whole process. I’m not sure, that if I’d returned alone or with a smaller, more considerate group, that the experience would have been different. I did appreciate the basic information about the artwork that she gave though.
The Museum also holds a sculpture garden that borders on to the De Hoge Veluwe park. Unfortunately I didn’t get time to see the national park – I would have loved a few hours to wander and try to spot some of the local wildlife. On the drive back out we were told that wolves had been spotted on the trail cam!
If I found myself here again, I’d make sure I had more time. I’m sure the Kroller Muller Museum and the Hoge Veluwe National park deserve at least a days visit. I’d prioritise the national park during the dawn/dusk for wildlife spotting. While at the Museum I would use the audio tour rather than taking the guided tour, and I’d used the sculpture garden as a meditative space to wander away the afternoon.
Have you been here before? What were your thoughts?
Off down the road 