Kröller-Müller Museum Discover Van Gogh beyond Amsterdam
In the heart of the Hoge Veluwe National Park lies the Kröller-Müller Museum, one of the Netherlands’ top attractions. This museum is the perfect place to discover Van Gogh paintings. Besides Van Gogh, you will also find masterpieces by Picasso, Mondriaan, and Seurat. Next to the museum is a sculpture garden with sculptures that blend perfectly into the green landscape. A visit to this museum is an inspiring day trip from Amsterdam for art lovers. Not a museum lover? The Hoge Veluwe is the perfect day out if you want to escape the bustle of Amsterdam and get some fresh air.
This is part 2 of a three-part series about Vincent van Gogh.
1. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
2. Van Gogh at the Kröller-Müller Museum on the Hoge Veluwe
3. Van Gogh Village Museum in Nuenen near Eindhoven
Where is the Kröller-Müller Museum located?
The museum is located in the village of Otterlo in the Hoge Veluwe National Park, approximately 85 kilometers east of Amsterdam. Getting there by punblic transport can be a bit tricky: first, you take a train, then a bus, and finally a 30-minute walk to the park entrance.
Note: You need a ticket for De Hoge Veluwe National Park to access the museum. This ticket must be purchased separately in Otterlo or Hoenderloo. But it’s more convenient to buy a combined ticket that includes both park and museum admission
The Ultimate Masterpiece: Café Terrace at Night
The museum’s highlight is Café Terrace at Night, also known as Terrasse du Café le Soir, Place du Forum, Arles. The painting depicts an illuminated café terrace in Arles, a town in the south of France. The café’s warm glow contrasts with the deep starry sky above. No matter how many times you have seen this image on place mats, calendars, and mugs, the original is far more impressive, with its vivid colours and twinkling stars in the deep blue sky.
Van Gogh’s Early Works and Studies
Some of Van Gogh’s early works show he was still experimenting. For example, in a painting of a fisherman by the sea, the man’s shoes appear oddly shaped, evidence that Van Gogh had not yet mastered certain details. By contrast, his studies of Dutch peasant life are much more compelling and reveal his fascination with rural subjects. The Kröller-Müller owns several of these works, including a study for *The Potato Eaters*. The finished masterpiece is displayed at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Modernist Masters in the Collection
Picasso, Seurat, Gris, and Mondriaan
Beyond Van Gogh, the Kröller-Müller Museum features an exceptional collection of modernist art. One standout piece is Picasso’s Violon, a Cubist work in which he reduces a violin to its essential forms and presents it from multiple perspectives. Other highlights include works by Georges Seurat, Juan Gris, and Piet Mondriaan, artists who each played key roles in shaping early modern art.
The Sculpture Garden: Art in the Open Air
Surrounding the museum is an extensive sculpture garden, where winding paths lead past striking modern sculptures. Among the most memorable is Jean Dubuffet’s Jardin d’Émail, a walled artificial garden featuring a tree and concrete shrubs. Visitors descend stairs into a dazzling, undulating landscape, with bold black lines marking shifts in level. This artwork unites nature, architecture, and visual art in one playful environment.
The History of the Kröller-Müller Museum
From Private Collection to National Heritage
The museum began as the private collection of Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939), the daughter of a German businessman. She married the Dutch Anton Kröller (1862-1941), who became the director of her father’s shipping company.
Helene collected nearly 11,500 works of art, financed by the family’s fortune. But when the 1930s recession struck, the collection was at risk of being lost. To save it, she donated everything to the Dutch state, on the condition that a museum be built to house the artworks.
The Kröller-Müller Museum opened in 1938, and Helene herself served as its first director until her death the following year. Today, the collection is large enough to impress yet compact enough to allow visitors to engage deeply with the works.
Practical information for visitors
Directions and address
The Kröller-Müller Museum is located at Houtkampweg 6 in Otterlo, in the heart of the Hoge Veluwe National Park.
From Amsterdam by train
Step-by-step:
• From Amsterdam Central Station, take the Intercity to Ede-Wageningen. Travel time 60 minutes.
• Bus 108 from Ede-Wageningen to Otterlo Rotonde.
• From the Otterlo Rotonde bus stop, it’s a 20-minute walk to the entrance of Otterlo Park.
