The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is one of the major tourist attractions. In the last regular year of 2019 for the time being, it attracted 2.1 million visitors. In addition to the permanent collection, the museum also presents temporary exhibitions that highlight certain aspects of Van Gogh.

This year’s program included the exhibition ‘Ongekend. 10 years of special acquisitions and their stories’. The exhibition should have been open long ago, but unlike in our country, the Dutch museums have been closed since December 15. There is still no prospect of a reopening, much to the frustration of the Dutch museum directors and curators.

The Van Gogh Museum has decided to put a preview of the exhibition online. That way you get an idea of ​​what the exhibition looks like. You get room views and some explanation. That is not optimal, of course, but it is better than nothing.

‘Ongekend’ shows a large selection of artworks that the museum has acquired over the past ten years to add to its famous collection. These works are usually not by Van Gogh, but by his contemporaries. They range from big names such as Edvard Munch, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas to lesser known artists such as Henri Guérard and Adolphe Appian.

In addition to the artworks themselves, the stories about their acquisition play a central role. In the exhibition, curators give a look behind the scenes. They explain why collecting is so important for a museum. And what connection they have personally with art.

‘Ongekend’ can be seen at www.vangoghmuseum.nl