The Netherlands is a world leader in the field of art and culture. The arts, in every form, flourish in a country that has outstanding museums and an impressive variety of classical and innovative music and theatre. Major international arts festivals are held every year.

• Museums
• Visual arts
• Design
• Architecture
• Music
• Dance
• Theatre
• Film and photography
• Literature
• Archaeology
• Radio, television and the media

Museums

With almost 1,000 museums, the Netherlands has the highest museum density in the world. Some of the most famous are the Rijksmuseum and the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum Boijmans-Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Mauritshuis in The Hague and Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn.

Outstanding collections of modern and contemporary art can be seen at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven.

Special events such as the Rembrandt Exhibition (1999) and an exhibition on the Golden Age (2000) draw many tourists and enhance the country’s status as a centre of culture.

Visual arts

The Netherlands has an age-old tradition of painting. The works of Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Vermeer, Van Gogh and Mondriaan are known throughout the world. Modern Dutch painters and sculptors have been extremely successful in keeping up this tradition. Contemporary Dutch artists are usually well represented at international events such as the Biennale in Venice and the Documenta in Kassel. Karel Appel and Corneille, both members of the COBRA movement and still active, are the best known post-war artists. Other distinguished contemporary artists include Ger van Elk, Jan Dibbets, Peter Struyken, Rob Scholte, Marthe Röling and Marlene Dumas.

Design

The minimalist, economical approach that characterises Dutch design is exemplified by the work of De Stijl, a group of avant-garde designers and artists in the 1920s. Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg and above all Gerrit Rietveld are among the best-known representatives of this movement.

The simplicity associated with Dutch design is reflected in a variety of everyday objects, ranging from postage stamps to waste bins, traffic signs, trains and office equipment. The Design Institute in Amsterdam, a world leader in its field, is responsible for promoting innovation and fostering dialogue between different disciplines. The Eindhoven Academy of Industrial Design is a specialist training institute with a rapidly growing reputation.

The Netherlands is seen as a Mecca for artists. It attracts many young designers, architects and artists who come especially to Amsterdam to work in a climate of artistic freedom, dialogue and innovation. Creativity, not reputation, is what counts.

Architecture

The Netherlands is also renowned for its architecture and urban development. No fewer than 50,000 buildings are listed monuments. The government protects these monuments and helps pay for their maintenance.

Amsterdam’s 17th and 18th-century canal-side houses are world famous. Urban development projects completed in the 20th century have also had a considerable impact. Examples include the Amsterdam-South neighbourhood, designed by the architect and town planner Berlage, and the post-war buildings in the centre of Rotterdam. In addition, the Netherlands has a wealth of modern architecture and provides many opportunities for young architects to experiment with new ideas in its emerging towns and growth centres.

As a customer, the government has also had a great impact on architectural trends. Some recent examples are Hoogstad’s modern Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, and the postmodernist Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, designed by Graves and Soeters.

Other well known architects include Aldo van Eyck, Herman Hertzberger, Wim Quist, Pi de Bruyn, Rem Koolhaas and Jo Coenen. Coenen designed the building housing the Dutch Institute for Architecture and Town Planning in Rotterdam. The Berlage Institute in Amsterdam runs workshops for talented young architects and landscape architects from the Netherlands and abroad.

Music

The Netherlands has many orchestras, based in towns and cities throughout the country. The most famous is Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Schönberg Ensemble are well-known smaller ensembles.

Opera flourishes in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Opera company in particular, based in Amsterdam, has established an international reputation. Every year, it stages around ten productions, mostly performed in Amsterdam. Contemporary opera is an important part of the company’s repertoire.

The Holland Festival is an internationally renowned music festival held in Amsterdam in June every year. 1997 marked its fiftieth anniversary. The Early Music Festival, held annually in Utrecht, features medieval and baroque music by acclaimed musicians from all over the world. Jazz, pop and improvised music also attract large audiences. The North Sea Jazz Festival is the largest and most famous jazz festival in Europe. Famous pop festivals include Pinkpop, Parkpop and Dynamo Open Air.

Dance

The Netherlands is a world leader in the field of modern dance. The productions of the Netherlands Dance Theatre (NDT) in The Hague, many choreographed by Anders Hellström, enjoy an international reputation. There are also many smaller modern dance companies, Introdans being one of the better known.

The Scapino Ballet in Rotterdam has turned its attention in recent years to contemporary dance. The National Ballet in Amsterdam mainly performs ballets from the classical repertoire, but also the works of 20th-century choreographers such as Van Dantzig, Van Maanen and Van Schayk, and the American Balanchine. The Hague’s biennial Holland Dance Festival features some of the most outstanding dance productions in the world.

The Springdance festival in Utrecht and the Cadance festival in The Hague, both of which are held annually, showcase the latest trends in modern dance.

Theatre

The Netherlands has many professional theatre companies, including traditional repertory companies and smaller companies whose main interest is to develop new forms of theatre, often combining music, mime and new-media techniques. One such company, Dogtroep, regularly stages large-scale productions abroad.

Every year, the highlights of the Dutch and Flemish theatre season are performed at a drama festival in Amsterdam and in the Belgian city of Antwerp. Dutch musicals are a new trend in the Netherlands. Productions such as Joe and Chicago have played to full houses.

Film and photography

The Netherlands has a relatively small film industry, which produces around 20 feature films a year, some in association with other countries. A few have won international acclaim. In 1996, Marleen Gorris won an Oscar for Antonia’s Line and Mike van Diem did the same for Character in 1998. Films by Dutch directors, such as Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop and Basic Instinct, and Jan de Bont’s Speed and Twister, have achieved worldwide success. Actors such as Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk have become household names among filmgoers the world over. Left Luggage, a film directed by Jeroen Krabbé, has been released in more than 40 countries.

Several major film festivals are held in the Netherlands, including the Rotterdam International Film Festival (every February), Amsterdam’s International Documentary Film Festival (every December), the World Wide Video Festival (every April) and Utrecht’s Dutch Film Festival (every September).

The Netherlands is well known for its outstanding documentary films. Johan van der Keuken has gained an international reputation for his art films.

The first World Press Photo Exhibition was held in the Netherlands in 1975. Documentary photography is especially popular with the younger generation of photographers, many of whom tend to portray people, landscapes and cityscapes.

Excellent collections of photographs are to be found in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, which specialises in 19th-century photographs, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Print Room at Leiden University.

Literature

The Netherlands has a rich literary heritage and has produced writers of the highest calibre.

In the Middle Ages, Dutch literature was part of a broad Western European tradition, with works including epic tales of chivalry such as Floris ende Blancefloer and Karel ende Elegast and allegories such as Van den Vos Reynaerde (Reynard the Fox) and Elckerlyk (Everyman). In the 16th century, humanism emerged, its leading Dutch representative being Erasmus. His Praise of Folly, a satire on the church and society, has been translated into many languages.

Among the literary highlights of the 17th century were Spinoza’s philosophical treatises. Dutch literature flourished during this period, which produced writers such as Vondel, Hooft, Huygens and Bredero. The Bible was also translated into Dutch. The publication in 1637 of the Statenbijbel – the authorised version – is considered a milestone in the evolution of the Dutch language. A significant writer of the 19th century was Multatuli, whose novel Max Havelaar was an indictment of Dutch rule in the Netherlands East Indies (present-day Indonesia).

Post-war literature was long dominated by three eminent novelists: Willem Frederik Hermans, Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve. Other distinguished contemporary writers include Hella Haasse, Cees Nooteboom, A.F.T. van der Heijden, Marcel Möring, Adriaan van Dis, Thomas Roosenboom and, among the younger generation, Arnon Grunberg. Over the last decade, Dutch literature has gained in popularity abroad.

Public libraries are very popular, especially among young people: around 60% of the under 17s are members. Membership is free up to the age of 16. The public libraries own an estimated total of more than 40 million books.

Archaeology

In the Netherlands, some 1,800 monuments on 1,500 sites are protected by the state. Dutch archaeology owes much to the country’s wet environment. In the west, where the water levels are high, organic remains such as clothing, food and wood have been extraordinarily well preserved, sometimes for thousands of years.

Well-known sites include megaliths in Drenthe, prehistoric dwelling mounds in Groningen and Friesland, and the island of Schokland in Flevoland, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Netherlands’ most outstanding archaeological objects can be viewed in the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden.

Radio, television and the media

In the Netherlands there are many independent broadcasters and printed media. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of the Dutch democratic system. The Media Act expressly provides that broadcasting organisations may decide the nature and content of their programmes. The government is responsible for creating the conditions that enable them to fulfil their vital role in keeping all citizens informed.

Since the 1920s, the Netherlands has had a public broadcasting system. Its programmes are provided by eight broadcasting associations, each of which propagates a specific religious, belief-based or cultural point of view. The broadcasting associations’ output is complemented by the Netherlands Programme Foundation (NPS), which has a statutory obligation to do so. Its programmes are mainly cultural or aimed at ethnic minorities.

In addition, four other types of organisation may use airtime on the public broadcasting system: churches and other belief-based organisations, educational institutions, political parties and the government.

The Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation (NOS) coordinates and directs programming and protects the common interests of the broadcasting associations. The NOS also provides much of the public broadcasting system’s news and sports programming. The public broadcasting system has three national TV channels and five national radio stations. Since 1992, the Netherlands has also had commercial broadcasting. Almost all Dutch homes are linked to local cable networks, which offer a wide range of Dutch, foreign, public and commercial television channels and radio stations.

Dutch people living abroad and foreigners interested in the Netherlands are served by Radio Nederland, an independent organisation broadcasting radio and television programmes throughout the world.