Kees van Dongen at the Milwaukee Art Museum

Kees van Dongen (Dutch, 1877–1968). “The Quai, Venice,” ca. 1921, on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Eds. Note: This video is the first in a new, monthly series, “Look at This,” in which our visual arts editor Kat Murrell teams up with videographer Gene Cawley to take a detailed look at select works from the Milwaukee Art Museum. Stay tuned for more installments, and if you’ve got any suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments!

October may have come to a close, but that doesn’t mean we have to leave spooky things behind. Take the paintings of Kees van Dongen, an early 20th century Dutch painter who was part of the Fauves, a loose art collective that emphasized strong, vibrant colors.

In the case of the van Dongen paintings in MAM’s collection – specifically, Woman with Cat, Place Vendome and The Quai, Venice – they’re haunting colors at work. Don’t believe us? Let visual arts editor Kat Murrell prove it to you.

All of the van Dongen paintings shown here can be found on the third floor of the museum, within the Bradley Collection of Modern Art. The Milwaukee Art Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours until 8 p.m. Thursday. Admission is $17, $14 for students/seniors/active military, and free for members and kids under 12. The museum is also free to enter on the first Thursday of every month; the next such date is Nov. 7.