“We are proud that the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen will be able to show various world-renowned surrealist masterpieces from the Boijmans collection over the next four months. A wonderful example of vital collaboration between fellow Dutch museums in this challenging period."
Interim director Stefan van Raay of the Cobra Museum.
19 May 2020
Surrealist masterpieces in a surreal time
Exquisite and illustrative: On the first of June 2020, This is Surrealism! The Boijmans Masterpieces opens at the Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen. This is a far-reaching collaboration with Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, which is lending out its works of art to museums at home and abroad during its own renovation closure. A world-class surrealist art collection that is unique in the Netherlands.
Because of the coronavirus, the top forty artworks from this collection are presented with as much space between them as possible. A good number to tell the story about surrealism. And a very welcome distraction in the form of fiction for the imagination, at a time when non-fiction is so overwhelming. The exhibition in Amstelveen can be seen until the 27th of September, and after that it will go on a world tour in a modified form, starting at the Te Papa Tongarewa museum in New Zealand. For surrealism fans who do not wish to travel to the other side of the world, this will be the last chance to see the works for quite some time.
Selection of exemplary artworks
After the closure of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen almost a year ago because of a major renovation and renewal, the doors of the Cobra Museum closed last March because of Covid-19. The preparations for This is Surrealism! had already been in full swing for months. Despite the new measures and the absence of an international audience in the Amsterdam region, we have once again joined forces to still realise This is Surrealism! for the Dutch public, in adapted form. Forty renowned and iconic works of art have been selected that together answer the question: what is surrealism? We did some surrealistic cherry-picking to show the visitors in Amstelveen the very best.
Selection of works on view at Cobra Museum
"We are very pleased that, despite the corona-pandemic, we managed, with great enthusiasm and effort, to put together a special exhibition where visitors of the Cobra Museum can get acquainted with our outstanding surrealist art collection from Rotterdam and the rest of the world."
Director of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Sjarel Ex.
Visiting the museum in times of corona:
The exhibition This is Surrealism! The Boijmans Masterpieces can be seen seven days a week from 1 June to 27 September, so all summer long. An audio tour has been made by master in the art of life and contemporary surrealist Aynouk Tan. Guides from both the Cobra Museum and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen are constantly present to provide further information about the works of art. For the sake of safety, walking routes are indicated via a sophisticated dot pattern. Entrance tickets have to be purchased online in advance via the Cobra Museum website.