Search - the low countries

The Dutch swimmer won four medals at the 1936 Olympics, which went down in history as a propaganda event for the Nazis.

The Dutch haven’t always been so mad about bikes. That close bond with cycling crept in quietly.

Francesca Birlogeanu wrote a short story in response to Hendrick Avercamp’s painting 'Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters'.

Ka(a)te Dejonckheere wrote a poem about the shards of ceramic bowls and lids from the Dutch East India ship ‘Witte Leeuw’.

Sara Mertens created a graphic story in response to an ivory statue of what is thought to be Diana, made by Jean Goujon.

The woollen caps worn by Dutch whalers in the period 1740 – 1760 inspired Flora Kenza Nacer to write a poetic dialogue.

A silver-lidded ewer in ‘lobed’ or ‘auricular’ style, made by Adam van Vianen (I), inspired Zindzi Tillot to write a text.

Oumaima Belkhdar wrote a text to accompany Dirck van Delen’s painting 'Interior of a Gothic Church'.

Leonore Spee took her inspiration for a short story from the model of a life-size marble statue of William of Orange.

Daniëlle Zawadi wrote a text in response to 'The Meeting of Odysseus and Nausicaa', a painting by Jacob Jordaens.

In his short story, inspired by Pieter Lastman’s painting 'Orestes and Pylades Disputing at the Altar', Pieter Van de Walle introduces us to Orestes.

Merel van Slobbe wrote a poem in response to the painting Girl in a Large Hat, by Caesar Boëtius van Everdingen.

In her poem Esmé van den Boom gives a voice to an early 17th-century roemer, a wine glass engraved with the words 'Sic Soleo Amicos'.

David Weel invites us to look at 'Dying Adonis' by the painter Hendrick Goltzius.

Femke Zwiep has written a poem in response to a balance standard with a counterweight from the workshop of Wenzel Jamnitzer.

Maite Vanthournout wrote a short story inspired by a cradle made by an anonymous craftsman.

Jordy Spyt chose a passglass – a glass used for drinking games – and wrote an antidote to toxic masculinity.

Jalil Sultani wrote a letter inspired by the book held by Johannes Wtenbogaert on Rembrandt van Rijn’s portrait of him.

Benjamin De Roover was inspired by the chest of books in which Hugo de Groot escaped imprisonment in the early seventeenth century.

Gidi Pols wrote a poem inspired by the financial story behind 'Portrait of Rogier Le Witer, Antwerp Merchant' by painter Jacob Jordaens.

Pelumi Adejumo gives a voice to a collar from 1689 bearing the coat of arms of William of Orange.

Eighteen young writers from Flanders and the Netherlands have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Marian van der Pluijm created an audio story in response to Marie Constantine Bashkirtseff’s painting 'The Arti...

Dieter De Schutter drew a graphic story inspired by the masked figure on a ferry in a 370-year-old river landscape. ‘I can never step out of line.’

Babeth Fonchie wrote a poem inspired by old wooden stocks and matching iron shackles.

Elsbet De Pauw wrote a poem in response to an old painting of a doll house.

Anne Bosveld wrote a prose poem inspired by a panorama of Cape Town.

Veneboer wrote a dialogue in response to a portrait of Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian independence movement during the French Revolution.

Bart Decroos wrote a short story inspired by a 1708 drawing by Dirk Valkenburg, entitled ‘View of a Mill and Cook-house on a Plantation in Surinam’.

Esha Guy Hadjadj gives a voice to a military painting by Cornelis Troost from 1742.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Emerald Liu wrote a poem about a toilet mirror, commissioned by King William I as a wedding gift for his daughter.

Eighteen young writers have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Johannes Lievens draws our attention to the inkstand once owned by Baron Chassé.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Charlotte Remarque took inspiration from a model of a Javanese marketplace.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Dagmar Dirkx looks at the painting 'Monk Meditating near a Ruin by Moonlight' by Frederik Marinus Kruseman.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Eva Salman wrote a short story inspired by a coffee pot.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Jutta Callebaut was inspired by Jan Veth’s ‘Portrait of Cornelia, Clara and Johanna Veth’.

Eighteen young writers have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. We join Maya Mertens as she looks at a part of a cannon captured at the Battle of Shimonoseki.

Eighteen young writers have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. We join Maaike Rijntjes as they look at a plate of the Dutch province of Overijssel.

Eighteen young writers from Flanders and the Netherlands have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Mahat Arab wrote a poem in response to a figure called 'Two Fighting Knights'.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. We join Hasret Emine in looking at a dressing table.

Eighteen young writers have brought artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Kenneth Berth invites us around a lavishly decorated table.

Eighteen young writers have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Gus Møystad drew a graphic story inspired by Jozef Israëls’ painting 'The Sand Bargeman'.

Eighteen young writers have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Together with Michael Koevoet we look at the painting ‘In the Month of July’ by Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël.

Eighteen young writers from Flanders and the Netherlands have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Sixtine Bérard wrote a poem to accompany a flask.

Eighteen young writers from Flanders and the Netherlands have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Lemuël de Graav found inspiration in Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk’s painting 'The Raampoortje in Amsterdam'.

Eighteen young writers from Flanders and the Netherlands have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Sarah de Koning draws our attention to the white paint on 'Portrait of Alida Christina Assink' by Jan Adam Krus...

Eighteen young writers from Flanders and the Netherlands have brought nineteenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum to life. Thom Wijenberg shows us the 'Diorama of a Du, Dance Celebration on the Plantation', made by Gerrit Schouten.

Our best literature stories of 2020, handpicked by the editor.

Iduna Paalman wrote a poem about the rise and fall of Maria de’ Medici to accompany a militia piece by Joachim von Sandrart.

Obe Alkema gives the floor to a festoon of fruits and flowers: ‘We’re fruit, flora, authentic. We want to be seen the way Yotam Ottolenghi sees us.’

Edna Azulay has composed an ode to the intoxication of 'The Drunken Couple' by Jan Steen.

Join us in bidding goodbye to 2022 with seven of the finest literature stories we published this year that are worth re-reading or listening to again.

Malika Soudani gives a voice to 'Portrait of a woman' by Frans Hals. ‘I wonder if they called it that because it’s a good title or because they’ve forgotten my name.’

Jasmijn Post brings the painting 'The Love Letter' by Johannes Vermeer to life. We listen to a woman whose feelings are restricted by social conventions.

Arno Boey gives a voice to the painting 'The Milkmaid' by Johannes Vermeer.

Amarylis De Gryse got inspired by the painting 'The Company of Captain Albert Bas and Lieutenant Lucas Conijn'. She explores the inner life of a militiaman.

A still life with cheese, that’s all Sanne Pieters needs to dissect gender roles. ‘I watch you a lot: you and that favourite cow of yours.'

Cesar Majorana gives a voice to a painting in the shadow of 'The Night Watch'.

Join us in bidding goodbye to 2023 with some of the most surprising stories we have published this year on literature from Flanders and the Netherlands.

Shimanto Reza wrote a letter inspired by a map of the Bay of Bengal from around 1695.

Traumatic feelings about inundations that expose the vulnerability of the Low Countries go hand in hand with a certain pride.

The exhibition 'Ode to Antwerp' at Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht explicitly presents old masters from the Low Countries and not from Holland or Flanders.

Five hundred years, ago painter Albrecht Dürer travelled through the Low Countries. That journey is now coming to life in an exhibition, several books and his own diary entries.

In her essay ‘Connection in Confusion’, Hind Fraihi gives Vooruit Arts Centre in Ghent some suggestions on how it should deal with a world that is becoming increasingly diverse and colourful.

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