Rijksmuseum Twenthe

The Rijksmuseum Twenthe is a museum of old and new art in the Dutch city of Enschede.

History

Founder and benefactor of the museum is the textile manufacturer in January Bernard van Heek. Meanwhile, 140 works, mostly paintings from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, form the basis of the museum, which was opened in 1930 and handed over to the state. In its beginnings, the museum was both an art museum and historical- cultural history. It housed the collection of Oudheidkamer Twenthe. Later it came to the separation and displacement of this part of the collection in the Museum " Twentse wave". Private Donors have contributed significantly to the growth of the stock to over 8000 objects from the 13th century to the present day:

• In the 1960s, the textile manufacturer JB donated Scholten and M. G. van Heel her large collection of paintings from the 17th and 19th century.
• In the 1990s, J. M. enriched van Kempen with hundreds of prints, drawings and books and the Martens Mulder Foundation with silver from the 17th and 18th century the museum.
• The collector Karel Levisson donated to the museum hundreds of drawings and prints from the 19th and 20th centuries.
• The collection of deposits VBVR enriched the museum since 1965 with over 1000 works of modern art.

Building

The architect Karel Anton Muller and Beudt have built the museum on behalf of the Van Heek family. The plant resembles a monastery. The intention of the architects was to build a closed complex, can be viewed in the art in peace. The museum has been enlarged several times in the original style.

In the years 1994-1996, the museum was rebuilt by Ben van Berkel: He built a new modern exhibition hall and the Museum Cafe. The buildings are equipped with air conditioning.

The museum courtyard garden was designed by landscape architect Lodewijk Baljon.

The building was badly damaged by the explosion of fireworks factory in Enschede on 13 May 2000, but not the collection. It remained closed for repairs until 14 May 2002. At the explosion remembered today still a splintered laminated safety glass window.