Date: 15 April 2013
More than 100 pieces are framed with Tru Vue® Optium® Acrylic Glazing.
The re-opening showcases the museum’s world-famous collection in a striking sequence of 80 galleries, which tell the story of 800 years of Dutch art and history from 1200 to the present day. Many of the 8,000 artistic and historical objects have not been accessible to the public for a decade.
“This way of exhibiting works of art on paper is as close as we can get to actually putting the works in the hands of the public,” says Idelette van Leeuwen, the Rijksmuseum’s head of paper conservation. “Tru-Vue’s contribution of Optium for all the frames used for drawings, prints and photographs makes it possible for the Rijksmuseum to give the public an optimal view of the art in the new galleries.”
Tru Vue’s international museum and conservation liaison, Rob Lewis, adds, “Museums around the world depend on Optium Acrylic Glazing to protect, conserve and display their most valuable and historic collections. This is a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the extraordinary clarity of the glazing material on such significant artworks.”
Van Leeuwen continues, “The anti-reflective coating of Optium reduces distracting reflections, so that it almost seems as if there is nothing between the artwork and the viewer. The viewer can study the art from a very short distance without endangering it. This allows for a close, almost intimate experience of the art.”
Larson-Juhl, a global producer and distributor of premium framing materials, has provided the Rijksmuseum with mat boards and specialty papers for many years, and now, with Tru Vue’s Optium Museum Acrylic®. “The use of Optium is growing rapidly for framing valuable and famous works of art, both graphic art and oil paintings. This glass ensures both the best optical representation of art and guarantees the highest amount of protection for the valuable piece of art,” says Mariёtte Van der Pasch, account manager at Larson-Juhl in the Netherlands.
Tru Vue has worked closely with the museum community to develop this product to meet superior, aesthetic standards, as well as conservation standards. Van Leeuwen agrees, “Optium combines three properties in one product that are important to the conservation department: It protects the artwork against light damage because it blocks 99% of UV light. The anti-static coating makes it safe for use with friable media, such as charcoal, red chalk and pastel.”
Thirdly, van Leeuwen notes, “Because works on paper are vulnerable to damage from exposure to light, they can be exhibited for only short periods. Thus the selection of works on paper on view in the galleries will be changed every four months. This makes it unavoidable that frames and the glazing are handled and cleaned often. Optium has the advantage of being shatter-resistant, and the abrasion-resistant coating allows us to re-use the acrylic a number of times, since it will not scratch easily. This makes it longer-lasting and therefore more sustainable than normal acrylic.”
She explains, “Works of art on paper are usually on a white or, in any case, light support, so any type of glazing that has a color tint causes an obvious color shift in the art work. With normal window glass, for example, paper appears greener or yellower than it actually is. With Optium, the color of the paper is not influenced, and color neutrality is guaranteed.”
“The viewer sees the piece of art without any distortion, as if there were no glass at all,” adds Van der Pasch. “The Optium Acrylic is also lighter in weight than normal glass. It can be cut with a router in special shapes: Old paintings often are not square and Optium can be made in any shape following the shape of the frame.”
In five halls at the renewed Rijksmuseum, all of the framed pieces of graphic art have been fitted with Tru Vue Optium Acrylic Glazing, including:
* “Hoofd van Maria met het Christuskind,” Master of the Legend of Saint Lucia (1475)
* Rembrandt van Rijn’s “Self Portrait” (1630) and “Christ Preaching” (1648)
* Cornelis Troost’s “Sara Troost met Haar Pop” [Sara Troost with Her Doll] (1740)
* Willem Witsen’s “View on the Oosterpark in the Snow” (around 1900)
* Johann Heinrich Schönscheidt’s “Kuilenburg 30” [Railway bridge near Culemborg, Netherlands] (1868)
Beyond the Rijksmuseum’s collection, Tru Vue Optium Acrylic Glazing is relied on by museums worldwide including Greece, Italy, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, as well as throughout the United States.
About the Rijksmuseum
As a national institute, the Rijksmuseum offers a representative overview of Dutch art and history from the Middle Ages onwards, and of major aspects of European and Asian art. The Rijksmuseum keeps, manages, conserves, restores, researches, prepares, collects, publishes, and presents artistic and historical objects, both on its own premises and elsewhere.
Where: Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat 1, Postbus 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam, Netherlands
When: Official opening, Sat., April 13, 2013; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Learn more about the museum, its transformation and its collection at www.rijksmuseum.nl/en.
About Larson-Juhl
Larson-Juhl, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, is known as a premier producer of frames for art and photography and as a distributor of framing materials, such as mat boards and museum glass. In recent years, a large range of conservation products and specialty papers has been added to the product offering, mainly through cooperation with its sister-companies – Stouls in France and Conservation-by-Design in the U.K. Larson-Juhl has grown to be reliable partner to many museums, archives and restorers and commits itself to find matching products for all kinds of conservation projects. Many products have been custom-made to fit the needs of museums.
Learn more at www.larsonjuhl.nl/.
About Tru Vue
Tru Vue manufactures high-performance glazing products for the custom picture frame and museum markets. Tru Vue is a leader in both UV protection, as well as anti-reflective and specialty glazing products for these markets. The company is located in McCook, Illinois, and in Faribault, Minnesota, and is part of Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
For more information on Tru Vue and Optium Acrylic Products, visit www.tru-vue.com/.
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