Exhibitions 1
Going Dutch
Giles Auty enjoys a crash course in the art and culture of Holland Last week I attended what might be described fairly as a cultural commando course in Holland. So intensive was the programme set by the Dutch Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs, working with KLM, and so lavish the hospitality that there was danger of one extraordinary experience running seamlessly into another. Between 50 and 60 journalists were assembled from coun- tries as various as Australia, Bolivia, Bra- zil, Canada, Japan, Peru and the United States, as well as more adjacent European nations. The point of the exercise was twofold. First, to remind us that next year will be the 100th anniversary of Van Gogh's death and thus the occasion for an impressive programme of exhibitions. Second, to show us the disproportionate number of cultural marvels this tiny nation possesses. I knew quite a few of the major Dutch museums already and ever since a long stay there when in my 20s have been an enthusiastic fan of many, if not all aspects of Dutch culture. Our visit took place in temperatures more appropriate to Spanish, rather than Dutch Ha(a)rlem but the more normal absence of such climate, allied to flat landscape, gives Holland limited appeal to the average, ignorant tourist. Clearly, it is the country's historic and cultural assets that the Dutch need to sell.
In this, the nation is blessed in the development, during the 17th century, of a sufficiently prosperous economic base to encourage private patronage of painting by a solid bourgeoisie. The Dutch nation's greatest masters are known to us now but were not necessarily so then. For two centuries the reputation of Vermeer lan- guished among those of the other 80 'Little Masters'. Frans Hals, too, was not appreci- ated fully before the 19th century nor, as we know, did the mighty Rembrandt him- self receive the unqualified approval of contemporary patrons. Indeed, the whole history of art patronage from the 17th century onwards reveals a recurrent and quite uncanny ability on the part of rich patrons to get things wrong. Here I would suggest that the cast of mind necessary for the assessment of commercial fortunes is probably, though not always, the opposite of that required for enlightened patronage. Funnily enough, each new generation be- lieves it is the first to have learned finally from the mistakes made by patrons in the Jacob van Ruisdael's 'View of Harlem', one of the treasures of the Mauritshuis past. Yet the past 50 years have probably seen even grosser errors of judgment made in arts patronage than at any period in history. The dimly discernible historical patterns on which sounder historical judg- ments could be based remain invisible to the careerist megalomaniacs who adminis- ter most modern art museums today. Here things are no better in Holland than elsewhere.
However, for the present let us dwell on the many more positive aspects of Dutch culture. My own, unfortunately abbrevi- ated tour involved visits to the Rijks- museum in Amsterdam, the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem and the Royal Collec- tion at the Mauritshuis in the Hague as well as the more modern collections at the Stedelijk Museum and National Van Gogh Museum at Amsterdam and the Kr011er- Willer Museum near Otterlo. In between times, in some three and a half days, we fitted in a concert, visits to the Het Loo Palace in Appeldoorn and the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuisen, a boat tour on the Ijssel and a reception at the prime minis- ter's residence. While the contents of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam rank with those of the foremost European historic collections, it is the smaller, more intimate museums which often seem to provoke the more poignant memories. The Mauritshuis in the Hague houses Vermeer's 'View of Delft' as well as one of Jacob van Ruis- dael's very greatest paintings — of Haar- lem — among other treasures which include Paulus Potter's massive oddity `The Young Bull'. The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem was formerly the Oudeman- nenhuis, a most beautiful building which reflects something, at least, of the way old men were treated in 17th-century Holland. This week I learned that pop radio stations in Britain are diversifying their portfolios to take in ultra-profitable investment in homes for old people. How may we now save our aged from those anxious largely to help themselves?
The peace and dignity of the Hals Museum finds a rare modern counterpart in the Kroller-Miiller at Otterlo, a pre-war museum of modest yet brilliant design by Henri van de Velde. The collection, which contains 90 Van Goghs, belonged to the widow of an industrialist who stipulated that no additions should be made to the paintings and drawings; expansion has taken place therefore only in the field of sculpture. From a base of major artists such as Rodin, Maillol, Bourdelle, Zad- kine and Moore, subsequent 'expansion' has taken in more or less every modish sculptural name you can think of. Much of the more recent work is of massive size and portentousness and disfigures rather than enhances a wooded, outdoor terrain. The woods themselves would become beautiful and edifying once more only if much of the sculpture in them could be removed or rapidly overgrown. On a beautiful June day, I can imagine few more dispiriting reflections on the current state of our artistic culture than listening to the robotic chants of multilingual guides 'explaining' hideous-looking piles of logs, iron or in- dustrial detritus to drop-jawed visitors.
I was likewise disappointed to learn from Dr Leeman, who lectured our internation- al company on the significance of Van Gogh, that he and others continue to see him as the vital link between the great historical heritage of Dutch art and the modishness of so much that has been done in art's name during this century. Here is the modernist evolutionary theory in all its glory.
For all their evident charm, the present- day Dutch seem to me to cling slavishly to a peculiarly adolescent notion of cultural and moral liberalism. In recent times, Amsterdam has been the drugs capital of Europe and at this moment huge areas of this once beautiful city have become disfi- gured horribly by an eczema of graffiti. Naturally, modernist liberals lack the necessary political will to deal with either problem. Back at my five-star hotel, one of Holland's finest, I was mildly surprised that the management thought it necessary to offer guests a channel of pornographic films on their bedroom television sets. Perhaps next year, in keeping with the evolutionary progress of so liberal a cul- ture, sado-masochistic films may be made available as well?
It is not only its great heritage but a reflection of a more genuine self that present-day Holland needs to sell. One step in the right direction has been made here by Links of Affinity: Dutch Contem- `And if they are aphrodisiacs, how come there's so few of us left?' porary Art in Britain, an engaging exhibi- tion at Knapp Gallery (Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, NW1) until 10 July. Try to see it.
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