Well over a century old, the Groninger Museum has managed to build an extensive and extremely varied collection. The following gives a brief description of a few of its focuses.
A major part of the collection has to do with the history and culture of the city and province of Groningen. This includes many archaeological finds, portraits of prominent Groningers from past centuries and beautiful examples of regional arts & crafts and applied arts, such as Groningen silver. A great deal of Oriental ceramics, imported from the seventeenth century onwards, survived in the northern Netherlands. The Groninger Museum’s collection is one of the most important to be found in the Netherlands.
The Groninger Museum Collection includes a wonderful portfolio of seventeenth-century drawings presented to the Museum by the art historian Cornelis Hofstede de Groot. Two prominent families of painters strongly associated with the Hague School, Israëls and Mesdag, had roots in Groningen and the Groninger Museum has a wide selection of their work.
Modern art in Groningen began with the expressionist work of the artists’ association De Ploeg from the 1920-1930 era. The Museum has a substantial De Ploeg collection which is still growing. Another focus is neo-expressionist painting from the 1980s and ‘post-modern’ – mainly Italian – design from the same period. Present acquisitions tend towards work transcending the borders between art, fashion and design.
Photo: Ralph Richter © Groninger Museum
