The Van Gogh Museum (Dutch pronunciation: [vɑn ɣɔx myˈzeɪʏm]) is an art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, dedicated to the works of the Dutch painterVincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world. The museum had 1,600,300 visitors in 2011. It is the most visited museum in the Netherlands and the 23rd most visited art museum worldwide.
History
Upon Vincent van Gogh's death in 1890, his work not sold fell into the possession of his brother Theo. Theo died six months after Vincent, leaving the work in the possession of his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger.[5] Selling many of Vincent's paintings with the ambition of spreading knowledge of his artwork, Johanna maintained a private collection of his works.
The collection was inherited by her son Vincent Willem van Gogh in 1925, eventually loaned to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam where it displayed for many years, and was transferred to the state-initiated Vincent van Gogh Foundation in 1962.[5]
Design for a Van Gogh Museum was commissioned by the Dutch government in 1963 to Dutch architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld.[6] Rietveld died a year later, and the building was not completed until 1973,[7] when the museum opened its doors.[8]
In 1998 and 1999, the building was renovated by the Dutch architect Martien van Goor[9] and an exhibition wing by the Japanese modernist architect Kisho Kurokawa was added.[10]
Starting in the fall of 2012, the museum will be closed for renovations for six months. During this period, 75 works from the collection will be shown in the Hermitage Amsterdam.[11]
Art thefts
In 1991, twenty paintings were stolen from the museum, among them Van Gogh's early painting The Potato Eaters. Although the thieves escaped from the building, 35 minutes later all stolen paintings were recovered from an abandoned car. Three paintings – Wheatfield with Crows, Still Life with Bible, and Still Life with Fruit – were severely torn during the theft.[12] Four men, including two museum guards, were convicted for the theft to six or seven-year sentences.[13] It is considered to be the largest art theft in the Netherlands since the Second World War.[14]
In 2002, two paintings were stolen from the museum, Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen and View of the Sea at Scheveningen.[15] Two Dutchmen were convicted for the theft to four-and-a-half-year sentences, but the paintings were never recovered.[16][17] The museum has offered a reward of €100,000 for information that leads to the recovery of the paintings.[18] The FBI Art Crime Team has listed the robbery on their Top Ten Art Crimes list, and estimates the combined value of the paintings at 30 million US dollars.[19]
Buildings
The museum is situated at the Museumplein in Amsterdam-Zuid, on the Paulus Potterstraat 7, between the Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum.[20]
The museum consists of two buildings, the Rietveld building, designed by Gerrit Rietveld, and the Kurokawa wing, designed by Kisho Kurokawa.[21]
The Rietveld building is the main structure of the museum and exhibits the permanent collection. The building has a rectangular floor plan and is four stories high. On the ground floor are a shop, a café, and the introductory part of the art exhibition. The first floor shows the works of Van Gogh grouped chronologically. The second floor gives information about the restoration of paintings and has a space for minor temporary exhibitions. The third floor shows paintings of Van Gogh's contemporaries in relationship to the work of Van Gogh himself.[22]
The Kurokawa wing is used for major temporary exhibitions. The building has an oval floor plan and is three stories high. The entrance to the Kurokawa wing is via an underground tunnel from the Rietveld building.[22][23]
The museum offices are housed on Stadhouderskade 55 in Amsterdam-Zuid.[20]
Visitor numbers
The museum had 1,429,854 visitors in 2010[1] and 1,600,300 visitors in 2011,[2] which makes it the most visited museum in the Netherlands (2010–2011)[24][25] and the 23rd most visited art museum in the world (2010).[26]
References
1. ^ a b c Numbers of Visitors. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2012-03-20.
2. ^ a b 1.6 million visitors: The Van Gogh Museum ends 2011 very successfully. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2011-01-26.
3. ^ a b Annual Report 2009. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2010-12-23.
4. ^ a b Visitor information. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2010-12-23.
5. ^ a b Van Gogh's Van Goghs: The Van Gogh Museum, National Gallery of Art, retrieved 2011-04-23
6. ^ The Van Gogh Museum In Amsterdam Hosts Our Editor ~ The World's Largest Collection of Van Gogh’s Artwork, Art Knowledge News, retrieved 2011-04-23
7. ^ Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, SFMOMA, retrieved 2011-04-23
8. ^ The Organization. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2012-01-30.
9. ^ The museum's architecture in overview. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2012-02-06.
10. ^ New Wing of the Van Gogh Museum, Kisho Kurokawa architect & associates, 2006, retrieved 2011-04-23
11. ^ Dan Saltzstein, "Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum to Close for Renovations", New York Times, 2011. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
12. ^ Paul L. Montgomery, "Lost and Found: Huge van Gogh Theft Fails", New York Times, 1991. Retrieved on 2012-01-31.
13. ^ (Dutch) "Rovers Van Gogh in hoger beroep forser gestraft", Trouw, 1992. Retrieved on 2012-02-24.
14. ^ (Dutch) "Diefstal Van Goghs grootste kunstroof in Nederland" (subscribers only), NRC Handelsblad, 1991. Retrieved on 2012-02-24.
15. ^ "Two van Gogh Works Are Stolen in Amsterdam", New York Times, 2002. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
16. ^ Lawrence Van Gelder, "Jail for Van Gogh Thieves", New York Times, 2004. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
17. ^ (Dutch) "Ook bij hof veroordeling van rovers", de Volkskrant, 2005. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
18. ^ Van Gogh Museum offers reward for information about theft of paintings (press release), Van Gogh Museum, 2003. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
19. ^ Van Gogh Museum Robbery, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved on 2012-02-23.
20. ^ a b Contact. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2012-02-03.
21. ^ The museum's architecture in overview. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
22. ^ a b (Dutch) Informatie (Dutch visitor's brochure, February 2012). Van Gogh Museum.
23. ^ The layout. Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 2012-02-05.
24. ^ (Dutch) Top 55 Museumbezoek 2010. Nederlandse Museumvereniging. Retrieved on 2012-02-03.
25. ^ (Dutch) Top 55 Museumbezoek 2011. Nederlandse Museumvereniging. Retrieved on 2012-02-03.
26. ^ Exhibition & museum attendance figures 2010. The Art Newspaper. Retrieved on 2012-02-03.
