Van Gogh Museum Journal 1995

[p. 6]

Director's Foreword

The Van Gogh Museum shortly after its opening in 1973

For those of us who experienced the foundation of the Van Gogh Museum at first hand, it may come as a shock to discover that over 20 years have passed since Her Majesty Queen Juliana officially opened the Museum on 2 June 1973. For a younger generation, it is perhaps surprising to discover that the institution is in fact so young. Indeed, it is remarkable that in such a short period of time the Museum has been able to create its own specific niche in both the Dutch and international art worlds.

This first issue of the Van Gogh Museum Journal marks the passage of the Rijksmuseum (National Museum) Vincent van Gogh to its new status as Stichting Van Gogh Museum (Foundation Van Gogh Museum). The publication is designed to both report on the Museum's activities and, more particularly, to be a motor and repository for the scholarship on the work of Van Gogh and aspects of the permanent collection in broader context. Besides articles on individual works or groups of objects from both the Van Gogh Museum's collection and the collection of the Museum Mesdag, the Journal will publish the acquisitions of the previous year. Scholars not only from the Museum but from all over the world are and will be invited to submit their contributions.

This volume of the Journal is, in many ways, retrospective. The transition from state museum to independent foundation offers the opportunity to look back over the achievements of the first decades. It is no secret that the Van Gogh Museum had a rough start: unclarity about policy, exhibitions, and interpersonal conflicts all led to a general feeling that the institution was a kind of ill-behaved child. The difficulties of these early years have, however, been resolved, and the Van Gogh Museum is now flourishing. The proof lies not only in the astounding number of visitors, but also in the widespread recognition for recent exhibitions and, last but not least, in the breadth and quality of newer publications.

[p. 7]

Because of its partially historical nature, the Van Gogh Museum Journal for 1995 contains several articles pertaining to the foundation and early years, collected under the heading ‘The Museum in Perspective.’ The Introduction reviews the development of the Museum's acquisitions and exhibition policy, while the article by Gerard van Bronkhorst recounts the Museum's prehistory and the special role of Dr Vincent Willem van Gogh. The formation of the library - an absolute necessity for any truly functional research centre - is also examined. The heart of this issue of the Journal is also retrospective in character: the catalogue of acquisitions made by the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh - that is, all paintings purchased or donated since the Vincent van Gogh Foundation was established in 1962. It is an interim publication, forming the basis for a complete catalogue of the collection. The following issues of the Journal will include similar catalogues of the collections of drawings, prints, and sculptures.

‘Van Gogh Studies,’ a recurring rubric in the Journal, examines the works of Vincent Van Gogh - not only those executed with a paintbrush - from various perspectives. In ‘Acquisitions in Context,’ again a category to be repeated, the authors look closely at a selection of the Museum's more important recent acquisitions.

Much interesting work in art history today is brought to the attention of both specialists and the general public through the medium of exhibition catalogues. The facts and ideas presented often expand on more specialised publications, and it is in this context that the Van Gogh Museum Journal should be seen. The proper channels for the spread of knowledge about the various facets of museum collections are often lacking. Museums should thus actively seek ways to bring their works to the attention of scholars apart from the vehicle of the exhibition catalogue, and to give an impulse to research into them. Without such an outlet, much of what we know about the objects we protect is doomed to a fruitless existence in the archives or to remain untapped in the heads of curators.

This publication is definitely object-oriented. Only when a work has become the subject of serious investigation does it truly become part of the history of art. It is our ambition, then, that with the works of art presented here a contribution can be made which goes beyond the specific context of the Van Gogh Museum. It is also hoped that until a more general publication for the art-historical studies of the 19th century is created the Journal can help fill the gap. This first volume consists mainly of contributions by the staff of the Van Gogh Museum. We hope that in the future the Journal will become an international forum for broad and in-depth research into the collection, and are thus counting especially on our readers' participation.

Ronald de Leeuw

Director