HAARLEM.- Wanderlust, a major exhibition being staged this summer in De Hallen Haarlem, focuses on travel as a source of inspiration for artists. There are countless examples of Dutch art from the last century and a half, including paintings, sketchbooks, photographs and three-dimensional work. Dozens of artists are represented—from Jan Sluijters, Isaac Israëls and Marius Bauer to contemporary artists like Joost Conijn, Jan Dibbets, Bertien van Manen, Rob Birza, Jennifer Tee and Roy Villevoye. Their journeys generated on-the-spot impressions or inspired creative manipulations on their return home.

Artists have been travelling to gain inspiration for centuries, and there are many early examples in the Netherlands: Jan van Scorel journeyed to Rome in the sixteenth century, and a hundred years later Jacob van Ruisdael took his sketchbook to Germany. In the Romantic period, around 1800 to 1850, many artists, among them Barend Koekkoek and Johannes Bilders, went to the Rhine valley.

The Whole World
In the mid-nineteenth century the number of destinations artists visited increased dramatically. Jacobus van Looy went to Spain and Morocco, Louis Apol journeyed to the North Pole, Isaac Israels spent time in the Dutch East Indies, Willem Dooijewaard sketched in Mongolia and Adriaan Gouwe travelled to Tahiti. Little by little the whole world became their subject. In more recent times countless artists have followed in their footsteps with sketchbooks and paints, but increasingly with film and still cameras. Adriaan Lubbers painted in New York, J.C.J. Vanderheyden photographed Mount Everest from the air, Roy Villevoye worked in New Guinea and Barbara Visser reflected on a visit to Japan in photos she took there.

Snapshots and Reflections
The exhibition ranges across three centuries and features snapshots and travel impressions captured on location in sketchbooks or painted on tiny panels. It also includes reflected memories, the creative treatment of travel experiences in artists’ studios. Special attention is devoted to two different types of journeys—tours and one-way trips. Some artists made studious round trips, like photographer Ad van Denderen, who visited all the coasts around the Mediterranean, and Bertien van Manen, who took delightful photos in European living rooms. Others trod the paths of well-known travellers: Goethe’s trip to Italy inspired artists Maarten Beks and Joop Vermeij to do the same and, like Van Gogh, photographer Paul Huf journeyed through France, while Joos van de Plas went to Suriname, taking the seventeenthcentury painter Maria Sibylla Merian’s journey as his example.

Tenth De Hallen Haarlem Summer Series
Wanderlust: Dutch Artists’ Urge to Travel since 1850 is the tenth exhibition in the De Hallen Haarlem Summer Series. Since 2015 it has been exploring aspects of artistry. Last year, for example, the museum presented ‘The Muse’ as a key source of inspiration for artists. 99 Uitgevers / Publishers of Haarlem are producing a fully illustrated catalogue to coincide with the exhibition.