Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

This is the first view one has of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, when going down the road straight from the railroad station.
The main museum building was built in 1936 by the architect Van der Steur. Now, a new arrangement has been made (unfortunately the opening was a week after I visited, with many spaces closed) and the collections have been re-arranged in the exhibition areas. "From January 20, 2007 onward the museum will bring its collection into the limelight in a new, chronological and stimulating way. Because of the new addition and the building of the Museumpark parking garage the museum was limited in its possibilities during the past years, with the result that the permanent collection could be shown only partially and in a fragmented way. From January 20, 2007 onward the public can renew its acquaintance with many highlights of old painting and sculpture, drawings and prints, modern and contemporary art, arts and crafts and design." (from the museum press release). The visitor can choose on the sidewalk outside the museum what he wants to see: the collection, or a temporary exhibition. If he chooses the collection, he enters through the original entrance in the bottom of the tower, which once gave access to the museum. Only through this door can the public experience the temple-like museum architecture as architect J. van der Steur originally intended it. After January 20 the visitors of the many exhibitions the museum will once again organize in 2007, will use the familiar entrance in the courtyard. This is the one I entered the museum from.
The museum is a lovely building with many different periods of art represented in the collections. They have a Dali collection (around 9 pieces, some of them I had never seen even in books). Definitely worth a visit.

This is the backside of the museum, you can see the beautiful cafe and the garden. Unfortunately I had no time to sit there...

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