An object leaves on a trip to another museum, another undergoes research. Or a special piece is recognised as a Flemish Masterpiece. Or our collection expands.
The MAS started digitizing its collection of thousands of slides. These slides that used to be projected with a magic lantern, are finally seeing the light of day again.
Except for a dozen or so loans, all the pieces on display in the exhibition come from the MAS collection. The objects have been chosen for what they portray, their significance or their (historical) story.
FREE ENTRANCE | Maria Nijs assembled 200 precious dolls, made in Europe between 1830 and 1930. From her remarkable collection, MAS acquired eleven of these dolls. A painting of Maria with her favorite dolls, created by her father, is also part of the MAS collection. The 11 dolls, together with the painting, can be admired in the Visible Storage starting June 9.
In 1890, the painter Louis van Engelen depicted a crowd of Belgian emigrants moving across Antwerp’s Nassau Bridge to the district of Het Eilandje towards a ship. The resident population watches them pass by.
The freeing of the Scheldt was a landmark event in Flemish history. In mid-1863, Antwerp celebrated that after more than 250 years, merchant shipping on the Scheldt was truly free again. A telling painting of this ‘Scheldt Free!’ celebration from the MAS collection can be seen in our Visible Storage.
What is valuable must be protected. That is the logic of the Flemish Masterpieces Decree. Since the creation of this decree in 2003, just about 1,000 objects and collections have been recognised and protected as masterpieces. Through decree, the government also strengthens public collections by acquiring important masterpieces.
FREE ENTRANCE | The Visible Storage gives you a look behind the scenes of the MAS. More than 180,000 collection pieces on tall racks, stacked and labelled, await their turn to be exhibited.
