Anton L. Koster ‘Among the Bulbs’ - Museum de Zwarte Tulp

With the exhibition 'Tussen de Bollen', Museum De Zwarte Tulp in Lisse is exhibiting from 24 March the paintings of the artist who gained world fame with his work in a completely contemporary way.  

Anton L. Koster (1859 - 1937) grew up in Zeeland. Inspired by Impressionism and travels through France, he specialised in painting bulb fields. Koster, sometimes called the Rembrandt of bulb field painters, went to the Bulb Region every year in April-May to capture the blooming fields. The character of the region is faithfully reflected in his work: the red, yellow, blue and white of the flowering fields, the surrounding beech hedges, the people at work with the farms and village church towers in the background. Koster achieved a masterful balance between a meticulous depiction of the bulb fields and a casual, impressionistic painterly touch. His work was purchased by many art lovers. Koster (his pet name was Anton Tulp) also enjoyed great fame abroad, especially in the United States.

The 'Between the Bulbs' exhibition goes beyond the traditional static display of his artworks. Based on his paintings, visitors learn more about labour in the bulb fields through animations. Art and culture come together here. The animations tell stories from the perspective of local residents and workers. With the focus on bulb workers, a connection is made with the permanent cultural-historical presentation on the upper floor of the museum. The technology used to display the animations is innovative in this respect. A technology is used in which the audio of the animations is transmitted to the visitor as a kind of spotlight.

Nora Sedigh Mirazimi (25), a cultural heritage student at the Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam, is responsible for the design and layout of the exhibition. She has been given a completely free hand. For her graduation project, Nora mainly looked at how the museum could exhibit the works of Anton L. Koster in an innovative way. She says: ,,The exhibition had to be realised in a relatively short period of time, a huge challenge. It is a unique opportunity at all for a student to conceive and execute an entire exhibition. From the beginning, I was given a lot of creative freedom, which of course also entails a great responsibility. I am not from the Bulb Region myself, but this internship makes me feel more connected with the region, the local residents and bulb-growing every day''. 

'Between the Bulbs' can be seen from 24 March to 8 September.  The opening hours of the museum, located at Heereweg 219, 2161 BG Lisse, are as follows: Tuesday to Thursday 13:00 - 17:00, Friday to Sunday 11:00 - 17:00. During the Keukenhof season (from 22 March to 12 May) from Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 - 17:00. Also available at (only) the museum is a limited luxury edition of the book Anton L. Koster 1859-1937 Painter of flower bulb fields by Floor de Graaf for 39.50 euros.