The Van Gogh Museum, dedicated since 1973 in Amsterdam to the painter, and that keeps the largest world collection of his works, can be forced to close. He receives 1.8 million annual visitors, and its director, Emilie Gordenker, says that he needs more government financial support to cover the cost of the renewal plan for their facilities. Provided for 2028, and with a duration of three years, amounts to 104 million euros and will force partial closures with the consequent loss of income. The Pinacoteca ensures that if the Ministry of Culture does not increase the annual subsidy it allocates, it will not be able to cover the generated deficit. The government considers that it can face the expense and the case is now in court.
“The closure will be inevitable if an agreement with the government is not reached,” says Gordenker, which answers Wednesday in writing to the questions of this newspaper. Since the inauguration, fifty years ago, they have received almost 57 million visitors, and points out that the building “was never designed to host such a high number of people.” And that “it no longer meets the current requirements.” In 2023, the Museum presented an appeal before the judges in view of the ministerial refusal to increase economic support. Now he has started an appeal procedure.
The Van Gogh Museum is one of the main cultural claims of the Netherlands, but the property has to be updated in matters of sustainability, climate control and security, according to those responsible. The planned works appear in the so -called 2028 Master Plan, and the Chamber – which generates 85% of its income with the sale of tickets and memories and the cafeteria – ensures that it needs an annual government contribution of more than 11 million euros to be able to cover all expenses. “However, the Ministry of Culture will not provide more than the current level of support, which is 8.5 million euros,” says the statement issued by the Directorate. “And that leaves the museum with a deficit of 2.5 million euros a year.”
In the Ministry of Culture the position remains contrary to a rise in the amount of the assigned fee. According to their spokesmen, all national museums receive a contribution to accommodation under the Cultural Heritage Law. In that context, the annual sum granted to Van Gogh “is enough to carry out the necessary maintenance.” They support their argument “in an exhaustive study conducted by experts on request of the department.” And they add: “It is not unusual for the parties to request that a court review a decision related to a subsidy”, in reference to the appeal taken by the museum. Culture indicates that it will respond to those allegations throughout the “of the procedure initiated”.
Open in the center of Amsterdam, in the same place where the Rijksmuseum (National) and the Stedelijk (Municipal), the Van Gogh Museum keeps more than 200 paintings, about 500 drawings and almost all its letters. He also has contemporary paintings of the painter gathered by Vincent. It is a permanent collection of works that belonged to his family, which in 1962 reached a rare agreement with the Dutch government. The Vincent Van Gogh Foundation was created, to which the property of this exceptional set was transferred. In return, the Dutch State promised to provide sufficient resources for the construction and maintenance of a new museum that would retain and exhibit the works to the public. It was a historical pact, and according to Gordenker, “we go to the courts to be fulfilled” because “the State compromised contractually in 1962”. He concludes remembering that after all, “it was that promise that made the painter’s nephew deliver the entire collection,” to create the museum.