MAASTRICHT.- The Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam are entering into an alliance for the period 2007- 2012 under the title Rijksmuseum Maastricht . Rijksmuseum Maastricht is a unique alliance for the museum world and aims to provide a platform for painting and sculpture created prior to 1625 in the Southern Netherlands, focussing on research, publication and exhibitions. The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is participating on the basis of its prestigious collection, and the Bonnefantenmuseum on the basis of location, space and specific sub-collections. Both museums will be providing a curator for the implementation of the collaboration. The agreement will be officially signed on 8 March 2007 by Ronald de Leeuw and Alexander van Grevenstein.

Exchanging collections - The Rijksmuseum will provide long-term loans, particularly in the areas of 16th and 17th-century painting and sculpture of the Southern Netherlands and the Early Italians, which are traditional areas of focus of the Bonnefantenmuseum. Within this, extra attention will also be given to various private collections, such as the former Otto Lanz Collection and the Willem Neutelings Collection.

Exchanging knowledge - The exchange of knowledge forms an important part of the collaboration. The doors of the two museums will be opened not only to the works of art, but also to the employees. There will be cooperation in many different areas. For instance, employees from Amsterdam will help to set up the exhibitions in Maastricht, knowledge will be exchanged in the areas of research and restoration, and cooperation will take place in the areas of publications, attracting the public and publicity.

The agreement also states that an exhibition from the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam will be put together at least once a year. This will concern special sub-collections, of which From Vulcan's Forge is a foretaste.

For the sake of a recognisable proposition, all the activities belonging to the alliance will be announced under the title of Rijksmuseum Maastricht . Both museums are of the opinion that this new collaborative model provides an exceptional answer to the issues of expansion and collection mobility.