The Rijksmuseum brings together nearly 120 works by Willem de Kooning and takes a rare approach: placing drawing at the center, not as a draft but as a finished work.

One hundred years after fleeing Rotterdam clandestinely, hidden on a cargo ship bound for America, Willem de Kooning returns to the Netherlands. The museum takes a rare approach, placing drawing at the center, not as a draft but as a culmination. We follow the artist at work: he sketches, revises, starts again, sometimes drawing with his eyes closed, until the boundary between line and painting dissolves. Around these sheets, a few major canvases and sculptures, including Excavation and the unforgettable Woman, remind us how this son of a factory worker, who became a leading figure of abstract expressionism, spent his life reinventing himself. A portrait of creation captured in mid-gesture.

See also, our exhibitions in the Netherlands and the entire Europe section.

RIJKSMUSEUM
Amsterdam - Netherlands
From October 9, 2026 to January 17, 2027