Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Opens Largest European Willem de Kooning Retrospective in Four Decades

The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is presenting the largest European retrospective of Willem de Kooning in four decades, an exhibition that has ignited debate over whether the Abstract Expressionist can still be defended today. De Kooning, regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, built his reputation on a body of work inseparable from a personal mythology shaped by alcohol, excess and a fiercely productive practice — the archetype of the tormented macho genius. Monopol Magazine frames the controversy as a "Bro und Contra" (pro and con) exchange, with Sebastian Frenzel arguing in favor of keeping de Kooning in the canon. The debate's provocations are pointed: Frenzel's contribution opens by asking what a psychiatric assessment would conclude if "Woman I" were hauled before a court. The exhibition and the surrounding discussion arrive at a moment when museums and critics are re-examining the legacies of mid-century male artists whose biographies and imagery have become contested. The Rijksmuseum show marks the first retrospective of this scale in Europe in roughly forty years, making it a central reference point for the reassessment of de Kooning's position. The Monopol article is published as part of the magazine's Monopol Plus promotional month, with subscription access to monopol-magazin.de offered free for one month and then at 4.90 euros monthly, cancellable with seven days' notice effective at the end of the contract month.