Bonnefanten
Old masters and contemporary art in Aldo Rossi's riverside building with its zinc-clad cupola tower.
The Bonnefanten is the art museum of the province of Limburg and takes its name from a former convent of the Bons Enfants where it was once housed. Its holdings fall into two halves. The old master wing centres on medieval wood sculpture from the Meuse region and early Italian and Southern Netherlandish painting, much of it from the Neutelings collection. The contemporary wing concentrates on minimal, conceptual and Arte Povera art, with work by Sol LeWitt, Luciano Fabro and Richard Serra.
The building opened in 1995 on the Ceramique district beside the Maas and was the last major work of the Italian architect Aldo Rossi. An E-shaped brick block faces the river, and from its centre rises a zinc-clad cupola about twenty-eight metres high, used as an exhibition space and visible across the city. A long straight staircase runs the depth of the building to the galleries. A room devoted to Rossi's drawings and models explains the design.
Highlights
- Aldo Rossi's zinc-clad cupola tower above the Maas
- Medieval Meuse-region wood sculpture and early Italian painting
- Minimal, conceptual and Arte Povera holdings
- Richard Serra's The Hours of the Day on the forecourt
