• 1929-1958

1929: Born 18 September in Amsterdam.
1935: Moves to Amersfoort. The family lives near the German’s police transit camp in Amersfoort, which was opened in 1941.
1945-1949: Plays first violin in various (gypsy) orchestras. Performs at liberation celebrations and other events. At the age of 18, he abruptly stops playing the violin.
1949: Begins to draw, mostly in the woods surrounding Amersfoort.
1950: Moves to Amsterdam. Takes lectures on history of art at the university. Writes his first poems. Starts painting in the early 1950s.
1954: First individual exhibition of his drawings in Le Canard, an Amsterdam avant-garde gallery. Makes his poetic debut in the literary magazine Podium (Stage).
1957: Individual exhibition of his Peintures criminelles (Criminal paintings) in the Amsterdam Le Canard gallery. Prose debut in Podium.
1958: Together with Kees van Bohemen (1928-1985), Jan Henderikse (1937), Henk Peeters (1925) and Jan Schoonhoven (1914-1994) he founds the Nederlandse Informele Groep (Netherlands Informal Group). Starts to take part in exhibitions of the ‘Informals’ in the Netherlands and other European countries.

• 1960-1967

1960: Together with Henderikse, Schoonhoven and Peeters he founds the Nul Groep (Zero Group). Writes several manifestos for that group, just as he did for the ‘Informals’. Joins the weekly Haagse Post (The Hague Mail) as a journalist (later becomes head the art staff).
1960-1965: Participates in important national and international exhibitions of the Nul Groep. No longer writes poems inspired by the baroque poetry of the Vijftigers (group of experimental Dutch poets in the 1950s), but realistic poetry (‘ready-mades’), which he publishes in the Flemish and Dutch magazine Gard Sivik, named after a jazz café in Antwerp. Joins the editorial staff of this avant-garde magazine. Following its final issue, the magazine De Nieuwe Stijl (The New Style) is set up, with practically the same editors, including Armando. In this new magazine, which is published only twice (April 1965 and 1966), Armando publishes ‘ready-mades’, among which the Agrarische Cyclus (Agrarian cycle).
1964: Publishes his first volume of collected poems.
1965: Dissociates himself from the Nul Groep after their second exhibition in the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum (Municipal Museum. Starts drawing again after a short break.
1967: Together with Hans Sleutelaar he publishes the documentary book De SS’ers. Nederlandse vrijwilligers in de tweede wereldoorlog (The SS. Dutch volunteers in World War II), edited again in 1967, 1978, 1990 and 2001).

•  1971-1979

1971: Publishes the volume of romantic poetry Hemel en aarde (Heaven and earth), an epic cycle in three volumes. First television broadcast of Herenleed, absurd stage plays he writes together with Cherry Duyns. Actors perform the first episodes in the studio. The 1975-1979 episodes, in which Armando and Duyns themselves act, are recorded at a scenic outdoor location. Together with Johnny van Doorn and Duyns, he performs in a new program of Herenleed in the Amsterdam playhouse De Kleine Komedie. In 1985, 1986 and 1990 they tour the country. After Van Doorn dies in 1991, Armando and Duyns produce two further programs in 1996 and 1997 with which they go on tour. Herenleed is also staged in Germany (Berlin and Münster) in the 1990s.
Starting 1971: Makes drawings and paintings with titles referring to war and violence, like Kanonnen (Guns), De onbekende soldaat (The unknown soldier), Beschuldigd landschap (Accused landscape) and Schuldig landschap (Guilty landscape); in the early 1970s he makes seventy drawings in which he integrates photographs of landscapes and historic events.
1973: Makes his first sculpture in stone, De geheime trap (The secret stairs), which is located in Uithoorn. Publishes the Dagboek van een Dader (Diary of a wrongdoer), reprinted in 1990, and the collection of poems De denkende, denkende doden. Herinneringen (The thinking, thinking dead. Recollections).
1976: Publishes Het gevecht, een gedicht (The fight, a poem), reprinted in 1987.
1977: Is awarded the Herman Gorter Prize by the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts for Het gevecht. Publishes Herenleed in collaboration with Cherry Duyns. The enlarged edition Wat zegt? Wat doet? Verzameld Herenleed (What says? What does? Collected Gentlemen’s Grief) appeared in 1985 and was reprinted the same year. The collection Herenleed. Vijfentwintig jaar Weemoed en Verlangen (Gentlemen’s Grief, Twenty-five years of Wistfulness and Desire) and the DVD box Herenleed Compleet (Complete Gentlemen’s Grief) are released in 1995, on the occasion of the last performances of Herenleed.
1978: Publishes his first volume of short stories: De ruwe heren. 9 benarde verhalen (The rough gentlemen. 9 awkward stories). The liberal Protestant television company VPRO broadcasts Geschiedenis van een Plek (History of a spot), a long documentary film Armando made together with Hans Verhagen. In 1980 he publishes the eponymous book in collaboration with Verhagen and Maud Keus (2nd edition 2000).
1979: Moves to West-Berlin for a year thanks to a grant, but stays there from then on. The first two years he creates series of large paintings, such as Selbst, Feindbeobachtung (Self, Observing the enemy) and Fahne (Flag), as well as drawings like Kriegsverwendungsfähig (Suitable for war use), Todesbereitschaft (Willing to die) , Wieder ganz heiser vom Befehlen (Quite hoarse again from giving orders), Studien zur Dekadenz (Studies in decadence), Sehnsucht nach der Bourgeoisie (Yearning for the bourgeoisie) and Ode an Novalis (Tribute to Novali). Is awarded the Sikkens Prize for his visual work.

• 1980-1988

Starting 1980: Writes the column Armando uit Berlijn (Armando from Berlin) for the Dutch quality paper NRC Handelsblad. Publishes Tucht, gedichten 1971-1978 (Discipline, poems 1971-1878).
1980-1981: Makes drawings in which he integrates old portrait photographs found at rummage sales: Anmerkungen zur Vergangenheit (Remarks about the past).
1981: Aantekeningen over de vijand (Notes on the enemy) appears (2nd edition 1985).
1982: Makes Fahne (Flag) his first lithograph and publishes his first volume of essays about Berlin: Uit Berlijn (2nd edition 1983, 3rd edition 1983, 4th edition 1990). Machthebbers (Rulers). Verslagen uit Berlijn (Reports from Berlin) and Toscane (Tuscany) follow in 1983; Krijgsgewoel (Battle turmoil) appears in 1986 (2nd edition 1989, 3rd edition 2003).
1984-1985: Paints the series Schwarze Landschaft (Black landscape), Gefechtsfeld (Battlefield) and Melancholie (Melancholy).
1985: Receives the Multatuli Prize from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts for Machthebbers and the Jacobus van Looy Prize for his visual and literary work.
1987: Is awarded the Golden Quill by the Royal Netherlands Association of Publishers.
1988: Creates his first bronze sculpture, Fahne, which is given a place in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw concert hall. It is Armando’s first work in what was to become an impressive sculptural oeuvre. Also publishes his most autobiographical book, De straat en het struikgewas (The street and the bushes) of which the 2nd edition appears in 1989. the 3rd in 1990, the 4th in 1992, the 5th  in 1993, the 6th in 2000 and the 7th in 2006), as well as De Veldtocht. Gedichten (The Campaign. Poems). De straat en het struikgewas receives the Multatuli Prize from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. Picks up the violin again. Plays in the Netherlands and abroad with the Tata Mirando Dutch Royal Gypsy Orchestra.

• 1990-1998

1990: Publiishes his first volume of children’s stories De sprookjes (The fairy tales, with drawings by Peter Vos). De prinses met de dikke bibs (The princess with the fat bottom) with drawings by Susanne Janssen follows in 1997 and Dierenpraat (Animal talk) with drawing also by Susanne Janssen is published in 1999 (2nd and 3rd editions in 2000, 4th edition in 2006). A German translation of the three volumes appears in 2005 under the title Sämtliche Märchen (Collected fairy tales).
1992: The bronze sculpture Das Rad (The Bicycle) is unveiled in Rosmalen.
1993: Founds his own orchestra, The Armando Quartet (later Armando and his Quartet), in which he plays the first violin. In 1995 he receives an Edison Award for the CD Armando, The Violinist. Publishes De boksers (The boxers) with photographs by Guus de Jong.
1994: His 14-meter-tall bronze sculpture De ladder (The ladder), commissioned by the municipality, is unveiled in Amersfoort. Publishes Voorvallen in de Wildernis (Events in the wilderness) and Mensenpraat (People’s talk).
1995: Publishes the collection of poems De hand en de stem (The hand and the voice) and makes Der Baum (The Tree), a monument commissioned by the muncipality of Groningen in memory of the artist H.N. Werkman, who was executed during World War II.
1996: Becomes member of the Berlin Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts). Is awarded the Jerg-Ratgeb-Preis by the HAP Grieshaber Stiftung Reutlingen for his visual work.
1997: Opening of the Armando Museum, entirely devoted to Armando’s work, in the former Roman Catholic church Elleboogkerk in Amersfoort.
1998: Publishes De naam in een kamer. Een gedicht (The name in a room. A poem) and De heideweg. Verhalen (The heathland road. Stories.)

• 1999-2006

1999: Publishes Verzamelde gedichten (Collected poems), reprinted in 2003, and We waren zo heerlijk jong. Duitse herinneringen (We were so wonderfully young. German recollections) with a foreword by Judith Herzberg.
1999-2007: Creates many bronze sculptures, mainly large ones, bearing names like Torso (Torso), Gestalt (Figure), Liegende Gestalt (Figure in repose), Kopf (Head), Die Hand (The hand), Der Krieger (The warrior), Fahne (Flag), Der Kelch (The beaker), De Urn (The urn), Das Tier (The animal) and Der Vogel (The bird).
2000: Is awarded a Zilveren Griffel (silver slate-pencil) by the Collective Propaganda Foundation for the Dutch Book).
2001: Retrospective exhibition of drawings in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett.
2001-2007: Paints in color after many years during which black and white were the predominant colors in his palette. An ongoing development: his present work includes large, multicolored canvases.
2002: Extensive retrospective exhibition of his oeuvre in the Neurenberg Neues Museum.
2003: Bids farewell to music in the Amsterdam Concert Hall after many appearances in the Netherlands and other countries. Schoonheid is niet pluis. Verzameld proza (Beauty is fishy. Collected prose) is published on that occasion. Publication of the first volume of very short stories: De haperende schepping (The faltering creation), reprinted in 2003. Concentrates on this genre; Het wel en wee (The ups and downs) is published in 2005 and is reprinted the same year. Gedoe (Goings-on) follows in 2006 and is also reprinted the same year, followed in turn by Soms (Sometimes) in 2007. Lives in an apartment in Amstelveen because of ill health and works in Amsterdam and environs, making use of other artists’ studios.
2005: Paints large marines in grey-blue and grey-green tones, with titles like Das Schiff (The ship), Das Haus (The house), Häuser (Houses), Gestalt (Figure), Der Arm (The arm), Körperlich (Physical), Das Tier (The animal), Der Vogel (The bird), Denkmal (Memorial) and Landschaft (Landscape). Extensive retrospective exhibition of his visual oeuvre in the Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen.

• 2007

On October 22, a fierce fire reduced to ashes the Armando Museum housed in the historic Elleboog Church in Amersfoort. Most of the museum’s collection was lost in the fire. Dozens of works by Armando and other artists (part of the exhibition ‘In het woud – op zoek naar betekenis’ [In the forest – in search of meaning]) dating back to the 15th century, fell prey to the flames.
It was expected that the Armando Museum in the Elleboog Church would be rebuilt by 2010.
The Armando Museum Bureau was temporarily housed in the Rietveld Pavilion in Amersfoort. Until the reopening of the Armando Museum in the Elleboog Church Armando’s Der Vogel in the logo of the Museum symbolizes the phoenix that arises reborn from the ashes.
The meticulously compiled Documentation on Armando suffered substantial water damage as a result of the fire. The restoration and the documentation of the documents were started.

SOAM (the foundation for the support of the Armando Museum), established in 2006, sought to give financial support to the Armando Museum. Shortly after the devastating fire of 22 October 2007, SOAM committed itself to raising the funds necessary to create the new accommodation for the Armando Collection.

• 2008

Presentation of the new book Nee (No) with ultra-short stories in clear language. Published by the Augustus publishing house.

On 4 July, Armando unveiled the more than 8 meter long sculpture ‘Boot 2006’ (Boat 2006) at the future ‘Bron’ (Source) in the Vathorst district of Amersfoort.
An extraordinary sculpture trail passed through the city center and outskirts of Amersfoort in the summer and autumn of 2008. Sixteen large sculptures by Armando could be viewed. The trail started at Die Leiter/The Ladder 1994 (the first sculpture by Armando in an outside public space in the city) near the former concentration camp Camp Amersfoort in the south of Amersfoort and ended at Boot 2006 (Armando’s latest work in Amersfoort) in the Vathorst district.

The Mondrian House in Amersfoort hosted the educative exhibition ‘Landschap van herinneringen’ (Landscape of Memories) of the Armando Museum.

On 8 December 2008, it was 10 years ago that the Armando Museum in Amersfoort was opened in the presence of HM Queen Beatrix. The fire of 22 October 2007 greatly disrupted the preparations for the second lustrum.

• 2009

On 16 May, Henk Peeters, member of the Nul movement (the Dutch zero movement) opened the exhibition ‘De glans van het alledaagse’ Armando in de jaren zestig (The splendor of everyday, Armando in the 1960s), at the Armando Museum Bureau. Present at this opening were, among others, Armando, Cherry Duyns and K. Schippers.

Opening of the exhibition ‘Armando en de melancholie van het scheppen’ (Armando and the melancholy of creation). The exhibition explained the sources of inspiration for Armando’s art. His childhood during World War II. This period serves as the source for his work. Even until today, traces hereof can be found in his entire oeuvre.
Raffael Rheinsberg, a fellow artist and friend of Armando, made an impressive work of art ‘Schwarzes Wasser’/ ‘Black Water’ from what remained of the Elleboog Church destroyed by the fire. The installation was on view from 18 November 2008 to 3 May 2009 in the Armando Museum Bureau and was subsequently shown in other museums abroad.

• 2010

In addition to living in Amstelveen, Armando lived and worked in Potsdam, Germany part-time.
Armando donated one of his early paintings as well as drawings to the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. The museum also acquired a small sculpture and commissioned the casting of a large sculpture. This latter work, Melancholie (Melancholy), was consigned in the course of 2011 and placed in the sculpture garden. In 2014, the museum will organize an exhibition displaying all the work by Armando owned by the museum.
A new edition of Armando De Stilte/The Silence. The publication with lithographs and poems in two languages was presented on 17 February 2011 in Passo Porto in Brussels, Belgium. The new collection of poems ‘Ze kwamen’ (They came) was published by the Augustus publishing house.

• 2011

On 13 February, the exhibition ‘Aantekeningen over het verleden’ (Notes on the past) was opened. The exhibition displayed work by Armando in addition to photographs of the countryside surrounding Camp Amersfoort, war photographs and postcards as well as photographs by the Israeli photographer Reli Avrahami.

Biennale Revisited Exhibition. Simultaneously with the Venice Biennale 2011, the Armando Museum Bureau displayed a reconstruction of Armando’s exhibition during the Venice Biennale 1984. With the exception of one painting, all the paintings shown at the time were displayed thanks to the willingness of national and international lenders. Furthermore, the exhibition had an almost identical layout. 
At the exhibition Het ontembare vuur (The untamable fire), Armando displayed his vases, bowls and tiles for the first time at the Princessehof Ceramics Museum in Leeuwarden from 10 December 2010 to 3 April 2011. In 2004, Armando first experimented with ceramics in the form of dishes and platters. After a visit to the Princessehof, he was inspired, among other, by Art Nouveau vases. The entire creation process of the vases has been recorded in the film Armando's vuur (Armando’s fire) by Halbe Piter Claus in cooperation with Omrop Fryslân (broadcasting station of Friesland).

Armando won the VSB Poetry Prize 2011. He was awarded the annual prize for Dutch poetry for his collection of poems Gedichten 2009 (Poems 2009). Armando received a cash prize of EUR 25,000 and a glass work of art by artist Maria Roosen.

In organizing the exhibition “Nul = 0” Nederlandse avant-garde in een internationale context 1961-1966 (“zero=0” Dutch avant-gardism in an international context 1961-1966), the Municipal Museum of Schiedam displayed Dutch Nul movement artists Armando, Jan Hendrikse, Henk Peeters, Jan Schoonhoven and Herman de Vries for the first time in relation to artists from the German Zero, the French Nouveau Réalisme, the Italian Azimuth and the Japanese Gutai movements.
The municipality of Amersfoort announced arts and culture cuts. Two of the four museums would possibly have to close their doors. The announcement of substantial municipal cutbacks and the postponement of the tender to rebuild the Elleboog Church meant that the future of the museum in a rebuilt Elleboog Church became a point of serious discussion. The Armando Museum did not await the decision and sought alternative ways to avoid closure. Interest was shown in the Oud-Amelisweerd estate in the outer ring of Utrecht. In 2010, the municipality of Utrecht decided to open the estate to the public and to look for a museum to be housed here.
The intention to open the estate to the public as a museum coincided with the need to find a location for the Armando Collection outside Amersfoort. The establishment of Museum Oud-Amelisweerd creates a new and inspirational cultural destination with a top artistic program.

The Armando Museum in Amersfoort closed on 28 November 2011. Although the museum is no longer open to the public, the organization can still be contacted during office hours on +31 (0)33-4614088 or via info@armandomuseum.nl

• 2012

As of 22 June 2012, MOA (Museum Oud-Amelisweerd) became reality. The city council of Utrecht approved it by a majority on 21 June 2012. It is expected that MOA will open its doors in 2013, but in September 2012 a first event will be held. In addition to exhibitions focused on Armando’s work, beautiful hand-painted 18th century Chinese wallpaper can also be admired in the house.