Tessel Krijgsman's internship at the Vereniging Rembrandt
"During autumn of 2022 I spent three months interning at the Vereniging Rembrandt. Located in The Hague, this organisation is an indispensable player for the heritage of the Netherlands. For almost 140 years the Vereniging Rembrandt has supported acquisitions for Dutch museums, enabling numerous invaluable additions to the national art collection. Their additional support of research and restoration preserves this heritage for the generations to come.
My internship was at the department of Content and Communication, supervised by Hilbert Lootsma. I worked on three general projects: contributing in written form to the various communication channels of the Vereniging Rembrandt (website, magazine and digital newsletter); expanding the database of supported acquisitions, restorations and research, and aiding the development of JongRembrandt, the youth-branch of the organisation.
Informing the nearly 17,000 members of Vereniging Rembrandt about the activities of the organization is an essential, ongoing effort of the Content and Communication department. I wrote various articles on actualities in the museum world, such as the opening of the exhibition ‘Double Act’ in the Centraal Museum, and items providing background knowledge to supported acquisitions. These writings required art historical grounding, and hence research on my part, to inform the reader about a particular work or exhibition. Equally important, this information had to be conveyed in an animated and educative manner, which developed my skillfulness as a writer greatly. Various colleagues supervised these processes of researching, creating story lines and editing my work into a fruitful result.
A more tangible way I was brought into contact with the history of Dutch heritage was through my research for the aforementioned databases. In almost a century and a half, the Vereniging Rembrandt has supported more acquisitions, restorations and research than a single mind can remember in accurate detail. For historical purposes, though, it is essential that such details of provenance and collection dynamics are well-documented. Conducting archival research, I started this process of collecting and systematising information, to be finished at another point in the future.
Another project to be carried into the future is the development of JongRembrandt- the community of young Vereniging Rembrandt members. This subcategory of the organisation is being actively shaped currently, and as a young member myself, I was able to suggest some worthwhile ideas. These were, e.g., the development of a conceptual communication strategy to reach new and existing members digitally, and the mission of JongRembrandt that underpins this. The several meetings with staff members showed me how heritage is very much a living thing; it requires to be protected and enthusiastically conveyed to a younger generation. Being able to witness and actively shape this convergence of heritage theory and practice was a very special experience.
My time at the Vereniging Rembrandt granted me several of such moments, where the dynamics of preserving national art collections and the efforts this requires are suddenly made tangible. Conducting object-based research and developing my writing skills in the meantime made my internship truly rewarding!"
Link to written items (Dutch):
