Opening the book on Hague's Painters of the Golden Age
Being born and bred in The Hague we could hardly let the city's 750th anniversary pass by without some contribution on our part. So what could be more natural for dealers in 17th-century paintings in The Hague, than to compile a book about the artists who lived and worked here in the Golden Age? An excellent plan, but where to start? Who to do the research, who to manage the project and how to merge the individual sections into an interesting publication?
When we first suggested the idea, around two years ago, we invited our art-historical expert, Edwin Buijsen, to do some exploratory research into the Hague painters of the 17th century. To our surprise it transpired that hardly any publications on the subject existed. Moreover, there was no adequate survey of all the Hague masters. Yet there seemed to have been more than a hundred painters in The Hague at that time. So we resolved to take up the challenge and gave the project the go ahead.
Edwin Buijsen was asked to head the programme and with two of our assistants he started the research. He soon discovered that there was a vast amount of information. But processing the data would require far more manpower. It was therefore decided to appeal to the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie or RKD). And to our relief and joy director Rudi Ekkart responded enthusiastically to the challenge. He proposed a unique form of collaboration which would release six RKD researchers for the project.
As the research progressed, we gradually formed an idea of how we would present the information and in what context. Clearly, the final chapter of the book had to be an illustrated Index of all the 665 Hague artists that we had unearthed. Because the book was designed as an international reference work, it was decided that this part would be translated into English. The main section, the Gallery of Honour, would feature the 35 principal painters, with detailed descriptions and illustrations of some of their main works. Slowly but surely the background emerged: the history of The Hague; the lines along which art in The Hague had developed; how the painters organised themselves in guilds and what they got up to in their everyday lives. This was the setting against which the artists could now be seen, living and working. It forms the introduction to the book. All in all, besides providing a delightful account of the history of painting in The Hague, the book also serves as a compendium.
Halfway through the book we realised that we would have to present the art of The Hague in an exhibition. Naturally, we could have hosted this in our own gallery, as we have often done in the past. But The Hague's Painters was envisaged as a non-commercial show. Moreover, our neighbours, the Hague Historical Museum, seemed an ideal location for an exhibition on the history of Hague painting. The director and the curator of the museum responded eagerly to the idea of a guest exhibition and immediately agreed. As a result, more than 80 paintings by Hague Masters were assembled for a show in the Hague Historical Museum to run from 12 December 1998 to 7 March 1999.
For the RKD a welcome extra from the project was the accumulation of previously unknown facts about the artists of The Hague for the department's computer records. Until we provided the finance, lack of funds had precluded any such thorough research.
On the subject of finance, one other point. The Hague's Painters of the Golden Age is not a commercial venture. We set the project up as a showpiece for the company, as part of the massive celebrations to mark the 750th anniversary of The Hague. By sponsoring the book we hoped to make it accessible to a far wider audience. And we succeeded: bookshops are now able to stock the book for less than half the original price.
We have also undertaken the organisation and sponsorship of the exhibition. Naturally, this involved continual contact with the Hague Historical Museum and the RKD regarding the exhibits themselves. In close cooperation with the museum and the RKD we selected some 80 paintings for the exhibition. Most of these were from private collections. And in addition to around ten pieces from the Hague Historical Museum itself, we were also able to borrow works from seven other museums. Everyone helped marvellously. All those involved were conscious that for this exhibition it was now or never.
Both book and exhibition are worthwhile in themselves and stand on their own merit. Each amplifies the other, thereby enhancing our insight into the Golden Age. Moreover, both are designed to appeal to art historians, art lovers and enthusiasts from The Hague alike. Indeed, for academics, especially those based in The Hague, there's something extra: an RKD symposium on 22 February 1999 on the painters of The Hague in the 17th century. Taking the data gathered in the course of the research as a basis, art historians will discuss the various lacunae that still remain to be filled in the history of art in The Hague of the 17th century.
This project has been massive and the authors have worked above and beyond the call of duty. All of them - and especially Edwin Buijsen - have our deep admiration. Hopefully, the memory of the stress and the extra hours will quickly fade when they see the final result.
JH/WJH