A few weekends ago, the 2nd year grads went to Amsterdam with professor Katrin Laade, whose past experience living in Amsterdam was an incredible help! The trip was filled with museum and gallery visits, as well as exploratory walking to see the life of a different city. Following our arrival on Thursday, we visited the Stedelijk Museum, which specializes in modern and contemporary art and design. There we experienced both the Yayoi Kusama exhibit and the permanent collection, including artists such as Yassine Ben Abdallah, Helen Frankenthaler, and Marlow Moss. The range within the museum allowed for fresh contrasts between sculptors and painters, their curation bringing works into fascinating conversation with one another. Friday began with a visit to the Van Gogh Museum where we saw the progression of Van Gogh’s work from a muted Dutch palette to vibrant, freeflowing colors and expressive brushwork. The installation of work by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi from the Van Gogh family’s collection also clearly articulated how Van Gogh drew inspiration from Japanese woodcut prints. In the afternoon we visited the Rijksmuseum, which houses masterpieces by Old Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, as well as a sprawling collection of Modern and Contemporary works. The following day we experienced the work of Rembrandt in a more intimate manner through a visit to the Rembrandt House Museum where we saw his studio, a range of etchings, and a demonstration of mixing paint from scratch. We returned Saturday evening feeling refreshed and excited to work!
