Hubris (ὕβρις) is an ancient Greek word indicating overwhelming pride, haughtiness, or arrogance resulting in fatal retribution. The word was used to describe actions of those who challenged the gods or their laws, especially in Greek tragedy, resulting in the protagonist’s downfall.

At the end of the 16th century, several painters in Haarlem adopted a style that is now called mannerism: in the Italian way, or maniera. The figures in their paintings strike lively poses and make broad, sometimes seemingly exaggerated gestures. The most important Haarlem mannerists are Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1616), who was famous for his prints, Karel van Mander (1548-1606), painter and writer of The Paint Book [Het Schilder-Boeck] and Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638).

After studying art history in Nijmegen in the 1950s, Wim Beeren first held the position of curator at The Hague Municipal Museum. In 1965, he moved to the Stedelijk Museum. Here he organised the famous exhibition Op losse schroeven [Everything’s unsettled] (1969). In 1971 he organised Sonsbeek buiten de Perken [Sonsbeek off the beaten track]. In the 70s, he turned his back on the world of museums in order to lecture at the University of Groningen. In 1978, he returned as director of Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum.

Sandro Chia (Florence, 1946) is een Italiaanse schilder die furore maakte vanaf het einde van de jaren 70 van de 20ste eeuw. Samen met Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Nicola de Maria en Mimmo Paladino vormde hij de Italiaanse ‘Transavantgarde’. De term impliceert dat de schilders de moderne avant-garde achter zich hadden gelaten. Zij oriënteren zich in hun werk juist op traditionele (Italiaanse) thema’s en schildertechnieken.

When this painting was purchased in 1980, it did not have a frame. A designer was thus asked to make a profile for a frame. In 1995, a decision was taken to restore the painting. It had been rather extensively painted over, probably in the 19th century. When this took place, motives using examples from a print by Goltzius were added to the painting. During the restoration, all additions and overpaints were removed and damages were repaired. This resulted in an painting that once again largely reflected the one Cornelis van Haarlem had painted in 1588.

Around 1590, Hendrick Goltzius made a trip to Italy. He was known for his prints, but from 1600 he also began painting.

Claes Oldenburg (1929), Richard Serra (1939) and Bruce Nauman (1941) are American artists who, in the seventies of the 20th century, gave their own contemporary and sometimes monumental take on sculpture. Oldenburg’s Screw Arch has its place as a sculpture in the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum garden, but it is actually a design for the New Willem Bridge over the Maas in Rotterdam.

In the ‘sixties and the first half of the ‘seventies, abstract and conceptual art set the tone. As a reaction to this, a desire arose for images that are more closely related to man and the way in which he experiences his world. This desire was expressed in major exhibitions such as A New Spirit in Painting (London, 1981), Zeitgeist (Berlin, 1982) and in the book Hunger nach Bildern dating from 1982 by Wolfgang Max Faust. For new painting in the Netherlands see: cat. exhib. Divided Images, Fodor Monthly, 2, 5, Dec. 1982