An exhibit at the Groninger Museum on the early years of De Ploeg collective will include five works by Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh was an important source of inspiration for the Groningen-based artists.
Van Gogh’s 1889 oil painting “Les Bêcheurs” will be among the featured works and is on loan from the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibit will also feature two of the pieces Van Gogh created while living in Drenthe, including “Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam”, a rare watercolour painting by the Dutch post-impressionist. The Drenthe works are part of the Groninger Museum’s own collection.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of De Ploeg, a collective of young Groningen artists. In honour of the group’s centenary, the Groninger Museum is featuring works created by the group’s members in “Avant-garde in Groningen. De Ploeg 1918-1928”, a retrospective exhibit running from 26 May through 4 November.
The exhibit will feature around 100 works, including paintings, sketches, prints and graphics by Ploeg members Jan Wiegers, Johan Dijkstra and Jan Altink alongside internationally renowned Dutch artists like Jozef Israëls, H.W. Mesdag, Otto Eerelman and other contemporaries. The collection shows the evolution of the “young rebels” who wanted to break free of the confines of the established art world.
Curious to learn more about the De Ploeg and other artists in the north – including Van Gogh’s time in Drenthe? Check out our story by Traci White on the role of Groningen, Drenthe and Friesland in Dutch art history.
