The Audience Portrayed - Martin Monnickendam

Every kind of person visits a cultural event

Who were the people in the theatre a hundred years ago? The audience in the theatre halls was an important source of inspiration for the painter Martin Monnickendam (1874-1943), whose 150th anniversary is being celebrated this year. His lively paintings take us to the boxes and balconies of Amsterdam's theatres from the early twentieth century. Monnickendam painted numerous subjects, from cityscapes to landscapes and portraits. His work was shown in more than 200 exhibitions during his lifetime, both at home and abroad, and he won several prizes. In The audience portrayed, the theatre paintings are central, in which you get an impression of his striking use of color. Monnickendam was the only painter in the Netherlands who portrayed the audience in the theaters in this way. The paintings have been supplemented with his preliminary studies and other objects such as program booklets, admission tickets and room plans from the theater collection of the Allard Pierson.

Fashion image

Amsterdam's cultural life at the beginning of the twentieth century was vibrant and there was no shortage of this at the theaters. With The audience portrayed, today's visitors get an impression of the atmosphere of the past, including the Paleis voor Volksvlijt, the Frascati Theater, the Amphitheater in Flora and the Stadsschouwburg. The paintings also highlight an unknown aspect of nightlife: who were these visitors of the theaters at the time? Guest curator Rob van der Zalm examined details in the paintings and compared them with theater maps and photographic material. Fashion expert Els de Baan looked at the clothing of the spectators in relation to the fashion image in the first decades of the twentieth century.