Two collections meet at Museum Belvédère

Wisselwerkingen combines the Hans and Cora de Vries collection with works from Museum Belvédère. Other presentations broaden the visit.

Museum Magazine · 18 October 2026

Long Museum Belvédère building beside water in Oranjewoud. — Museum Belvédère beside the Prinsenwijk waterway in Oranjewoud. Archive photograph, not a view of the current exhibition. Photo: Ymblanter / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Ymblanter / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

Two paintings can reinforce or challenge one another when hung side by side. That is the premise of Wisselwerkingen — Relaties & Contrasten III at Museum Belvédère in Oranjewoud. Since Saturday 17 October 2026, the museum has brought works from the Hans and Cora de Vries collection together with works from its own holdings. The display runs until 17 January 2027.

Cora de Vries ran the Amsterdam gallery Collection d’art from 1969 to 2004. She and her husband Hans also built a private art collection. They sought connections and contrasts between artists and styles. The whole collection is now housed at Museum Belvédère. In Wisselwerkingen, its works hang alongside works from the museum collection.

Trees and water in the misty museum park at Oranjewoud. — Museumpark Landgoed Oranjewoud in fog. Archive photograph; the trees do not show current autumn conditions. Photo: Ymblanter / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Ymblanter / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source

Karel Appel, Armando, Gerrit Benner, Constant and Jan Schoonhoven are among the represented artists. The exhibition combines their works to reveal relationships and contrasts.

Other presentations include Max Ali Cohen, a northern pioneer of New Photography around 1930. His unusual camera angles and darkroom experiments are part of the display. There are also paintings by Frieda Hunziker inspired by her journey to Curaçao, together with later abstract works. Roel Sloot’s room presentation What Are We Looking At? features a series about undertakers.

The museum’s long building stands in Museumpark Landgoed Oranjewoud. Wisselwerkingen has been on view there since 17 October, alongside other presentations.

Museum Belvédère is at Oranje Nassaulaan 70 in Oranjewoud, near Heerenveen. It is regularly open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–17:00.