| National Museum of Art | |
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| Information | |
| Location | 2 Koningstraat, Centrum, Koningstad 16 Carrington Avenue, The Port, Koningstad |
| Established | 1905 |
| Director | Martin Barnolt |
| Visitors | 491,290 (2018) |
The National Art Museum of Brunant (Dutch: Brunants Kunstmuseum) is an art museum in Koningstad. It is part of the National Museums Group and is the most visited site in Brunant, ahead of the State Museum and the Royal Palace.
History[]
The NMA building
Ground floor map
In 1896, artists from all over Brunant held an exposition at the former city hall in Koningstad. The success of the show allowed them to hold another one the following year. The artists petitioned the city to allow them to use the building as a museum to display Brunanter art for all to enjoy. The city government agreed, and in 1902, the Gallery for Brunanter Art was founded. It was only until 1905 that the government made the museum the national one. They left a small budget and instructed the curator to purchase Brunanter art and also works from across the globe. Furthermore, the Royal Family provided a part of their collection to be kept at the museum. The Royal Art Collection was previously located at the Grijzestad Palace in Grijzestad.
The NMA grew over time from a small collection of artwork to one of the largest museums in the country and in Europe. The pending German invasion of Brunant during World War II led the museum to shut down in the spring of 1940, with some works of art being hidden in the countryside and the majority being transferred to Alexandria and Malta. Despite this, not all works were able to be sent out, therefore a few were sold off (illegally). When the Germans took Koningstad, they repossessed whatever works remained, though most other museums in the country were not as lucky as many works were looted.
The NMA became one of the most popular museums in the country and has been visited by over 200,000 people yearly. In 1992, an extension in The Port opened; while it does not hold as many works as the main NMA building, it contains many important works as well.
The most expensive painting in the museum is Pablo Picasso's Woman Sitting in an Armchair (1912). The NMA paid around €22,000,000 for the painting in 2006, when Nicolaas Hening was the museum's director. Other valuable works include René Magritte's Jockey Perdu (1925) and Cavall's Bright Sky, Dark Sea (1848).
The museum has hosted benefits and charity events in the past and played host to a significant event with the aim of raising awareness and funds to help bring freedom of speech and of the media to Tagog.
The building[]
2 Koningstraat was built between 1909 and 1912. Prior to that, the museum was housed in the former city hall, which was located at this address. The large neoclassical building fit in rather well with Koningstad Centrum's style developed by Victor Janowicz over a century before. Due to the architecture, history and its collection, the museum is a candidate to be made a national monument.
The museum is design to be visited in a circular order. The building also includes a gift shop and a cafe, which serves light meals and snacks.
Collection[]
Classical Brunanter art - Wernerhal[]
Helsenberg, The Burgundian Bride (1506)
See also: Wernerhal
The Wernerhal contains hundreds of years of Brunanter art. These are some of the most beautiful and valuable works made in the country. This hall contains Renaissance-era artworks, 17th century "pre-classical" paintings, a few works from the "Brunanter Golden Age" and others from the Academics of the early 19th century.
This is the largest hall in the museum by the number of works exhibited and it is one of the most visited. The most popular paintings are Helsenberg's The Burgundian Bride, Hasselman's The Kitchenworkers and Blomefont van Stein's Untitled Landscape.
Early Modern Brunanter art - Alexanderhal[]
See also: Alexanderhal
The Alexanderhal contains an impressive collection of early modern Brunanter art. This ranges from Impressionist work from the 1880s to the early 20th century styles and the later realist work of the 1940s and 1950s.
The Alexanderhal contains some Impressionist paintings, but the majority of the works are Post-Impressionist or Expressionist and cover the late 19th century up until the early postwar period. Realist art, while considered to be painted in the modern-era, is placed here due to its more classical approach.
Modern Brunanter art - Kirkley Hall[]
Ernest Lantham, Bright Bands (1973)
See also: Kirkley Hall
The Kirkley Hall contains the bulk of the museum's modern and contemporary art. In Brunant, modern art is considered to be abstract works made in the postwar period. The museum's collection contains works of art from the late 1950s through to the present. Originally, the acquisition of these works generated controversy (Gabriel Blanchard's Jane Avril washes being the most famous), but today, they have substantially increased in value and are ever popular with visitors.
Impressionist art - Neyt Hall[]
Édouard Manet, The Rue Mosnier with Flags (1878)
See also: Neyt Hall
The Neyt Hall contains the vast majority of the museum's sizable collection of European and Brunanter Impressionist art. This is one of the most popular exhibits in the museum, along with the hall on Brunanter classical art. The best represented artist is Édouard Manet, but other painters on exhibit include Paul Gauguin (some which are actually not Impressionist), Edgar Degas and the Brunanter Edward Eldridge.
American art - Parsons Hall[]
Lawren Harris, North Shore, Lake Superior (1926)
See also: Parsons Hall
The Parsons Hall is a large collection of American, Canadian and Lovian art, most of the 19th and 20th centuries. The works on exhibit range from American impressionism of the 19th century to the Canadian Group of Seven to 1960s modern pop-art. The American impressionist art forms the bulk of the paintings here. This is one of the newest permanent exhibits, only having been around since 1979
Classical art - Vandreck Hall[]
Bartolomé Murillo, The Marriage Feast at Cana (ca. 1675)
See also: Vandreck Hall
The Vandreck Hall is the museum's collection of classical artwork. It has art from the 15th century to the early-mid 19th century. It mainly focuses on European art, but it has a few American and Asian/oriental artworks as well. The paintings by Ghirlandaio are probably the most popular in this hall.
Modern European art - Mathers Hall[]
René Magritte, The Lost Jockey (1925)
See also: Mathers Hall
The Mathers Hall contains the museum's collection of modern European art. The works in this gallery consist of paintings and sculptures from the 1920s to the 1980s. These works range in artistic styles; they include art by Moholy-Nagy, Dalí, Man Ray and Malevich. There is also a large selection of paintings by Dutch artist Karel Appel on display, many of which were acquired in the 1990s.
Cubist art - Bernès Hall[]
See also: Bernès Hall
The Bernès Hall is a hall dedicated entirely to Cubist artworks. The collection is composed of works exclusively from the period 1910-1935. Artists represented here include Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. Brunanter artists include notable artists Abraham Hillard and William Favard, and the collection would not be complete without having Caroman in there.
NMA The Port[]
NMA The Port
The National Museum of Art has an extension at 16 Carrington Avenue in The Port. This extension was necessitated due to limited space at the NMA and an amassment of many works in storage. Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei was hired to design the building. Construction began in 1990, but there were many complications and he became increasingly frustrated. The aging Pei left for the United States in 1991 and left Brunanter Tomas Haček in charge of the project; he oversaw its completion in early 1992. The museum transferred its storage works here in the spring and summer of 1992 and the extension opened ceremoniously on 10 July 1992.
Neoclassical gallery[]
Eugenio Cavall, Bright Sky, Dark Sea (1848)
See also: Neoclassical Gallery
The Neoclassical Gallery contains the NMA's collection of Neoclassical works (1820-1840). This is one of the best-known collections of the museum, with the art here being among its most valuable. This is also the largest collection of Eugenio Cavall paintings in the world. Other artists included in the collection are Anthony Welland and Arthur Prinsen.
Sculpture gallery[]
See also: Sculpture Gallery
The Sculpture Gallery features various sculptures, statues and other three-dimensional work. Most prominent is a large mobile by Alexander Calder from the 1960s. The gallery also has modern artwork from around the world, but also a few classical statues from the 19th century. There is also a sculpture garden where other larger works can be seen.
Temporary Exhibits[]
See also: Temporary Exhibits
Year-round, the NMA has various special exhibitions displaying works from private collections and world museums. These exhibits only last for a few months but have become very popular.
The most famous painting put on exhibit here was da Vinci's the Mona Lisa, which came in 1974 from the Louvre. The NMA has had a partnership with the Museum of Art in Lovia and they have brought over many of the masterpieces held there, sch as Magritte, Mondrian and Warhol works.
Visit the museum[]
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, being closed on holidays as well. Admission fees for the museum are 10€/adults, 8€/children and 7€/elderly. A personal or family pass can be purchased for 100€/170€ which is valid for 1 year. ExploreBT cardholders are also able to visit the museums free of charge.
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| National Museum of Art |
| Collection: Wernerhal: Classical Brunanter art - Alexanderhal: Early Modern Brunanter art - Kirkley Hall: Modern Brunanter art - Vandreck Hall: Classical art - Neyt Hall: Impressionist art - Mathers Hall: Modern European art - Bernès Hall: Cubist art - Parsons Hall: American art |
| NMA The Port: Neoclassical Gallery - Sculpture Gallery - Temporary Exhibits |