The Utrecht Caravaggisti
The painters who brought Caravaggio's dark and light to the north.
Centraal Museum / fotograaf: Vincent Zedelius — CC BY-SA 3.0 · GodeNehler — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Anefo — CC0 · Afdruk zonder naam fotograaf / Anefo — CC0
The Centraal Museum is the Netherlands' oldest municipal museum (1838) and Utrecht's art treasury: in a former convent with a quiet garden, it tells the city's art and history across the centuries — from the "Utrecht Caravaggisti" (Dutch painters influenced by Caravaggio who brought his dark and light to the north) to Golden Age furniture and painting. Its modern star is a section devoted to Gerrit Rietveld, Utrecht's son — the most famous designer of the De Stijl movement, creator of the iconic Red-Blue Chair and the Rietveld Schröder House (the museum runs its visits). Utrecht is a city of modern design par excellence, and this is its comprehensive museum. It also holds the world's largest collection of Dick Bruna, creator of the beloved rabbit Miffy (Nijntje) — a pleasant family link with the separate Nijntje Museum. A varied museum joining old, modern and design in one lovely precinct.
The painters who brought Caravaggio's dark and light to the north.
The Red-Blue Chair and the De Stijl design legacy.
The largest Dick Bruna holding, creator of Nijntje.
Agnietenstraat 1, 3512 Utrecht
Nijntje Museum (Miffy)The Nijntje Museum is devoted entirely to the rabbit Miffy (Nijntje in Dutch) — 1 minute walk4.2
The Van Renswoude FoundationAn eighteenth-century building in Utrecht established in 1756 by the will of Bar1 minute walk4.7
The Utrecht University MuseumThe Utrecht University Museum shows what has accumulated in a university more th2 minutes walk4.2
Museum CatharijneconventMuseum Catharijneconvent is the national museum of the history and art of Christ6 minutes walk4.3
Railway MuseumThe Dutch Railway Museum is among Europe's best and most impressive train museum8 minutes walk4.4A Dutch art-and-design movement (1917) that reduced art to straight lines and primary colours (red/yellow/blue) — Mondrian its most famous painter, Rietveld of Utrecht its architect. His Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht is the only building built wholly on its principles, and is UNESCO-listed. Which makes Utrecht the capital of Dutch modern design.