What is your Beloved?

Matthias

Who are you? What do you do?
My name is Matthias König, I am a transdisciplinary artist and work part-time as a collection manager at the Depot. My responsibilities include safely moving art, installing pieces in exhibitions, creating custom packaging, and occasionally accompanying an artwork when it is loaned to another museum.

What is your Beloved, and why?
I don’t really have one specific favourite—there are simply too many beautiful objects in the collection. However, there is a piece that always makes me happy the moment the large sliding door of the compartment opens and I’m greeted by two big headlights: The Car by Marisol. It’s a life-sized, angular blue 'toy car' made of wood. Inside the car are five people who all look alike, except for the driver. Where are they going? When you look from the side, the blue resembles the sea, and the silver trim becomes the horizon, with a sea eagle soaring beneath it. The piece instantly takes me on a road trip to the unknown—or perhaps, the subconscious. In my mind, I hear Stuck in the Bones by Daniel Norgren playing on the car radio: "An old red car, on our way to the ocean, stuck in the heart..."

The artwork is full of details and references that slowly unfold the longer you look, blending spatial and two-dimensional elements. What makes this piece so special is its accessibility, which never diminishes its depth while leaving plenty of room for the viewer to interpret and add their own meaning. Thank you, Marisol!

Ton

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Ton Ista, almost 64 years old and living in Ridderkerk. From December 2016 to October 2018, I worked in the museum as a service employee/security guard. Since November 2021, I have been working at the Depot, once again in security, with tasks such as monitoring in the control room, patrolling during opening hours, and accompanying tours.

What is your Beloved, and why?
During my time at the museum, there were several paintings I felt a connection with and still do. Always taking a moment to look at them when opening, giving a quick greeting to make sure they’re still hanging well, and saying goodbye when closing up. Dick Ket is one of them. He looks at you so questioningly. ‘Here I am, framed, sitting on a chair with a vase of red flowers in my right hand. Surrounded by symbols and details, can you name them? Do you see my blue fingers, my thin skin?’ It’s almost surreal. He doesn’t seem to be sitting behind a table. I see the blue and white checkered tablecloth sliding symbolically from his lap, but he’s holding it securely with his left hand. A source of stability. That still occupies my mind to this day.

Annemijn

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Annemijn Kluft, and I've been working in the Relationship Management and Philanthropy department for three years. As the Relationship Manager for Friends and Benefactors, I'm responsible for retaining and attracting new donors.

What is your Beloved, and why?
Le doigt sur la joue is my favourite because it represents the beginning of my journey at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. It was one of the first works I encountered when I started as an intern more than 3.5 years ago. It’s also the look in her eyes, her posture, the colour composition, and the story she tells us. Are we sitting at her table, or is she at ours? Come see her and our favourite pieces in the Depot and let yourself be inspired!

Ruben

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Ruben Mols, and I work as a floor manager in the Depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

What is your Beloved, and why?
A light switch. Simple and everyday, often you don’t even look at it because you’re so familiar with your own surroundings that you can find it blindly. Through her photography, Antje Peters shows me that a seemingly simple, functional object can still possess beauty. By photographing it, thus removing it from its function and turning it into an image, you start to see it differently. Besides a literal light switch, I also see one of the many ways in which we are connected to the electrical grid, and I pause to reflect on the wonder of that. Perhaps we take the switch too much for granted. What if it suddenly stopped working? Then you’d be sitting there in the dark. The work also has something funny and playful about it, which I really appreciate.

Stijn

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Stijn Kemper, I curate the program at Zuid. Boijmans Van Beuningen, our location in Rotterdam-South.

What is your Beloved, and why?
Saint John from the Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy. I really love the museum's collection of medieval art, and this painting, with its red cloak and that strange little devil, is my favourite. As a child, I used to collect stones everywhere I went, stuffing them into my pockets until they were so heavy that my pants would fall down. That collecting obsession has faded over time, but I am still drawn to the shiny stones at the bottom of this painting.

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Jim de Jong, and since the opening of the Depot in 2021, I have been the head chef of restaurant Renilde. Renilde is located on the 6th floor of the Depot, has 15 Gault Millau points, and was recently added to the MICHELIN guide.

What is your Beloved, and why?
I was looking for a work I didn't know yet. With this painting by Anton Mauve, I immediately started to daydream. It captures a beautiful moment of the day. Beautifully portrayed because it's set up somewhat loosely. It has something cozy, but it also feels somber to me. That diligent work in the vegetable garden. I actually just want to go and help her.

Fieke

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Fieke Dieleman, specialist in public programs for the education and public guidance department.

What is your Beloved, and why?
This Rothko is one of my many favourites from the collection. Asking me to choose just one is quite impossible. I love many artworks for different reasons—for what they remind me of, what they make me wonder about, the way they move me, or a beautiful memory of where I saw them or with whom, and so on.

This piece is my favourite because I can't quite put into words why. I can't walk past it without stopping, and it always feels as though time stands still. I get drawn into the work, and it seems like everything around it disappears. It's as if a complete sense of calm emerges, perhaps even a kind of comfort. I remember the first time I saw a Rothko, about twenty years ago. I had read about his paintings, carefully built up from thin layers of deep colors, rectangles without sharp edges, and how the paintings deeply affect people—something I could hardly imagine until I saw them in person. Over the years, I've seen many Rothkos, but this remains the most beautiful.

Dietrich

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Dietrich van Gobbel, a photographer and former guide at the Depot.

What is your Beloved, and why?
I have chosen a work by Magritte: La jeunesse illustrée from 1937. It is pleasant to look at; the landscape combined with the sky gives a feeling of tranquility. Additionally, it seems as if the objects are randomly placed on the path, which I find interesting. To me, these are all random objects that have nothing to do with each other, and perhaps that is where the beauty lies.

Vincent

Who are you? What do you do?
I am Vincent Cardinaal, press officer at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. I handle press and media for all of the museum's communications, and am involved in the museum's public relations.

What is your Beloved, and why?
The Kiss (Bela Lugosi) by Andy Warhol. A sensational Warhol piece. Even as a small child, it impressed me as I wandered through the old museum building. Warhol's nickname was Drella, a combination of Cinderella and Dracula. That says it all: on one hand, someone who wanted to enchant, and on the other, a ruthless vampire. The Kiss is romantic and dark, spectacular and imposing, despite its gray color. It's not only a pop-art highlight; the technique, methodology, and expression have been extremely influential: on art and on me – creativity pulled me out of a difficult childhood.

Eva

Who are you? What do you do?
I'm Eva van der Meulen. I work as project manager exhibitions, for amongst others Beloved and Craving for Boijmans.

What is your Beloved, and why?
The Glorification of the Virgin, by Geertgen tot Sint Jans. It is incredibly special. First, when you realise that the panel (because it is really small, only 25 cm high) is more than 500 years old and still shines as if it were made yesterday. The light around Mary shines brightly. Additionally, the details are so meticulously painted. The musical instruments played by the figures are particularly remarkable. It is very skillfully made.

This is an artwork that you need to take your time with, to stand close to, in order to fully absorb everything. If you ask me, this is a gem in the collection. Not one that screams for attention, but one with strength in its clarity and details.

Peter

Who are you? What do you do?
I'm Peter van der Coelen, and have been working at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen for about twenty years as a curator of prints and drawings. Additionally, I curated the exhibition Lievelingen.

What is your Beloved, and why?
I have chosen a drawing by Jheronimus Bosch, The Owl's Nest from around 1505-1515. This work is over 500 years old, yet still looks fresh. It is a close-up of three owls seeking their nest in an old tree in the morning. It's incredible how Bosch uses quick, short lines to make the difference palpable between the soft feathers of the birds and the dry tree bark.

Esmée

Who are you? What do you do?
I'm Esmée Verheijen, responsible for buying and product development for the Depot Store.

What is your Beloved, and why?
It’s difficult to pick a favourite, because there is so much choice. We have more than 154.000 objects in the collection. Normally I would have chosen Grey, Orange on Maroon, No 8 by Mark Rothko. In my opinion Rothko is a great painter and there are only a few paintings in a Dutch public collection by him. But this time I went for a work by a female artist, Elaine Sturtevant. A silksreen print with acrylic paint on canvas. I wanted to choose something that was intuitive and lesser known. I really like the shapes and colour combination. Because of the graphic motif and the bright contrast it’s quite bold. The frame works too. It's very cute.

Roland

Who are you? What do you do?
My name is Roland Niemeijer and I have been working at the museum for over 32 years. I have been working as a collection manager since 2014, and in the years before that I worked for the TA (exhibitions/arthandling). Now I am mainly concerned with packaging and transporting art within the Depot and to other museums, conservation work and couriering.

What is your Beloved, and why?
My favourite is Dog Bite/Ax to Grind by Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1983. I have a full-size copy of this work hanging above my couch, and I have traveled with it a lot. The dog in the painting looks very similar to a Podenco Canario, one of the oldest dog breeds, originally from Egypt. My dog, Yena, is of the same breed, so that makes it extra special.