With the utmost care, two works of art by the seventeenth-century painter Frans Hals were prepared today for departure to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This includes Hal’s first militia piece Feast of the officers of the St. George’s Civic Guard from 1616.
The militia piece has rarely left the Frans Hals Museum. “The only time was during the Second World War,” says Marieke Ottevanger, spokesperson for the Haarlem museum. “It was then moved to a bunker in the dunes near Zandvoort for safety.”
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After that, the militia piece never left Haarlem again. “But for this unique exhibition in the Rijksmuseum, the mayor and aldermen have made an exception,” says Ottevanger. From February 16, a major retrospective of Hals can be seen in Amsterdam.
Utmost concentration
“Work has been done today under high tension and with utmost concentration in the museum. In recent months, the painting has already been prepared for the move in our restoration studio. For example, the frame has been reinforced so that it can cope well with the vibrations along the way. And there is also applied a new layer of varnish,” Ottevanger explains.
A few months ago we had the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of the Frans Hals Museum. Restorer Liesbeth Abraham was already preparing the militia piece from 1616 for the move.
The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem is preparing ‘the big move’ – NH News
The militia piece no longer hung on a wall, but was placed on a scaffold in the museum. It was very carefully removed this morning by a group of specialists. “The militia piece is then placed in a box, where it must acclimatize again. It is then transported to Amsterdam. After unpacking, the work will be reassessed and it will have to get used to the conditions in the Rijksmuseum for a while.”
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The militia piece from 1616 shows officers who did their work between 1612 and 1615. On the far left at the head of the table sit the colonel and the provost, the highest in rank. In the middle the three captains and at the end the three lieutenants. Around them are three young officers (ensigns) and a goalkeeper. Ensigns were allowed to do their work for more than three years, provided they were unmarried. Captain Nicolaes van der Meer is depicted in the foreground.
The regents also come along
Next Feast of the officers of the St. George’s Civic Guard goes Hal’s artwork De Regents of the Old Men’s House from 1664 will also be transported to the capital tomorrow. A work known as ‘very vulnerable’. And that painting was also prepared for travel today in Haarlem with the utmost precision.
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During the exhibition in the Rijksmuseum (16 February to 9 June), around fifty works by the seventeenth-century painter can be admired, collected from national and international collections. “Four of them come from our museum. We had previously loaned two to the National Gallery in London, which are now going to Amsterdam,” says Ottevanger. “These two works are in addition. The journey to and from London went very well.”