Oldenzeel art gallery

Where you stand now was once the Zuidblaak, a waterway that, together with the Noordblaak, split the city in two. At number 16, at the end of the nineteenth century, was Kunsthandel Oldenzeel, a special place for art lovers.

Johan Vlaanderen Oldenzeel ran the business and had an eye for talent. While Rotterdam had little interest in modern art, he dared to support innovators, including his cousin Vincent van Gogh. In 1892 and 1896, he organized solo exhibitions of Van Gogh’s work, but the Rotterdam art world was skeptical. Collectors laughed at his bright colors and rough brushstrokes.

One buyer used Van Gogh’s watercolor Nachtcafé as an example of how not to paint. Despite criticism, Oldenzeel believed in Van Gogh. He himself suffered greatly, losing two of his three children and battling rheumatism.

After his death in 1896, his widow continued the gallery for nearly ten years. It closed in 1915. But time proved Oldenzeel right. Van Gogh became one of the Netherlands’ greatest painters and got his own museum.