Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen

Cobra movement

Cobra is an acronym for the home towns of the movement's artists - Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. In a Parisian Café in 1948, Asger Jorn (from Copenhagen), Joseph Noiret and Christian Dotremont (from Brussels) and Constant, Corneille and Karel Appel (from Amsterdam) signed a manifesto breaking away from the French Surrealists. Cobra painters wanted to work spontaneously and without restraint, using their imagination and emphasising colour. This was a major contrast to the more geometric, formal work done in Europe at the time. They drew their inspiration from children’s drawings, primitive art forms like tribal masks and art by the mentally disabled. Their favoured subjects included animals and fantasy creatures.

Cobra artists shared an interest in the communist theories of Karl Marx and their aim was to have art made for and by everyone. In this spirit, collaboration was one of their specialties and the artists sometimes worked together on one canvas, sheet of paper or wall. They also often included their children in the process. Poets and painters also created joint works, combining word and image in 'peinture-mots’ (word paintings). The Cobra movement was officially disbanded in 1951, but in its short time over forty artists, including painters, sculptors, poets, photographers and filmmakers felt drawn to Cobra’s aims. Probably the most well-known Dutch Cobra artist is Karel Appel.

Cobra Museum

The Cobra Museum aims to maintain the legacy of the CoBrA movement and keep its tenants alive. The museum features a major collection of key works by Cobra artists (1948-1951) as well as work by their Dutch contemporaries. It's exhibitions try to reflect the creative freedom, experimentation, vitality and social engagement at the centre of the movement. The museum collection is constantly expanding with new acquisitions and gifts. The museum building was designed by Dutch architect Wim Quist as a space where daylight, exhibition space and the ‘touch’ of nature come together to create a positive atmosphere for viewing art.

Make the journey part of the experience

The Cobra Museum is located in Amstelveen, a city just outside of Amsterdam. Amstelveen is home to the most international community in the Netherlands. According to the last census, 11% of Amstelveen’s population has expat status. This includes many Japanese professionals and their families, but also their British, German, American, and Indian counterparts, as well as those of many other nationalities. Being part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, Amstelveen is quickly and easily reached, and there are various ways to get there by public transport:

• Tram 5 runs from Amsterdam Centraal, stopping at Amstelveen Binnenhof

• Metro 51 runs from Amsterdam Centraal, stopping at Amstelveen Centrum (centre)

• Busses 142, 144, 170, 171, 172 run from Amsterdam and stop at Bus Station Amstelveen opposite the Cobra Museum of Modern Art building.

Another benefit of visiting the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen is that as you transverse the city by bus, tram or metro, you get to experience other parts of Amsterdam– from the bustle of the city centre to the leafy southern suburbs (Oud Zuid).

In the summer, you can even take a historic museum tram from the Haarlemmermeer station to Amstelveen station. The museum tram runs every Sunday from 11:00 to 17:30, starting on Easter Sunday to the last Sunday in October.

Or make a day of it with a museum visit and shopping. Just across from the Cobra museum, you'll find Stadshart Amstelveen, a large shopping centre with over 200 stores and restaurants. This makes Amstelveen the perfect afternoon excursion on a rainy day!

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Sunday

11:00 – 17:00

Closed

Mondays, 25 Dec., 1 Jan., 30 Apr.

Open

All other public holidays (even if Monday or 5 May)