PRESS RELEASE THE NORTH BRABANT MUSEUM OPENS ITS LARGEST GALLERY WITH NINE VAN GOGH PAINTINGS THE STORY OF THE ARTIST’S ORIGINS ARE MORE COMPLETE THANKS TO LONG-TERM LOANS Self-portrait with pipe, Vincent van The vicarage at Nuenen in the evening, Peasant woman digging, Vincent van Gogh, 1886, Oil on canvas, 46 x 38 cm, rear view, Vincent van Gogh, 1885, Oil Gogh, 1885, Oil on canvas, 50.5 x Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh on canvas, 41 x 54.5 cm, private 38.5 cm, Het Noordbrabants Foundation) collection Museum “I’ve become so absorbed in peasant life by continually seeing it at all hours of the day that I really hardly ever think of anything else..” Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Nuenen, 13 April 1885 ’s-Hertogenbosch, 17 December 2013 – The North Brabant Museum (Het Noordbrabants Museum) will open its final and largest gallery – 850 square metres in size - to visitors on Saturday 18 January 2014 after major refurbishment. This will complete the renovation of the Noordbrabants Museum. To mark the event, nine paintings by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), the greatest artist to have come from Brabant have been brought together, including an early Paris self portrait from the Van Gogh Museum’s collection. This is the most comprehensive presentation of original works that has been dedicated to Van Gogh in Brabant up to now. Thanks to long-term loans, the story of this artist’s origins and his intense fascination for peasant life can now be told far better than ever before. The Van Gogh presentation forms part of the Story of Brabant that illustrates for the first time the artistic and cultural history of Brabant over the past six centuries by means of historical objects, works of art and audiovisual presentations. As a result of extensive renovation at the Noordbrabants Museum, none of Van Gogh’s works have been on display in Brabant for the past 2½ years. The opening of the Story of Brabant brings with it some changes. In the new arrangement, Peasant woman digging from 1885 from its own collection will be supplemented by long-term loans from the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and a private collection. With the exception of Self-portrait with pipe from 1886 – on permanent loan from the Van Gogh Museum – it concentrates on works from his Brabant period: peasant dwellings, examples of peasant life, paintings of peasant heads, a still life, and also a painting of the vicarage in Nuenen. The last work – from a private collection – shows his parents’ house where Van Gogh arrived in December 1883 and the outbuilding which served as his studio until mid-May 1884. Furthermore an Page 1 of 2 audiovisual presentation sketches the similarities and differences between Van Gogh’s work from his Brabant and French periods. Van Gogh Brabant – Vincent’s Homeland In addition to ’s-Hertogenbosch the four Brabant communities of Zundert, Nuenen, Tilburg and Etten-Leur have a strong bond with Vincent van Gogh. Traces of the artists are visible to this very day: the Vincent van GoghHuis (Van Gogh House) on the site of his birthplace (Zundert), the art room at his school (Tilburg), the Dutch Reformed Church where Van Gogh’s father was a minister (Zundert, Etten-Leur, Helvoirt and Nuenen), etc. Van Gogh produced a quarter of all his works in Nuenen, including his first masterpiece The potato eaters. 21 buildings and locations in the vicinity provoke memories of Van Gogh in an ‘outdoor museum’. More information on: www.vangoghbrabant.com Vincent van Gogh in 2015 and Hieronymus Bosch in 2016 In 2015 it will be exactly 125 years since the death of Vincent van Gogh. The Van Gogh Europe Foundation is using the opportunity to honour this famous Dutch artist with a top quality programme: prominent exhibitions, art events etc. Van Gogh Brabant and the Noordbrabants Museum are closely associated with the realisation of these plans. 2016 will see the 500th anniversary of the death of Hieronymus Bosch, the renowned 15th century artist from ’s-Hertogenbosch. To commemorate this the Stichting Jheronimus Bosch 500 (Hieronymus Bosch 500 Foundation) is preparing a large-scale international exhibition ‘Bosch Visions’ in close collaboration with the Noordbrabants Museum. More information: www.vangogheurope.eu and http://www.bosch500.nl/ The Noordbrabants Museum The Noordbrabants Museum illustrates the richness of Brabant art, history and culture. The museum is renowned for its historic collections of Roman archaeology, Flemish paintings from 1500-1800 and art from 1800. Museumkwartier ‘s-Hertogenbosch In May 2013 Princess Beatrix opened the Museumkwartier Den Bosch (i.e. ‘s-Hertogenbosch), the new museum complex designed by Bierman Henket Architects that combines the Noordbrabants Museum and the Stedelijk Museum ‘s-Hertogenbosch under one roof. “The Guggenheim of Den Bosch”, as the Museumkwartier Den Bosch was described in August 2013 by the interior design magazine Eigen Huis & Interieur, now forms one of the largest cultural attractions in the Netherlands. Address Het Noordbrabants Museum Verwersstraat 41, ’s-Hertogenbosch Netherlands T +31 (0)73 6877 877 www.hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl Opening times Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays from 12:00 to 17:00. Closed on Mondays (except public holidays) and New Year’s Day, Carnival, King’s Day (27 April) and Christmas Day --- END OF PRESS RELEASE--- For visual material or more information about this press release: Het Noordbrabants Museum, department of Communication and Marketing Maaike van de Wiel, T +31 (0)73 6877 817 or [email protected] For visual material or more information about Van Gogh Brabant – Vincent’s Homeland: Frank van den Eijnden, T +31 (0)6 53 63 05 36 or [email protected] Page 2 of 2 .