Potgieter’s ‘Rijksmuseum’ And The Public Presentation Of Dutch History In The National Museum (1800–1844)

Abstract

In 1844, the celebrated Dutch author Everhardus Johannes Potgieter (1808-1875) published his criticism of the Rijksmuseum (national museum) in De Gids , which at the time was the most important cultural periodical. The chapter describes the exceptional situation in the Netherlands regarding history and art - and thus museums - and sketch the history of the Dutch national art museums in Amsterdam and The Hague until 1844. The first national museum - the Nationale Konst-Gallerij (national art gallery) - opened its doors in May 1800. It was housed in the west wing of a former palace of the princes of Orange, Huiten Bosch (house in the wood), near The Hague. During the Kingdom of Holland (1806-1810) - under Louis Napoleon, the brother of Napoleon - the national museum's collection was moved from The Hague to Amsterdam, where it was housed on the third floor of the Royal Palace and called the Royal Museum. Keywords: Amsterdam; De Gids ; Everhardus Johannes Potgieter; Louis Napoleon; national museum; Nationale Konst-Gallerij; Rijksmuseum; Royal Museum; The Hague