'In the depot, unlike in a museum, no one will choose what you get to see. It is not edited.’
Christel van Hees.
Hidden treasures
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s collection comprises more than 154,000 objects, of which only 8% are on display. In this column members of the museum’s staff select objects from the remaining 92 per cent that is currently in storage. Here is the selection of Christel van Hees, head of the Conservation and restoration department.
Interrelations
What I find so wonderful about Boijmans’ collection is that we have so many objects from different disciplines that you can draw connections between. We have old masters, contemporary art, classic modern art, prints and drawings, and collections of applied arts and design. And we also look after the city art collection. The collection is not only diverse but is also of world-class quality.
I’m not such a fan of the term ‘highlights’. In principle, any work can be a highlight if it has an interesting story behind it. ‘The Tower of Babel’ by Pieter Bruegel and the works of Hieronymus Bosch and the Surrealists are of course justifiably seen as Boijmans’ icons. But I think it’s important to stress that we have a lot more than what can be seen. The museum does not only make exhibitions, it also carries out conservation and restoration work and conducts research into the objects.
Tubular-steel chairs
Our visitors really enjoy the collection of industrial design because the objects are so familiar. Take, for example, our collection of chairs, including designs by J.J.P. Oud, Gerrit Rietveld, Willem Hendrik Gispen and Marcel Breuer. But this familiarity and the fact that they are mostly household objects make them a vulnerable category. A tubular-steel chair, which we prefer to display openly in the gallery, is at greater risk than our Bruegel. People recognise these chairs and want to touch them or even sit on them. And, of course, these chairs were designed to be used, but if a hundred people touch the armrest each day, by the end of the year there will be a bald spot. Not many people are aware of the fragility of these kinds of objects, but for the museum it is very important to be aware of these issues for the objects’ long-term preservation. We face similar issues with regards to the deterioration of plastics. The work of the Conservation and restoration department involves not only active processes, such as the current restoration of Ferdinand Bol’s painting ‘Otto van der Waeyen in Polish Costume’. It also involves passive conservation; responsible management and limiting risk to objects during handling and transportation.
Ten paintings by Karel Appel
Occasionally we display one of Karel Appel’s works, but we have many more in the collection. The same is true of Francis Picabia, whom we have seven works by. The wonderful thing about the depot is that visitors will soon be able to see the entire collection of paintings by Appel or Picabia. In the depot, unlike in a museum, no one will choose what you get to see. It is not edited.
Karel Appel, painting, 1951.
Signature machine
Confirming and expanding knowledge can also be seen as a form of conservation. We recently had a loan request for the ‘Signature Machine’ by Helena and Axel van der Kraan. We assessed that the object was not working properly. The modern and contemporary art restorer examined the object together with the artists. The roll of paper on which the signature is written was skewed and the pen held by the artificial hand had broken off. Because the pen needed to be replaced, we wanted to know from the artists what choices to make. Should it be a blue pen? And what character should the pen have? Wherever possible we try to consult the artists in order to understand the essence of their work so that we can make the best possible decisions when conserving or restoring their works. We document their input so that it is available to future generations.
Helena en Axel van der Kraan, Signature Machine, 1977.Depot Journal
This article has been published before in Depot Journal #1 which is part of a series of six. If you would like to receive all the printed Depot journals by post, please send an email to info@boijmans.nl with your full name and address, reference ‘receive Depot Journals’.