October 14, 2007
The Catharijneconvent (Catherine Convent) museum in Utrecht is dedicated to Christian Religious Art, and as it was free museum day and I'd slept in too long to go anywhere further away, I went to have a look. It turned out to be 1.50 Euros rather than free, but I can live with that.
The main reason that the museum is only getting two stars and not three is because it had very unfriendly staff, and although I am prepared to admit that maybe free museum day might be tiring, I very nearly let myself get scared into leaving again.
The art itself included some really beautiful alterpieces and a few more modern bits on the way through the shop. Religious art is not something I know a lot about, although it has the advantage that I'm familiar enough with the story not to mind that I can't read the signs, and my Dutch has now got to the point where I can get the basics about what century and country somthing's from. That said, the museum does provide English information sheets for the largest works of art and a lot of the labels are bilingual. When I went, there was a choir singing in one of the roms which leant the place a rather unwordly atmosphere, and I was lucky to hear them.
It was a nice, small museum, and I'm glad I went, although I don't think I'd personally have paid much more than I did. But if you are interested in the history of art, or religious art, it's worth a quick trip.
The main reason that the museum is only getting two stars and not three is because it had very unfriendly staff, and although I am prepared to admit that maybe free museum day might be tiring, I very nearly let myself get scared into leaving again.
The art itself included some really beautiful alterpieces and a few more modern bits on the way through the shop. Religious art is not something I know a lot about, although it has the advantage that I'm familiar enough with the story not to mind that I can't read the signs, and my Dutch has now got to the point where I can get the basics about what century and country somthing's from. That said, the museum does provide English information sheets for the largest works of art and a lot of the labels are bilingual. When I went, there was a choir singing in one of the roms which leant the place a rather unwordly atmosphere, and I was lucky to hear them.
It was a nice, small museum, and I'm glad I went, although I don't think I'd personally have paid much more than I did. But if you are interested in the history of art, or religious art, it's worth a quick trip.
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