Rijksmuseum Maastricht. Palazzo. Collecting early Italian art in the Netherlands (1900-1940). Until 2010. As part of the new Rijksmuseum Maastricht, the Bonnefantenmuseum is holding a large presentation of early Italian art, entitled Palazzo. It revolves around the important Dutch collector of Italian Renaissance art, Prof. Dr. Otto Lanz (1865-1935).
After World War II, a major part of his extensive collection ended up in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and another part came to the Bonnefantenmuseum in the late 1980s. In this semi-permanent presentation, works from the Lanz collection are supplemented with art from collections of other collectors who were active in the inter-war period, such as the businessman Edwin vom Rath. Palazzo thus sketches a lively picture of the Dutch art and collection climate of this period.
Early 20th-century art collectors in Europe and America furnished their homes as contemporary Italian palazzi in Renaissance style, decorated with a colourful mixture of all sorts of art objects: paintings, statues, furniture, glassware, silver or bronze. Palazzo gives visitors a glimpse of this world of sumptuous interiors. At the same time, the visitor gets an idea of the quality of such collections, in which absolute masterpieces and great names stood alongside decorative art works and even obvious forgeries. In this sense, the collections of Lanz and others also reflect the knowledge of Italian art in the years before World War II and show how important Amsterdam was in those days as a centre for the international art trade.
The highlights of Palazzo include works by Veronese, Sano di Pietro, Lorenzo Monaco and some students of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as Lanz' favourite artist, Tintoretto. The semi-permanent presentation also focuses on important themes of the art of the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as the Virgin and Child, and mythological figures from classical antiquity.
The Lanz collection
The presentation revolves around Otto Lanz (1865-1935), born in Switzerland, where he trained as a doctor. In 1902, he was appointed a medical professor at Amsterdam University. Besides having a great reputation as a plastic surgeon, Lanz also became known as a connoisseur and passionate collector of Italian Renaissance art. Part of his collection was exhibited in 1940 in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, until it was bought from Lanz' heirs in 1941 by the German occupation for Hitler's Führermuseum. After the war, the collection was returned to the Netherlands. In the 1950s, part of it was sold off and became scattered throughout the world.
Palazzo shows a wide selection of the part of the collection that ended up in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, along with those works that have already been on display for a while in Maastricht. Since 1987, the Bonnefantenmuseum has exhibited an overview of early Italian painting, in which works from the Lanz collection are also represented.
Rijksmuseum Maastricht
Palazzo is the first large presentation as part of the unique alliance between Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht, which was settled in March 2007 for the period 2008-2012. Last year saw the first warm-up, with an exhibition of a selection of bronze sculptures from the Rijksmuseum, entitled From Vulcan's forge. Under the name Rijksmuseum Maastricht, the two museums are combining forces with regard to collections and expertise. In concrete terms, Rijksmuseum Maastricht provides a platform for sculpture and painting to around 1625 from the Southern Netherlands and for Early Italian painting.
General coordination: Kris Schiermeier (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) and Lars Hendrikman (Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht)
Concept and arrangement of the Palazzo presentation:
Frits Scholten and Duncan Bull (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam); with thanks to Fee van het Veen.
Publication: text by Fee van 't Veen.
Rijksmuseum
