The audience portrayed – Martin Monnickendam (1874-1943)

Who were the theatre-goers of a century ago? The paintings of Martin Monnickendam (1874-1943), known to his contemporaries as the ‘theatre painter’, offer us a glimpse inside the balconies and boxes of Amsterdam theatres in the early twentieth century. These paintings are now on view in the exhibition The audience portrayed. The exhibition marks the festive start of the centenary of the theatre collection held at the Allard Pierson. The year 2024 marks the 150^th anniversary of the birth of Monnickendam.

Amsterdam boasted a thriving cultural life in the early twentieth century, and theatres were plentiful. Theater Carré had just opened, and performances were also staged at the Paleis voor de Volksvlijt. Frascati Theatre was the place to go for operettas and revues, while the Stadsschouwburg was the setting for ‘serious’ drama. The theatre collection of the Allard Pierson contains information about performances at all these venues, but we know a lot less about the theatre-goers of old. Yet what is a theatre without an audience? The paintings of Monnickendam invite us to look into the balconies and boxes, revealing the audience in all their glory.

Martin Monnickendam was an Amsterdam painter who was very successful in his day. During his lifetime, his work graced over two hundred exhibitions at home and abroad, and he won numerous prizes. The Stedelijk Museum even organized an exhibition in 1924 to mark his fiftieth birthday. He drew inspiration from developments in London and Paris and stood out in the Netherlands with his exuberant, colourful paintings. He painted all sorts of subjects: from cityscapes and portraits to theatre audiences. These theatre scenes are the focus of the exhibition.

Centenary of  the theatre collection

The exhibition forms part of the celebration of the centenary of the theatre collection. Some of the objects on show are taken from the collection. The theatre collection dates back to 1925 when the Theatre Museum Society (Vereniging Het Toneelmuseum) was founded by the Netherlands Drama Association (Nederlandsch Toneelverbond). This group advocated for the establishment of a museum for the theatre world, which would eventually open on Herengracht in 1959. The museum closed in 2012 and the collections moved to the University of Amsterdam. Since then, the posters, models, costumes, masks, props and much more – totalling more than half a million items – have been managed by the Allard Pierson. We will mark this special anniversary in various ways over the coming year.