The museum

History

In 1994, the Domburg Museum was renamed after the art collector, anthroposophist and agricultural pioneer Marie Tak van Poortvliet (1871-1936), who had a villa built in Domburg at the beginning of the 20th century and spent many summers there, in the company of the painter Jacoba van Heemskerck (1876-1923).

Initially, the focus was on the artists who lived and worked in Domburg in the first decades of the 20th century. The museum was a replica of the art hall that had been erected for them in 1911 diagonally opposite the Badpaviljoen and was lost to wind and storms in 1921. It was given a place in the centre of the village instead of on the dunes.

In the meantime, the museum has expanded both literally and figuratively: the Domburg Museum has become a museum for classical modern art, with the emphasis on the classical artists’ colonies in Europe, based on Domburg and with attention to contemporary artists.

Seaside resorts seem to naturally attract artists. In Domburg, this attraction was further enhanced by the unspoiled beauty of the surroundings, the special fall of the light along the coast and its reflection over the land of Walcheren. The rugged dune landscape, the ever-changing sea and the old forests that surround the village centre have always inspired poets, composers and writers, and above all painters. The foundation was laid in the 1870s, with the arrival of a couple of Belgian artists, and the classical artists’ colony of Domburg, like most artists’ colonies in Europe, came to an end in the Interbellum.

The replica and the planned second hall & study centre were designed by Cees Dam & Partners.

Toorop and Mondriaan

Toorop

Between 1903 and 1922, Toorop spent a few weeks or several months in Domburg almost every year. In his wake, many friends from all disciplines came to the seaside resort and artists’ colony. Together with the female artist Mies Elout-Drabbe and a few other art friends, he organized the so-called Domburgsche Exhibitions, which took place from 1911 to 1921.

Mondriaan

Only in 1911 and 1912 Mondriaan took part in the Domburgsche Exhibitions, but between 1908 and 1915/1916 he regularly stayed in Domburg. There he went through the most important development in his oeuvre: the transition from figurative to abstract work.

Organization

MUSEUM DOMBURG FOUNDATION

Museum Domburg Foundation Board
  • Arnold van Houtum, president
  • Marcelle Immink, vice president
  • Jan Kaland, treasurer
  • Barbara de Kort, member
Museum Domburg Foundation Collection
  • Arnold van Houtum, president
  • Marcelle Immink, member
  • Barbara de Kort, member
Museum Domburg Foundation Real Estate
  • Lein Labruijère, president
  • Arnold van Houtum, secretary
  • Jan Kaland, treasurer
  • Adri Meeuwse, member
  • Ilonka Völker, member
Curator and policy advisor
  • Francisca van Vloten
Board Secretary
  • Eveline Cleiren

IBAN NL04 RABO 0146 5198 41
KvK Middelburg 114817

Committees

Maintenance
  • Jaap Bimmel
  • Hans Jansen
Education
  • Eveline Cleiren
  • Francisca van Vloten
Photography
  • Adri van de Velde
Advisory Board
  •  Fusien Bijl de Vroe, Former Director of the Rembrandt Association
  • Evert van Os, General Director Singer Laren
  • Chris Stolwijk, General Director RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), Professor of Dutch Art History of the long 19th Century, Utrecht University
  • Katlijne Van der Stighelen, Professor Emer. of Art Sciences KU (Catholic University) Leuven
Support Foundation
  • Derk Sauer, chairman
  • Frans van Oosten Slingeland, treasurer
  • Joost Snoep, secretary

EDUCATION

During the visit to the museum, an aspect of a painting or sculpture from the current exhibition is selected and discussed with the pupils. This can include: colour, shape, light, style or art movement. The aim is to learn to look at art and to understand art. A visit to the exhibition is concluded with a processing assignment appropriate to the target group.

We look forward to welcoming you and your school to our museum! Contact us at info@mtvp.nl to schedule a visit.

The Culture Bus

The Marie Tak van Poortvliet museum is included on the cultural map of De Cultuurbus. This means that for transport to our museum, free bus transport is possible for all Zeeland schools for primary education, secondary education and VMBO. More information at https://cultuurkwadraat.nl/cultuurbus.