The Fiction Factory

Museum Wallraf

Having visited the Ludwig, I managed to fit in the Wallraf on the same day. This had a different vibe and was so worthwhile. Again, I’m only scratching the surface here. As with all the galleries and museums I’ve visited, there is so much to take in. So, in keeping with earlier posts, I’ve listed what I consider as highlights and encourage you to look them up to see for yourself.

As an aside I initially got lost on the way there, due to the fact my Google maps was set to drive, despite me being on foot. It dawned on me that being a pedestrian was becoming ever more challenging. Sometimes I really should put my glasses on!

It was a real treat to view an original Edvard Munch. His most famous painting is The Scream (1893) but this, along with its variants are held in the MUNCH Museum and the National Museum in Oslo Norway. (Mind you if I hadn’t sorted out my Google maps, I could have ended up there!) The Walraff has Four Girls on the Bridge (1905). Munch painted twelve versions using the motif of girls on a bridge, which is a real location in the Norwegian resort of Aasgaardstrand on the Oslofjord in Norway. Most of these paintings featured three girls, but sometimes a fourth was included. It’s a haunting, disturbing work, one which is open to interpretation depending on the onlooker. The girls are clothed in bright dresses, each one a different colour, and are huddled close together. Only one is facing forward, but her face is blank, devoid of features.

Vincent Van Gogh is a particular favourite of mine and I was intrigued by what I saw on this visit. The painting, Moulin de la Galette (1886), had a question mark after his name on the information sign. This painting details a windmill, one of many that once stood on the hill of Montmarte, situated in the north of Paris. According to the note beside the painting, there are three known versions. One in the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo (1886) and one in the Nationalgalerie in Berlin (1886). Those two are not in dispute; they are Van Gogh originals. The third one here from the Museum Langmatt is in doubt. Note that the Museum Langmatt is a private foundation in Baden Switzerland, who have lent some of their impressionist collection to the Wallraf in Cologne.

The painting features the entrance gate to the grounds of the Moulin de la Galette, an entertainment venue on the hill of Montmartre in Paris. A dance hall and cafes were in the vicinity of the windmill including an outdoor café overlooking the city. At the time of painting the mill was no longer operating and was popular with visitors to the area. This location was also a popular destination for artists. Van Gogh lived nearby in rue Lepic and produced almost twenty drawings and paintings here. Over artists who have depicted this area include Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Ramon Casas, Paul François Quinsac, Kees van Dongen and Maurice Utrillo.

I don’t know what to think. It looks like an original Van Gogh, but I’m not an art expert. I have checked online, and search results are returning that in fact this painting is considered a genuine Van Gogh. As noted above, the note beside the painting contained a question mark. Further research indicates there is quite a debate over a number of his paintings and establishing provenance is a complex business. From my perspective, I enjoyed viewing the painting along with its intriguing backstory.

I approached a member of staff. He didn’t speak English, and I don’t speak German. I did however manage to ask if there were any other Van Gogh paintings and he indicated by the used of hand signals that I needed to go down to the basement. Armed with this knowledge, I went down and sure enough there was an original Vincent Van Gogh, Drawbridge at Arles (1888). It was good to note that there is no dispute over the authenticity of this painting. I’ve used a photograph I took of this painting to accompany this blog post.

I was pleased to see Edgar Degas, Dancers (1905). This is a particularly well-known work. Degas produced several paintings with this theme. Note that you can view “A Group of Dancers” (c. 1900 – c. 1905) in The National Galleries of Scotland. Another example of his work from this period, it features dancers in a rehearsal room. As an aside, when I was in Copenhagen, Denmark last year, I saw another similar Degas, in the Glyptoteket, See Part 92 of this blog series. I note there I saw a number of paintings but didn’t make detailed notes. Clearly from recent posts, I’ve started to make more of an effort in this respect.

Other paintings I enjoyed were Camille Pissarro, Autumn Meadow in Eragny (1899). Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Portrait bust of Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender (1895). Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Theatre Box (1873-74)

Paul Gauguin, The Seine at the Pont de Grenelle (1875).

Claude Monet, The Seine at Asnieres (1873). Above Vetheuil, Spring Effect (1880). Houses in Falaise, Mist (1885). Water Lilies (1915).

Paul Cezanne, Trees and Rocks in the Park of Chateau Noir (1904). Henri Matisse Corsica, The Old Mill (1898).

As with all the museums and galleries I visited on this trip, I could easily have spent a day or more in each. There is so much to see and take in. Cologne is certainly a city I would return to in future.