Mar 19, 2015

RED, BLUE, WHITE DOTS

On a recent visit to Amsterdam, two members of the design department went to the Stedelijk Museum to see an exhibition about the museum during the Second World War.  The story of how the collection and many other works of art that were entrusted to the museum as artists and art collectors fled the Nazi regime, and were kept safe in a bunker in the dunes, was grippingly told. A selection of the works that had once been hidden was displayed along with archival material. We were particularly struck with the system of coloured dots deployed on the backs of paintings to mark their importance: red for irreplaceable works to be evacuated first; white for important but not always irreplaceable, and blue for objects that in theory were replaceable.

In some cases the rightful ownership of a painting is still being investigated by the museum and is yet to be ruled on by the restitution committee.

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