Coming soon to Singer Laren: Kees van Dongen. Durf en verleiding

Singer Laren and the RKD are joining forces to create an exhibition on the period which was to lead to the international fame of Kees van Dongen (1877-1968): from his debut, breakthrough, and early development, to the work with which he established himself as one of the leading 'Fauves'. The exhibition, which includes about a hundred paintings and drawings by Kees van Dongen, will start in January 2023 in what by then will be a completely revamped Singer Laren.

Avant-garde

Kees van Dongen was at the forefront of Dutch artists who sought innovation in Paris around 1900. There, he embraced the avant-garde and in 1905 Picasso invited him to move into a studio at the Bateau-Lavoir. In Montmartre's free atmosphere Van Dongen found himself at the heart of artistic innovation. In these surroundings – in the footsteps of Van Gogh – he developed into an innovative painter in terms of colour and touch. Thanks to his stay in Paris, the many international exhibitions and the combination of talent and boldness, Van Dongen became one of the most important representatives of Fauvism. The artistic-revolutionary became associated with his name. 

Key pieces

The exhibition Kees van Dongen. Durf en verleiding (Boldness and Seduction) is compiled by guest curator Anita Hopmans, Senior Curator RKD. Hopmans is an international expert on the artist's oeuvre and for the purpose of this exhibition will bring together highlights and key pieces. Among these are a number of prominent (international) loans, such as Deux yeux from 1911, from the collection of the JK Art Foundation, which has never been exhibited in the Netherlands before. 

1. Kees van Dongen, Deux yeux, 1911, oil on canvas, JK Art Foundation collection
2. Jan Rudolph de Lorm, museumdirector Singer Laren, Chris Stolwijk, general director RKD, Anita Hopmans, Senior Curator RKD, Evert van Os, general director Singer Laren