Amazing Museum Race, Part II: Rrrrroterdam! and a Man Named Thorn-Prikker

As I have previously explained, I really like Rotterdam and have been looking for an excuse to go back (plus Jeff and I enjoy taking the train to or through Rotterdam because the conductors always announce it with a chipper trill: "Rrrrrrotterdam Centraal!!"). Rotterdam thus seemed the perfect candidate for finishing our Amazing Museum Race.

I initially mapped out a plan of attack covering 10 museums, including a school museum and a museum of taxes and customs, and culminating with Rotterdam's renowned photography museum on the other side of the Maas. Clearly, this plan did not come to fruition.

Hampered by my lingering cold (and diminishing interest), we made it to only three museums last Saturday. We did accomplish our original museumkaart mission, but the details are not excessively interesting. Instead, I wish to introduce you to a man named Thorn-Prikker.

By way of context, Rotterdam's main art museum was in the midst of a special exhibit of a Dutch painter named Kees van Dongen (1877-1968). I was not impressed. First, the museum used his exhibit as an excuse to charge us an extra fee. Lame. Second, his exhibit was very crowded with Dutch people. I can't really complain about that, but I do like a quiet museum experience in which I don't have to throw elbows to see the artwork. Third, his art objectifies women, black men, and Arabs in garish and disturbing ways (but that's just my humble opinion). Plus it's been suggested that he was a Nazi sympathizer.

So imagine my gratitude when I moved on to the next exhibit hall and discovered Johan Thorn-Prikker (1868-1932). Another Dutch artist, Thorn-Prikker was of the art nouveau, pro-craftsman variety, and his view of the world is soothing, elegant, and spiritually naturalistic. The exhibit included wall-sized paintings, textiles, tapestries, stained glass windows, and furniture, and there wasn't a single piece I wouldn't want to look at every day.

For more examples of his work, please see my little Thorn-Prikker album.

Also fun: the museum's exhibit on Hella Jongerius, a modern designer of whimsical every day objects. There's a small sample of her work here. Again, I would kill to own any of these pieces. And I especially appreciate that she designs for Ikea.

So two new favorite artists - not too shabby for an afternoon's work!