Director's foreword
The opening of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris in 1986 rekindled a long-running debate here in the Netherlands about the desirability of founding an equivalent Dutch museum for the 19th century. Various arguments for and against were aired in the press and in scholarly journals. The level of interest was such that in 1989 the University of Amsterdam organised a symposium entitled ‘The Dutch museum of the 19th century: utopian dream or reality?’ There was discussion about the exact period the new museum might cover, and whether or not it should be confined to the fine arts or should include the decorative arts and architecture as well. Different sites were proposed - in The Hague and in Amsterdam - and it was suggested that the collections of various museums, including the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk and the Museum Mesdag, could be pooled to create this new institution. These discussions were not just fuelled by intellectual curiosity. There were real practical concerns about the inadequate display of 19th-century art in the Netherlands. At the time this period was not a priority for either of the two main art museums in Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk, although both could boast important holdings in the area. Many works were said to be hidden in the depots, and there was certainly no clear logic to the distribution and display of the works of art from this period.
The debate was fervent and coloured with idealism, but in truth there was no real prospect of creating a grand new museum of the 19th century along the lines of the Musée d'Orsay. In an interview in 1988, the minister of culture, Elko Brinkman had made government's position clear: ‘A new museum for the 19th century [...] is not a priority. It may not be spectacular, but we are going to have to enter the new century with what we have. I am not on the look out for any grands travaux [...].’
As we slip into the new millennium, it is clear that we are not only managing with what we have, but managing very well indeed. Across the country, the display of 19th-century art has improved dramatically in the past decade or so. The renovation and new installations in a range of museums - for example, the Gemeentemuseum and the Museum Mesdag in The Hague - allow the art of the 1800s to be appreciated in different settings and stimulating contexts. And here on the Museumplein in Amsterdam the new division of responsibility between the collections of the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk, which we reported on in last year's Journal, makes sensible use of the national collections. The reopening of the expanded Van Gogh Museum in 1999 confirmed our position as the foremost museum of the 19th century in the Netherlands. The Dutch museum of the 19th century may have taken on a different form than some people envisaged in the late 1980s, but there can be little doubt that it now has a vibrant existence.
The acquisitions, the research and the exhibitions reported on in this volume of the Van Gogh Museum Journal are evidence of our effort to promote the knowledge and awareness of the art of the 19th century in general and Van Gogh in particular. Although the holdings of our museum provide the starting point, the Journal is open to contributions that touch on all aspects of our area of interest. This year the Journal is largely devoted to the papers presented at a symposium held here in July 1999, to accompany the Theo van Gogh exhibition. I am very grateful to the speakers for reworking their papers for publication and to all the authors for their distinguished contributions. As with previous volumes, the Journal has benefited greatly from the skilful attention and care of our managing editor, Rachel Esner. I am also grateful to our new Head of Research, Leo Jansen, and to Sjraar van Heugten, Head of Collections, for their work on the editorial board, and to Benno Tempel for gathering the material for reproductions. Finally, I would repeat my previous invitation to outside authors for contributions to future issues of the Van Gogh Museum Journal. Your comments and proposals are most welcome.
John Leighton
Director
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