Aan tafel met
Helene Kröller-Müller
‘Are you familiar with Berlage’s silver, which I now enjoy every day? I don’t think so. It’s so sleek and beautiful that only my fine tablecloths complement it. I sometimes wish to remove everything else from the table and I’m already thinking about acquiring a truly beautiful set of tableware alongside it.’
– Helene Kröller-Müller, 30th January 1913, in a letter to Sam van Deventer
Visit the exhibition from October 12, 2023, till June 2, 2024 and discover with your own eyes how beautiful it is!
Helene Kröller-Müller
Collector of art
Helene Kröller-Müller is well-known as an art lover and collector. We owe the museum bearing her name at De Hoge Veluwe National Park and the unique collection of Van Gogh paintings to her. During her life she frequently commissioned unique pieces from prominent artists, architects, and sculptors. Her distinct taste and remarkable personality greatly influenced the development of art in the early 20th century. However, as is often the case between patron and artist, these collaborations didn’t always go smoothly…
Floris Verster, Portret of Helene Kröller-Müller, 1910, oilpaint on canvas, Kröller-Müller Museum
H.P. Berlage, Design drawing for a table setting with serving utensils, 1912, opus book 't Binnenhuis RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague, Jac. van den Bosch Archive, photo: RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History
Commissions for Architects
Berlage & Van der Velde
At the exhibition ‘Design in Silver for Helene Kröller-Müller’ at the Dutch Silver Museum, you’ll get acquainted with Helene as a patron for silver tableware. Impressed by the architects Berlage and Van de Velde’s earlier designs for buildings, she decided to join forces with them for her silver tableware. This collaboration resulted in three unique sets of silverware.
A so-called 'Gesamtkunstwerk'
A unit
In the background, the development of the St. Hubertus Hunting Lodge plays a role. It is a so-called ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, an ideal interplay in which architecture, interior and environment are designed as one coherent whole. Is the table silver part of this? Or does it stand on its own? What signature do the architects and the patron leave on the silver? How do the designs fit in the context of the period? Discover the stories and admire this exceptional table silver, rarely exhibited but much appreciated and enjoyed by Helene during her life.
H.P. Berlage, Design for the hunting lodge St. Hubertus, 1916, image: Kröller-Müller Museum
Publication in RCE magazine, August 2023
Spread the word!
Press and Publications
For more information, images and press related matters, please contact Ingeborg Dijkman, Head of Marketing & Communications by email or telephone 0182 -385612.
Download the Press release in Dutch
Download PRESSEMITTEILUNG Deutsch
Campaign image standing HKM exhibition
Campaign image featuring a compilation of:
H.P. Berlage, designsketches for a table place setting with schipwreck, 1912, opusboek ’t Binnenhuis, RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, The Hague, Archives Jac. van den Bosch Archive, photo: RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History
2. Photo of Henry van de Velde in his studio in Weimar, ca. 1908, photo: Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Photographer Louis Held
3. Portrait photo of Hendrik Petrus Berlage, 1900-1924, photo: RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, Photographer Herman Deutman
4. Photo of Helene Kröller-Müller, ca. 1910, photo: De Hoge Veluwe National Park
Foto bonbonnière:
Bonbonnière, 1918, designed by H.P. Berlage, produced by N.V. Koninklijke Begeer in Utrecht, photo: Dutch Silver Museum
Recent Publications:
The August 2023 magazine of the Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE) contains an in-depth article about the exhibition.
Silver partners
