Van Gogh Museum
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Photo: © Jan-Kees Steenman © Jan-Kees Photo: Van Gogh Museum Annual Report 2019 Van Gogh Museum Annual Report 2019 3 Appendices 59 Contents Organigram 2019 60 Overview of the organization 61 Financial statements 62 1 Report of the Board 5 Social annual report 66 Highlights of 2019 7 Acquisitions 68 Exhibitions 8 Gifts 71 Collection, research and conservation 12 Supporters 72 Acquisitions 13 Library 75 Public affairs and marketing 15 Research projects 76 Van Gogh Museum Enterprises 16 Museum publications 78 Organization 18 Conserved works 80 Partners 19 Overview of outgoing loans 82 Fundraising 19 Long-term loans to the Van Gogh Museum 90 Long-term loans by the Van Gogh Museum to other museums 92 2 Overview of 2019 21 Ancillary functions 93 Museum affairs 23 Lectures and other academic activities 95 Exhibitions 23 Publications by employees 98 Collection, research and conservation 28 Inclusivity 31 Accessibility 32 Programmes and activities 33 Acquisitions and loans 36 Collection information 37 The Mesdag Collection 38 Exhibitions 38 Culture by the Sea 40 New curator 40 Public affairs 41 Visitors – physical and online 41 Activities linked to exhibitions 42 Events and receptions 44 Activities outside the museum 44 Publications 45 Press 46 Van Gogh Europe 46 Supporters 46 Operations 50 Activities 50 Buildings 50 Security 51 ICT 51 Finance 52 Van Gogh Museum Enterprises 53 Licensing and wholesale 53 Buying and merchandise 54 E-commerce 54 Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience 54 Pop-up tour 55 The Works Council (WC) 57 1 Report of the Board 1884 - 1885. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation) Gogh Foundation) van (Vincent Gogh Museum, Amsterdam 1884 - 1885. Van , (detail) ‘The more I think about it the more I feel that there’s nothing more in Nuenen Church the Reformed Leaving Congregation genuinely artistic than to love people.’ Gogh, van Vincent Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, Arles 1888 Report of the Board Highlights of 2019 AWARDS 2019 The Van Gogh Museum (hereinafter: VGM) reflects on a successful 2019. We once again Van Gogh Museum: Dutch Interactive Awards, silver award in the Company of the Year category welcomed more than 2.1 million visitors from 110 different countries. Visitor satisfaction was higher than ever, and the museum has the most engaged online fan base of the entire Van Gogh Highlights project: Dutch Interactive Award, silver award in the Communities category international museum world. We made several notable acquisitions and teamed up with Van Gogh Highlights project: GLAMi Award, Marketing & Promotion category a new main partner. Van Gogh Highlights: the letters podcast: Dutch Podcast Awards for best Brand Story Early in the year, it was announced that Axel Rüger was to depart the VGM after 13 years as Unravel Van Gogh app: Red Dot Award Director. As of 1 June, he became Secretary and CEO at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. With Rüger at its helm, the VGM boomed on the domestic and international stages. In May, Unravel Van Gogh app: Webby Award, Apps, Mobile & Voice category Rüger was awarded the Silver Medal of the City of Amsterdam in recognition of his extra- Unravel Van Gogh app: European Design Award, gold award in the Digital category ordinary services to the city – an honour that gave additional lustre to his departure. In the interim period prior to the appointment of the new Director, Managing Director Junior Marketeer Mariam Mejdoubi: MediaBelofte 2020 Adriaan Dönszelmann took charge of the museum. In October, the Supervisory Board announced the appointment of Emilie Gordenker as new Director of the Van Gogh Museum from 1 February 2020. Gordenker had previously been Director of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 2008. In the years ahead, she will continue to build on the Van Gogh Museum’s successes, focusing on the balance between the artistic and commercial aspects, and the further diversification of the museum’s programming and visitors. Milou Halbesma, Director of the Public Affairs sector, departed the museum at the end of 2019. As of 1 February 2020, she became the new Director of the VandenEnde Foundation. Halbesma was Director of Public Affairs since 2013 and during her time at the museum, successfully raised awareness of the vital importance of accessibility. It was under her leadership that a new online ticketing system was introduced, making the infamous queues at the entrance to the museum a thing of the past. The museum was saddened to hear of the death of Johan van Gogh, aged 95, on 21 February 2019. He was the grandson of Vincent’s brother, the art dealer Theo van Gogh, and the oldest surviving descendent of the founder of the VGM, Vincent Willem van Gogh (‘the Engineer’). From 1984 to 1995, Johan van Gogh was Chairman of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation – which owns the works from the family collection. He played an important role in forging the unique relationship between the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and the VGM – an alliance that today remains as strong as ever. After reaching retirement age in December, Willem van Gogh decided to continue working for our museum in the years ahead as Advisor to the Board. In this role, Willem assists the museum by strengthening its national and international networks – for example, by repre- senting the Board at official events. He works closely with colleagues from Development and Museum Affairs to maintain relations with museum supporters, particularly major collectors and donors. Willem also assists Van Gogh Museum Enterprises, such as with the promotion of the Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience. Many colleagues know Willem from the staff guided tours, which he holds three times a year. Willem is a member of the Board of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, which owns the family collection at our museum. He is also a member of the Boards of United Way the Netherlands and Nihon no hanga, a Japanese print museum in Amsterdam. Willem is the eldest great-grandson of Vincent’s brother Theo. 7 Highlights of 2019 The Angelus in the Exhibitions exhibition Jean- François Millet: Sowing the Seeds of Hockney – Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature Modern Art David Hockney’s (b. 1937) world-famous Yorkshire landscapes went on display in the Nether- lands for the first time. The blockbuster exhibition Hockney – Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature (1 March – 26 May 2019) demonstrated the influence of Vincent van Gogh on Hockney’s work. One of the highlights of the exhibition was The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) (Centre Pompidou, Paris), consisting of 32 canvases and measuring 9.75 metres wide by 3.66 metres high. In March 2019, this monumental work was spectacularly brought to life in Arrival of Spring LIVE, an audiovisual performance during which an image of the artwork was projected onto the Museumplein side of the museum. The exhibition attract- ed nearly 360,000 visitors, of which 137,000 were Dutch, making it one of the most popular exhibitions ever at the Van Gogh Museum among Dutch visitors. All available tickets sold out more than two weeks before the exhibition closed. David Hockney being interviewed in the museum Jean-François Millet: Sowing the Seeds of Modern Art The exhibition Jean-François Millet: Sowing the Seeds of Modern Art (4 October 2019 – 12 January 2020) explored just how modern and progressive Millet’s work was for his time. Works by numerous 19th- and early 20th-century international artists, such as Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Jan Toorop, Edvard Munch, Kazimir Malevich and Salvador Dalí, were exhibited alongside paintings, drawings and pastels by Millet, illustrating the significant international impact of the French artist. The Angelus (1857–59), one of Millet’s best-known works, was loaned from Musée d’Orsay in Paris especially for this exhibition. This iconic painting had never before been on display in the Netherlands. The exhibition attracted a total of 149,476 visitors. The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) in the Van Gogh and the Sunflowers exhibition Hockney – Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature The summer exhibition was dedicated to one of Vincent van Gogh’s most famous paintings: Sunflowers (1889). Van Gogh and the Sunflowers (21 June – 1 September 2019) presented the results of recent technical research conducted on the painting, which Van Gogh considered Sunflowersis put into position for Van Gogh and the Sunflowers 8 Report of the Board 9 Highlights of 2019 Artist Charlotte Caspers’s colour reconstructions, based on research results Van Gogh Inspires: Jason Brooks to be one of his best works. Using information gained during the research, artist Charlotte The Mesdag Collection Caspers painted reconstructions of two details from Sunflowers, providing a realistic impres- In 2019, The Mesdag Collection (hereinafter: TMC) in The Hague – part of the Van Gogh sion of just how radiant the original colours must have been. Especially for this exhibition, the Museum Foundation – presented Mesdag & Colenbrander: A Shared Fascination with Ceram- reverse of Sunflowerswas exhibited for the first time. This revealed the wooden slat with ics (8 March – 23 June 2019). This exhibition focused on the Mesdags’ extensive collection original nails, which Van Gogh himself added to the top of the canvas. Van Gogh and the of Colenbrander ceramics. The exhibition was exceptionally well received, and attracted Sunflowersachieved one of the highest ever visitor ratings. More than 8 out of 10 visitors 4,755 visitors. Running concurrently with the Millet exhibition at the VGM, TMC presented rated the exhibition as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’, making it our second highest rated exhibition Jean-François Millet and the Hague School (13 September 2019 – 5 January 2020).