Since the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century, much has been written, discussed, and critiqued about the role art will or already occupies within society. Arguably, the...Show moreSince the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century, much has been written, discussed, and critiqued about the role art will or already occupies within society. Arguably, the most significant novelty of that time were the reproductions that, for the first time in history, had the power to spread the artwork to a broader audience on a massive scale. The art objects that used to be sacred now had their likenesses printed in magazines and advertised for more people to see. Artworks reserved for the elites could now be seen even by the poorest layers of Western societies, which was unimaginable just a couple of decades before. Currently, in the third decade of the 21st century, we live in a world that has been severely affected not only by the Industrial Revolution but also by the Digital Revolution that emerged in the late half of the 20th century. If the Industrial Revolution allowed the artworks to be mass-produced physically, then the Digital Revolution, along with its algorithms, allows the artworks, stories, and narratives to be mass-produced digitally. Inevitably changing our perception of art as viewers. This thesis examines the effect that large digital reproductions have on the original artwork and the extent to which they shift the aura and valuations of the original. Furthermore, it will be suggested that large digital reproductions significantly change our perception and interactions with the original art. They allow us to see the original more clearly, have the power to transmit its image within society, as well as question the existence of the artwork’s position within its designated space.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to understand the dynamics of the commissioning of public artworks and the role that the municipality of The Hague, Stroom and the citizens play in the process. Through...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to understand the dynamics of the commissioning of public artworks and the role that the municipality of The Hague, Stroom and the citizens play in the process. Through the research on three public artworks in the public space of The Hague, the extent to which civic participation plays a role in public art projects will be discussed. The three public artworks that are discussed in this thesis are The Player by Folkert de Jong for the Koningsplein, Ling Zhi Helicopters by Huang Yong Ping for the city district of Leidschenveen-Ypenburg and the to be realized Commemorative Monument to (the abolishment of) slavery. Additionally, interviews with involved parties and themes such as political policies and theories on civic participation will demonstrate to what extent civic participation plays a role in the process of creating a public artwork in the public space.Show less
Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) occupied the seat of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1507 to 1515 and again from 1519 until her death in 1530. As the first female regent of the Netherlands, Margaret...Show moreMargaret of Austria (1480-1530) occupied the seat of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1507 to 1515 and again from 1519 until her death in 1530. As the first female regent of the Netherlands, Margaret has contributed to the history of politics and governance as well as the history of Early Modern female patronage. Her portrait collection, consisting of over eighty depictions of her family members, ancestors, and political allies, was the largest collection in the Netherlands at the time. Over thirty of these were displayed in her library and official portrait gallery, the most public areas of her palace in Mechelen. Renaissance portraiture has been studied extensively in terms of its ability to represent princely power and magnificence, in particular the role of the genealogical Ahnengalerie as a tool for propaganda. This thesis examines thirteen portraits from Margaret’s collection and aims to explore how her collection was used to construct a specific public image, one that promoted the legitimacy of her rule as the first female regent of the Netherlands. Specifically, how her collection expressed her authority as regent in light of the laws and beliefs surrounding women in Early Modern Europe. The findings demonstrate that Margaret’s collection was instrumental in constructing a narrative that illustrated, visually, her claim to the regency. By emphasising her Burgundian heritage, her extensive political network, and her advantage as a natural-born ruler, Margaret’s portrait collection aided in established her as a legitimate candidate for the role.Show less
This thesis questions the representation of the Dutch West- and East-Indies slavery pasts in current museum exhibitions. What is on display? Whose stories are told? Whose voices are silenced? Which...Show moreThis thesis questions the representation of the Dutch West- and East-Indies slavery pasts in current museum exhibitions. What is on display? Whose stories are told? Whose voices are silenced? Which sources could be added to create more critical and multi-perspective museum narratives?Show less
The display and curation of Islamic art is complex, as Islam is a multi-faceted culture and religion which requires layered and nuanced art historical analysis. The research done in this thesis...Show moreThe display and curation of Islamic art is complex, as Islam is a multi-faceted culture and religion which requires layered and nuanced art historical analysis. The research done in this thesis will begin to unpack why it is difficult to curate Islamic art, how it has been done both successfully and unsuccessfully in the past, and how it might be done in the future. The question revolves around the proposed idea that geopolitical context has a lasting and impactful influence on museum curation, and that museums must be considered within their geopolitical context in order to understand why objects have been curated in a particular way. The first chapter will explore the issues surrounding the curation of Islamic art, and how the secular and religious being so often conflated affects visitor perceptions of the objects, especially religious objects. The second chapter uses this analysis to explore the effect of imperial legacies on European museums and their curation of Islamic art and objects, highlighting how the context must be faced up to in order to ensure helpful curation. The third chapter looks to Turkey, and how the political, religious and cultural landscapes are intertwined, exploring how museums and curation are often used as part of political policy. Islamic art and objects, both religious and secular, are fascinating and form part of a culture which deserves to be curated in a way that dismantles tropes and stereotypes, whilst allowing the religious and secular elements of the culture to be effectively highlighted.Show less
Een kritische diversiteitsbenadering van het examenonderwerp “De burgerlijke cultuur van Nederland in de 17e eeuw” van kunst (algemeen) aan de hand van academische publicaties, een analyse van de...Show moreEen kritische diversiteitsbenadering van het examenonderwerp “De burgerlijke cultuur van Nederland in de 17e eeuw” van kunst (algemeen) aan de hand van academische publicaties, een analyse van de instructiemethodes voor het vak en een museale case study, het Frans Hals Museum.Show less
This thesis explores the recent success of the severely under-analysed notion of transhistoricity in contemporary curatorial practice. Up until now, the phenomenon was characterized as either a...Show moreThis thesis explores the recent success of the severely under-analysed notion of transhistoricity in contemporary curatorial practice. Up until now, the phenomenon was characterized as either a clever marketing strategy or a substantial ideology-critical instrument. In this thesis, both perspectives are highlighted in order to clarify the notion of contemporary transhistorical curating and to extend and enrich the existing academic discourse on this notion. This thesis can be seen as a first attempt to distinguish the ways in which the concept is used and to make explicit what needs the concept meets.Show less
Botany saw numerous publications in Europe during the 16th – 17th centuries, most of which contained illustrations. Another visual aspect of these books which has received less study is the...Show moreBotany saw numerous publications in Europe during the 16th – 17th centuries, most of which contained illustrations. Another visual aspect of these books which has received less study is the frontispiece. This essay provides a case study on the two frontispieces for the English work known as "The Herball" (1597, 1633). This study investigates the visual thinking of early modern Europe and the relationship between art and science during this period. The central question to be answered during this research is: What can the 1597 and 1633 frontispieces for John Gerard’s "The Herball" tell us about the visual understanding of botany in the late 16th and early 17th century England?Show less
Since the middle of the 19th century a dialogue between dance and the museum has been developed, as different types of dance performances have been introduced to the museum space. Τhe research...Show moreSince the middle of the 19th century a dialogue between dance and the museum has been developed, as different types of dance performances have been introduced to the museum space. Τhe research topic of this Master’s thesis focuses on dance interventions that intend to involve the visitors’ bodies physically in the appreciation of art and deals with how dance could enhance the visitors’ journey through the rooms of the museum/gallery space introducing new ways of engagement to the exhibits.Show less
Museums are institutions whose roles have been changing constantly throughout the history of their existence. Nowadays, their social role receives an increased importance, as museums are officially...Show moreMuseums are institutions whose roles have been changing constantly throughout the history of their existence. Nowadays, their social role receives an increased importance, as museums are officially recognised as institutions of social service by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The purpose of the present thesis is to examine the museum’s social role in the case of the Syrian refugee crisis by identifying ways that museums as institutions can contribute to its relief. In order to approach this topic, a correlation is drawn between museums and Development NGOs, as the latter have a well-established presence in the provision of social work. Therefore, as a secondary purpose, this thesis compares and contrasts these two types of organisations, identifies similarities and seeks aspects of NGOs that museums can learn from in order to enhance their efficiency in assisting in times of humanitarian crisis, like the in Syrian refugee one.Show less
The present thesis seeks to analyze the specific issues emerging from the transition of a private collection into the public realms of the museum, exemplified by a specific exhibition. "For Your...Show moreThe present thesis seeks to analyze the specific issues emerging from the transition of a private collection into the public realms of the museum, exemplified by a specific exhibition. "For Your Eyes Only. A Private Collection between Mannerism and Surrealism" has displayed Richard and Ulla Dreyfus-Best’s private collection for the general public at the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation in Venice and the Kunstmuseum Basel as a travelling exhibition in 2014. The interaction between ‘private’ and ‘public’ has been a central aspect when examining the origins of the museum. Although these interrelations have been academically acknowledged in a historical context and in connection with the alleged “boom” of personal-collection museums, the curatorial standpoint of this transition has been fairly neglected. Moreover, neither the Dreyfus-Best collection, nor its public display has been thorogouly investigated. Thus, new insights beyond the object’s textual and formal connections haven’t been published so far. The following research intends to outlines the underlying structures of the collection’s transition from the private into the public realm of the Kunstmuseum Basel. The main research objective is thus to unfold the ways of curatorial reinterpretation in order to understand how a private collection is made understandable and intellectually accessible for the public by means of particular structures and concepts of order. The Dreyfus-Best collection’s similarities to a Renaissance Wunderkammer will be used as starting point to question whether similar structures were implemented in the curatorial concept of the exhibition at the Kunstmuseum. Furthermore, Michel Foucault’s account on the ‘Renaissance episteme’ will be examined, in order to propose a certain applicability of these ordering principles to the basic structure of the museum-exhibition.Show less
Het doel van deze scriptie is om inzicht te krijgen in het gebruik van het concept van het Gesamtkunstwerk als presentatiemodel in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Dit is aan de hand van het...Show moreHet doel van deze scriptie is om inzicht te krijgen in het gebruik van het concept van het Gesamtkunstwerk als presentatiemodel in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Dit is aan de hand van het museumgebouw, de collectie, de visie van de museumdirecteur en de collectiepresentaties In scène gezet en Magritte ontmoet de collectie onderzocht. Met een museumdirecteur die het Gesamtkunstwerk een goed voorbeeld vindt van waar je als museum naar zou kunnen streven, is het niet verwonderlijk dat naast een aanzet hiertoe in de huidige tentoonstellingspraktijk we dit ook terugzien in de toekomstplannen van het museum. Het Gesamtkunstwerk is geen eenduidig of vastgesteld concept, maar eerder een evoluerend concept. Met de theorie van Richard Wagner (1813-1883) als uitgangspunt is het concept uitgewerkt tot een model dat ook toegepast kan worden op museumpresentaties. De scenografische tentoonstelling is een van de belangrijke recente ontwikkelingen binnen musea. Het creëert een multidisciplinaire enscenering dat meer op het proces dan het eindproduct is gericht en die wordt ervaren als een totaalervaring. Scenografie heeft veel overeenkomsten met het Gesamtkunstwerk en lijkt een zeer doeltreffende methode voor het benaderen van het Gesamtkunstwerk in de tentoonstellingspraktijk.Show less
Onzekere tijden, veroorzaakt door de wereldwijde kredietcrisis die uitbrak in 2008 en daardoor verschuivende motieven voor het verantwoorden door bedrijven van hun kunstcollecties, zorgen ervoor...Show moreOnzekere tijden, veroorzaakt door de wereldwijde kredietcrisis die uitbrak in 2008 en daardoor verschuivende motieven voor het verantwoorden door bedrijven van hun kunstcollecties, zorgen ervoor dat deze collecties aan veranderingen onderhevig zijn en onderwerp voor debat kunnen bieden. De crisis had impact op veel bedrijven, waarbij vooral de reputatie van de commerciele banken het moest bekopen. Hierdoor zijn mogelijke motieven, doelen en verantwoordingen voor de kunstcollecties herzien. Door inzicht te bieden in bestaande motieven, doelen en verantwoordingen voor bedrijfscollecties en de ontwikkelingen daarvan door de jaren heen, beoog ik met mijn onderzoek een uitvoerig beeld te schetsen van kunstcollecties van Nederlandse banken en de wijze waarop die zich vandaag de dag (moeten) verantwoorden.Show less
