Cobra is an avant-garde art movement of European artists from the 1940s and 1950s who originated from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam – hence the acronym CoBrA.
The artists developed the movement in Paris before taking their work to a wider audience in New York.
The popular Cobra Museum in Amstelveen (south of Amsterdam) highlights paintings and sculptures from the movement and also holds frequent exhibitions of other modern artists.
The Cobra collection contains various works from renowned Dutch Cobra artists such as Karel Appel, Constant and Corneille; and also from Danish, Belgian and French Cobra artists.
This abstract style of art has child-like quality with bright colours, bold brush strokes and distorted human figures.
The Cobra museum opened in 1995 and is housed in a modern building designed by Dutch architect Wim Quist. The galleries have a light, airy and pleasant feel with floor to ceiling windows overlooking water and gardens. Labelling is in both Dutch and English.
The museum has a shop at the reception and a café serving drinks and snacks. Outside the front entrance of the museum is The Fountain, an interesting water sculpture by Karel Appel.
Private tours are available for a maximum of 4 adults and cost €60 for English.
The Cobra is recommended if you have a particular interest in the movement or modern art in general. It can be seen in an hour or two, although do allow a further 30-45 minutes each way to travel to/from the centre of Amsterdam.
Cobra Museum Essential Info
| Opening Times | 1000-1700 Tue-Sun, closed Mondays. |
| Admission Prices (2023) | €15.00 for adults, €9.50 for children 6-18. FREE entry for children 0-5, Museumkaart and I Amsterdam City Card holders. Special exhibitions can attract a surcharge. Order the I Amsterdam City Card online here which includes free entrance to the Cobra Museum. |
| Getting There | The Cobra Museum is located in the centre of Amstelveen, a satellite town to the south of Amsterdam. From Amsterdam Central take metro line 52 to Amsterdam Zuid. Then take Connexxion bus 358 to Amstelveen bus station, very close to the museum. You can also take bus 347 or 357 from Museumplein/Leidseplein to Amstelveen bus station. Or take GVB tram 5 (from Leidseplein/Museumplein or Zuid) to the final stop Amstelveen Binnenhof which is about 10 minutes walk from the museum. |
Cobra Museum, Sandbergplein 1, 1181 ZX Amstelveen
T: +31(0)20 547 5050, cobra-museum.nl
Last updated 27 March 2023. This article was first published in 2013 and has been regularly updated.
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