Van Abbemuseum

The Van Abbemuseum is the museum of modern and contemporary art in Eindhoven, and it has a reputation far beyond the Netherlands for an inventive approach to showing art. It was founded by Henri van Abbe, a cigar manufacturer and patron of the arts, who gave the city a building and a collection, and it opened in the 1930s in a building designed by the architect Karel de Bazel. In 2003 a large modern extension was added, so the museum today consists of a historic building and a more recent addition, side by side near the river Dommel in the centre of the city.

The collection is one of the most important in the country for twentieth-century art. It includes works by pioneers of modern art and abstraction, among them Picasso, Chagall and Mondrian, and the museum has a particularly strong group of works by the Russian artist El Lissitzky, whose geometric Proun compositions were central to the Russian avant-garde. Later movements and living artists are well represented, and the collection includes contemporary work from around the world, with attention to artists who are not so well known in the West. The Van Abbemuseum has been a pioneer in showing art from Eastern Europe, Latin America and other regions.

What sets the museum apart is the way it thinks about its role. It describes itself as a laboratory in which art is used to explore society, history and current questions, and it often rearranges the collection to tell new stories rather than leaving the works in a fixed order. Exhibitions can be provocative and are meant to start discussions. The museum runs workshops, mini-tours and educational programmes, and a children's art club, and it works with partners abroad to share its collection.

The museum's cafe and library offer a place to relax, and the building is easy to navigate, with plenty of light. Because displays change, a second visit may feel entirely different. Eindhoven is a city of design and technology, and the museum fits well into that setting. During Dutch Design Week in the autumn, the city fills with events, and the museum is a major venue.

The Van Abbemuseum suits art lovers, students and anyone curious about how modern art relates to the world. A visit takes two to three hours. Check the opening times and ticket prices, since special exhibitions may cost extra, and museum cards usually give free entry. Other attractions in the city include the Philips Museum and the DAF Museum.