“1935. The Netherlands Depicted in 12 Impressive Paintings” reunites a remarkable series of works that were created nearly a century ago for the World Exhibition in Brussels. At the time, the twelve agricultural paintings formed part of the Holland Pavilion and together presented a powerful visual narrative about the Netherlands.
Vast fields, industrious farmers, and recognizable regional landscapes portrayed a country deeply rooted in a strong agrarian tradition. The paintings were not autonomous artworks in the conventional museum sense, but elements of a carefully staged national presentation. In 1935, in the midst of a period of economic uncertainty, the Netherlands chose to present itself internationally with confidence and visibility.
Architecture, economy, and art converged in the design of the pavilion and its conceptual content. The twelve canvases played a central role in this: they depicted not only the landscape, but also a national self-image.
After their return to the Netherlands, the paintings largely disappeared from public view. They were placed in storage, and only a few were later exhibited individually. One such work is the monumental painting Strawboard and Potato Starch in the Veenkolonie (province of Drenthe) by Chris Lebeau. This painting was presented in 2014 at the Veenkoloniaal Museum, where it was even admired by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima.
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