Friday, March 8, 2019

De Hoge Veluwe National Park

This Carnival break we had a lot of playdates planned out. Other than the kids enjoying long days with their best friends we went out for a day trip. We have never visited the Veluwe area and thought it would be a good time to do this. 

We cycled from the parking area through the park and reached the Kroller Muller museum. With rains predicted throughout the day we weren't sure how the biking would work out. But, weather reports were wrong and we had great spells of sunshine , enough to enjoy the outdoors.

The museum was interesting enough that the kids enjoyed it equally. It was a personal collectors dream opened to the public .The Kröller-Müller Museum is the lifework of Helene Kröller-Müller.  This museum boasts almost 90 paintings and more than 180 drawings, making it the second largest collection of Van Goghs in the world. In addition, the museum is home to top works by modern masters including Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondriaan. 
The Kruller Muller garden


Artists trying to recreate a part of a Van Gogh
Another artists serious attempt


That small bit almost like the original
Not a Van Gogh but reminded me of Harry's Hole in Donegal, Ireland

My favourite Van Gogh sketch

Capturing the Van Gogh 

One of his few self portraits

Benjamin's fav




Elijah's favorite


Depicting a night scene without black




Nature 

Spot the eye

Modern art critics in the amphitheatre 


Catching the sun on a rainy day




























































They learned about perspective and how it changes.The outdoor garden  had sculptures from artists all over the world. 
When we approached one from the side , Benjamin said it looked like the head of a Roman soldier. As we approached it closely and faced it forward, it looked completely different. The word "dog poop " was immediately suggested. Of course, the words poop or fart has to grace a conversation when there are boys involved! From Rome to poop! 

We talked about modern art and what makes it art. There was a wonderful collection of Van Gogh paintings and sketches. Each of us chose our favourite and spend a couple of hours enjoying the paintings. We got to discuss about his life, and kids remembered parts of his life from the books they read. They noticed themes, styles, textures, colours. 

A relaxed wonderful day out with the boys!