AMSTERDAM.- The world-leading museum, the
Rijksmuseum, today announced a year of outstanding achievements in 2016 across a number of different areas. Highlights include: • The most valuable acquisition by European museums ever: the two Rembrandt portraits, Marten & Oopjen purchased jointly by the Netherlands and France for €160 million, the first time that two countries have jointly acquired a work of art for their public collections. The masterpieces are now jointly owned by the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre and will be seen by visitors to the two museums in turn. • The appointment of Taco Dibbits (47) as the new General Director of the Rijksmuseum (from 1 July 2016). • 2.2 million visitors in 2016 including more than 300,000 children. • RIJKS®, the Rijksmuseum restaurant led by chef Joris Bijdendijk, was awarded a Michelin star (12 December 2016). • 40,000 tulip bulbs were planted this spring in the Rijksmuseum Gardens. • The summer exhibition with sculptures by Giuseppe Penone in the Rijksmuseum Gardens was extremely successful.
The world-leading museum, the
Rijksmuseum, today announced a year of outstanding achievements in 2016 across a number of different areas. Highlights include:
• The most valuable acquisition by European museums ever: the two Rembrandt portraits, Marten & Oopjen purchased jointly by the Netherlands and France for €160 million, the first time that two countries have jointly acquired a work of art for their public collections. The masterpieces are now jointly owned by the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre and will be seen by visitors to the two museums in turn.
• The appointment of Taco Dibbits (47) as the new General Director of the Rijksmuseum (from 1 July 2016).
• 2.2 million visitors in 2016 including more than 300,000 children.
• RIJKS®, the Rijksmuseum restaurant led by chef Joris Bijdendijk, was awarded a Michelin star (12 December 2016).
• 40,000 tulip bulbs were planted this spring in the Rijksmuseum Gardens.
• The summer exhibition with sculptures by Giuseppe Penone in the Rijksmuseum Gardens was extremely successful.
• Successful exhibitions including: Anish Kapoor & Rembrandt; Giuseppe Penone Sculptures in the Rijksmuseum Gardens; Arita Porcelain Today; The Last Judgement by Lucas van Leyden; Breitner: Girl in Kimono; Catwalk; Adriaen van de Velde; Marten & Oopjen by Rembrandt; Hercules Segers; Frans Post: Animals in Brazil
• Building Projects: In 2016 the Delft-based architects, cepezed were selected to design CC NL - a new storage facility for four national collections under the Rijksmuseum's management. Netherlands Collection Centre (CC NL) will be built in the heart of the Netherlands. With a total surface area of 30,000m2, the building will house 675,000 objects. It will provide an invaluable resource for the study of the development of Dutch Art and Culture. Scheduled to be operational from 2020.
Major academic achievements:
• 6 new paintings by the 17th century master Hercules Segers were added to his total oeuvre of 12 works thanks to extensive research by a team of specialists from the Rijksmuseum for the exhibition Hercules Segers (until 8 January 2018).
• 34 completely unknown drawings by Frans Post (1612-1680) were discovered by the Noord-Hollands Archive, Haarlem and shown on the Rijksmuseum exhibition Frans Post (7 October 2016 - 8 January 2017).
• Under the auspices of the Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Arts and Sciences (NICAS), the Rijksmuseum signed agreements with The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles to promote innovative scientific research into the conservation and restoration of works of art.
Digital: The Rijksmuseum's digital strategy continues to be at the forefront of work in this area. It was awarded Digital Museum of the Year 2016 in the Leading Cultural Destination Awards. With 365,000 objects online, the museum strives to offer the world the highest quality images for free. The museum website has had over 6.5 million views.
New Sponsorships and Donations: The Rijksmuseum added new sponsorships including Fedex, JCDecaux, Royal Talens and Friesland Campina, bringing the total to 20 companies amongst whom Founder Philips and (main) sponsors ING, KPN and Heineken. New private donations to the Rijksmuseum Fonds, which now manages 143 Registered Funds, intended for acquisitions, research and education.
Taco Dibbits, General Director of the Rijksmuseum, said: "The past year has been one of exceptional achievement for the museum which has become a Dutch icon. It's wonderful to see that since its opening the museum has acquired a prominent place in the hearts of so many people. For such a small country, it is astonishing that the museum attracted 2.2 million visitors, and our programme of exhibitions, international loans, academic research, education and digital strategy contributes to this success. Everyone involved with the museum, from our visitors, funders, supporters and members of our staff deserves to be exceptionally proud of this achievement."
