From the Kukullus kitchen – posts from the road. A blog

Pieter de Hooch, a true Delft painter, is often overshadowed by Johannes Vermeer. But an exhibition at Museum Prinsenhof in Delft helps to change this. Pieter de Hooch. Courtyard in Delft, National Gallery London, 1658.   Born in Rotterdam, Pieter de Hooch, the son of a bricklayer, spent several decisive years in Delft, where he became a member of the painters' guild, the Guild of St Luke, in 1655. He dedicated himself to [...]

Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan. Nevertheless, the country and its culture had a huge influence on him. His fascination with Japanese art began in 1885, when he bought his first Japanese prints in Antwerp. Shortly afterwards, he acquired hundreds more in Paris, where Japonism had already become a true phenomenon. Japanese woodblock prints were an extremely important source of inspiration for Vincent van Gogh. But he was not the only one captivated by this [...]

Delft is the city of Johannes Vermeer, where, as far as we know, he spent his entire life. However, Delft cannot pride itself on owning even a single one of his paintings. Fortunately, the Vermeer Centre provides a remedy for this. Opened in 2007 on Voldersgracht near the market square, the centre offers an overview of Vermeer's career, his work as a painter, the environment that shaped him and the artworks he created. The Vermeer [...]

  Utrecht's Dom tower, perhaps the city's most important landmark. The Gothic cathedral was built from 1254 onwards as the cathedral of the diocese of Utrecht. A devastating hurricane on 1 August 1674 caused the nave to collapse. The cathedral's colossal 14th-century tower remained standing and is Utrecht's most prominent landmark. It was carefully restored between 2017 and 2024.   The Dom tower - the tower of the cathedral - is already the [...]