Kunsthal
{{Infobox museum
| name = Kunsthal
| image = Kunsthal Rotterdam.JPG
| imagesize = 250
| caption = Front of the museum
| alt = Exterior view of the Kunsthal Rotterdam
| map_type = Netherlands Rotterdam
| map_size = 250px
| map_caption = Location in Rotterdam in the Netherlands
| coordinates = {{coord|51.911|4.473|region:NL-ZH|display=inline,title}}
| established = 1992
| location = Rotterdam, Netherlands
| type = Art museum
| accreditation =
| key_holdings =
| collections =
| collection_size =
| director = Natha ja van Dijk{{cite web|url=http://www.kunsthal.nl/en-51-Organization |title=Kunsthal |publisher=Kunsthal.nl |date=2015-07-04 |access-date=2015-07-09}}
| president =
| curator = Jannet de Goede
Charlotte van Lingen
| owner =
| publictransit = Kievitslaan (tram line 8)
Vasteland (tram line 20)
| car_park =
| parking =
| network =
| website = {{URL|www.kunsthal.nl}}
}}
The Kunsthal ({{IPA|nl|ˈkʏnstɦɑl|-|nl-kunsthal.ogg}}; {{langx|en|Art Hall}}) is an art space in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It opened in 1992.
Overview
The museum is situated in the Museumpark of Rotterdam next to the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, and in the vicinity of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Entrance to the Kunsthal is from the Westzeedijk. The building was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas together with project architect Fuminori Hoshino{{Cite web|url=https://www.kunsthal.nl/en/about-kunsthal/building/|title=The Building - Kunsthal}} of the architectural firm OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture). Wim van Krimpen was its first director.
The Kunsthal has no permanent collection, but organises a wide range of temporary exhibits. The large space available {{convert|3300|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} allows various exhibits in parallel. It houses seven exhibition spaces, a characteristic auditorium, and a café. The range of exhibitions presented at the Kunsthal ranges from 20th century masters to current contemporary art movements. The entrance on top of the Westzeedijk and gateway to the Museumpark is also a traffic intersection and meeting place for various public flows.
Lately the museum had exhibitions featuring artists such as Chuck Close, Andy Warhol and Arne Quinze. And recently the exhibition Drawn: Rotterdam! One-And-A-Half-Metre-Society{{Cite web|url=https://www.kunsthal.nl/en/plan-your-visit/exhibitions/drawn-rotterdam-2021/|title = Drawn: Rotterdam! - Kunsthal}} about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Art theft
On October 16, 2012, seven paintings were stolen from the museum. The paintings were Monet's Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross Bridge, London, Picasso's Tete d'Arlequin, Gauguin's Femme devant une fenêtre ouverte, Matisse's La Liseuse en Blanc et Jaune, De Haan's Autoportrait, and Lucian Freud's Woman with Eyes Closed.{{cite news|last=Kreijger|first=Gilbert|title=Dutch art heist nets works by Monet, Picasso, Matisse|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainment-us-crime-dutch-paintings-idUSBRE89F0OX20121016|newspaper=Reuters.com|date=October 16, 2012|access-date=2015-07-09}} At the time the museum was showing avant-garde art work by more than 150 artists from the Triton Foundation as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations. The theft took place that morning at around 3:00 AM. Even though the alarms had gone off the thieves had left the premises by the time police arrived. According to Rotterdam police, "The alarm system in the Kunsthal is supposed to be state of the art. We've got no reason to believe that it's not but somehow the people responsible for this found a way in and a way out."{{cite web |title=Monet and Picasso among works stolen from Dutch museum |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-19959224?print=true |website=BBC News |access-date=22 March 2021 |date=16 October 2012}} Director of Art Loss Register suspects that the most valuable paintings were targeted and that they could be worth "hundreds of millions of euros" if legally sold at an auction. However, the paintings had been registered as stolen in their database.
The alleged thieves were arrested in Romania in July 2013. They reportedly met on Tinder.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=November 2024}} It is unclear what happened to the paintings: Olga Dogaru, whose son, Radu, has confessed to his involvement in the theft, initially claimed that she had burned them all in an effort to protect him; however, she subsequently denied this in a court hearing.{{Cite news|title = Romanian Says Her Tale of Burning Art Treasures Was a Lie|date = 22 July 2013|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/23/world/europe/romanian-says-her-tale-of-burning-art-treasures-was-a-lie.html?hp|work = The New York Times|access-date = 22 July 2013|last = Higgins|first = Andrew}} However, investigators found pigments and nails of the correct age for the stolen paintings in her fireplace. Authorities believed that Olga burned the stolen paintings to protect her son and the other thieves.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxcrawl.com/2013/07/11/picasso-monet-gauguin-freud-and-matisse-faced-dantes-inferno-paintings-from-rotterdam-kunsthal-museum-burned-to-ashes-after-being-transported-in-pillows/|title=Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, Freud and Matisse faced Dante's Inferno. Paintings from Rotterdam Kunsthal Museum burned to ashes after being transported in pillows|work=Foxcrawl.com|access-date=2015-07-09}}{{cite web |last1=Mutler |first1=Alison |title=Romanian museum analyzing whether stolen paintings, including Picasso and Matisse, were burned |url=http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/Romanian+museum+analyzing+whether+stolen+paintings+including/8667390/story.html |website=www.calgaryherald.com |access-date=22 March 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717084316/http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/Romanian+museum+analyzing+whether+stolen+paintings+including/8667390/story.html |archive-date=2013-07-17 |date=17 July 2013}}{{cite web |title=Romania: Museum checks if paintings burned {{!}} Ente… |url=http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/16/5025933/romania-museum-checks-if-paintings.html |website=www.heraldonline.com |access-date=22 March 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717084339/http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/07/16/5025933/romania-museum-checks-if-paintings.html |archive-date=2013-07-17 |date=17 July 2013}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ziare.com/stiri/justitie/rasturnoare-neasteptata-de-situatie-tablourile-furate-nu-au-fost-arse-hotul-are-o-intelegere-cu-olandezii-1247435|title=Rasturnare neasteptata de situatie: Tablourile furate nu au fost arse, hotul are o intelegere cu olandezii|date=2 July 2015|work=Ziare.com|access-date=2015-07-09}}
File:Charing Cross Bridge, London.jpg|Charing Cross Bridge, London by Claude Monet (1901). Triton
File:Waterloo Bridge in London.jpg|Waterloo Bridge, London by Claude Monet (1901). Triton
File:Girl in Front of Open Window.jpg|Femme devant une fenêtre ouverte, dite la Fiancée by Paul Gauguin (1888). Triton
File:Self-Portrait van Meyer de Haan.jpg|Autoportrait by Jacob Meijer de Haan (circa 1889 – ’91). Triton
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Cite book |last=Pataky |first=Tibor |title=OMA’s Kunsthal in Rotterdam: Rem Koolhaas and the New Europe |last2=Koolhaas |first2=Rem |date=2023 |publisher=Park Books |isbn=978-3-03860-321-4 |location=Zürich}}
- {{cite news|title=The art of stealing: The tragic fate of the masterpieces stolen from Rotterdam|first=Lex|last=Boon|url=http://www.nrc.nl/kunsthal-en/|work=NRC Handelsblad|location=Amsterdam|date=19 October 2013|access-date=1 July 2015}}
External links
{{Commons category|Kunsthal Rotterdam}}
- {{official website|http://www.kunsthal.nl/}}
{{Culture in Rotterdam}}
{{Works by OMA}}
{{Authority control (arts)}}
Category:1992 establishments in the Netherlands
Category:Art museums and galleries in the Netherlands
Category:Art museums and galleries established in 1992
Category:Rem Koolhaas buildings