Your guide in our virtual museum: Bas Zevenbergen. You hear his stories when you click on a painting. He takes you on a journey to the everyday life of the Dutch Golden century. It won’t surprise you that Bas used to be a teacher, but there is more: he was also a journalist and he grew up in the Rijksmuseum. Read more about Bas Zevenbergen and the fun part of art.
Bas’ father was an intendant. That meant that he was partially responsible for all not art related services, like security, maintenance and housekeeping. Staff residence inside the Rijksmuseum came with this function – that’s how Bas grew up there. The young Bas Zevenbergen went with his father on his rounds through the great halls of the huge museum, along all the works of the great masters.
You don’t have to be a psychologist to understand: it had a certain influence. A fascination for Dutch paintings was obviously inescapable. Bas has got that fascination and that is the first thing he shares with you when you start listening to his stories for the fun part of art. The enthusiasm is infectious. View the art through the eyes of your inner child, look around you – that’s where it starts.
On the other hand: Bas Zevenbergen did not become a painter. He found his job as a storyteller – as you can see from the fun part of art. As a journalist he learned to watch current affairs with eyes as sharp as Jan Steen's. As a teacher he was able to convey his knowledge of history and society with the same warmth as the palette of Frans van Mieris and Nicolaes Maes.
The society of the “golden” seventeenth century can never be seen as colourful and recognisable as in the genre art of the great masters. It is literally as though you are in a bar with Adriaen Brouwer and Willem Buytewech. You can actually hear the people and see them standing right in front of you, as it were. Bas is there, toasting with you. That’s what he wants to show you most of all: real life back then and the ambiguity of (almost) everything.
The paintings of the Golden Century do not just impress because of the technical mastership of celebrities like Johannes Vermeer and Gerard Dou. It is also the story behind the paintings which makes them so fascinating. It’s the rich language of symbols, winks and pinpricks that lets us look over the painter’s shoulder. That’s how you really discover the intentions of the artist, that’s how you get to understand what viewers from those days saw in the paintings. That’s what Bas Zevenbergen makes clear in a concrete manner in his videos for the fun part of art.
Interpreting art is an art form in itself, it requires some artistic freedom. You must never fail to be original, you are allowed to discover something yourself as well. That’s what a master like Gerard ter Borch tells us. Bas also takes this artistic freedom. Laughing is allowed. That’s where the fun is. The fun part of art.
And that completes the circle: the child from the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum now has his own museum on the internet. Whoever wants to visit it, only pays a one-time entry fee. After that you have unlimited access to view those great paintings. You’ll also have unlimited access to Bas’ stories that make all those paintings come to life. Welcome. And welcome back Bas! You can e-mail Bas at thefunpartofart@gmail.com.