Start in the sculpture room
You will find the Kröller-Müller Museum's collection presentation in the Van de Velde wing, the original museum building dating from the 1950s. A large part of this wing is devoted to the collection assembled by Helene Kröller-Müller. With this collection, she sought to provide an overview of the development of art in the 19th and 20th centuries, from realism to abstraction, or idealism as Helene called it. You enter through the sculpture room, with works by Barbara Hepworth, Jacques Lipchitz, Henri Moore, Anish Kapoor en Marino Marini.
Wander through Helene's collection
As you walk through the collection presentation, you will discover the highlights of Helene's collection. She acquired realistic paintings by Odilon Redon, Paul Signac, Georges Seurat and Jan Toorop. This was followed by artists with more abstract work, such as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Auguste Herbin, Piet Mondrian and Bart van der Leck. Later, she returned to more realistic, neoclassical works by Jean Metzinger, Gino Severini and Charley Toorop. Helene also purchased works from the 16th and 17th centuries, by artists including Hans Baldung Grien and Lucas Cranach, whom she considered the forerunners of the modernists.
Visit our Timeline full of stories, images and letters
A gallery in honour of Van Gogh
Helene was a great admirer of the work of Vincent van Gogh. She called Van Gogh ‘one of the great spirits of modern art’. Therefore, at the heart of the Van de Velde wing, you will find the Van Gogh Gallery, a gallery of honour with a varying selection of around 40 Van Gogh paintings, including his Self-Portrait and Terrace of a Café at Night.
Futurism and De Stijl
The museum is the treasure trove of De Stijl, and the collection presentation features masterpieces by Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg and Bart van der Leck, among others. There is also a special place for the futurist collection. Helene herself was late to recognise the significance of this art movement and, much to her regret, she never purchased any futurist work. The directors that followed Helene acquired works by Giacomo Balla and Umberto Boccioni, among others. Thus, futurist art is now on permanent public display in the Netherlands too. In our YouTube series you will find out more about futurism.
Curious about the stories behind the highlights of our collection? Book a guided tour or reserve the audio tour!