Touch

A work of art that you can touch, that you can walk through, in which you are even allowed to play! The world-renowned Jardin d’émail by Jean Dubuffet leaves an indelible impression on many visitors, young and old.

Different world

The artificial, walled ‘garden’ was designed specifically for the Kröller-Müller Museum. The contrast between the bright white with jagged black lines and the natural surroundings is particularly stark. Once inside this art garden, the visitors can imagine themselves in a completely different world .

Characteristic

The atmosphere of this monumental sculpture is characteristic for the work of Dubuffet. All his work expresses his fascination with the unusual, the spontaneous, the subconscious and the chaotic, which are typical for the paintings and drawings of children and the mentally ill. He calls these expressions that he admires, which are not regarded as official art, art brut.

Please note: due to the risk of slipperiness, the work is not accessible during rainfall. The work is closed in autumn and winter.

Cipher device

During World War II, the German armed forces used the Enigma machine, a cipher device, to send encrypted messages. For anyone who did not have such a machine, messages from the German military were illegible. In the 1930s, Polish codebreakers discovered how the machine worked, prompting Germany to create an even more complex version. Mathematician Alan Turing and his team used the work of the Polish codebreakers and a huge machine - a precursor to the modern computer - to crack the Enigma code. This allowed the British to secretly 'listen in' on what the Germans were saying.