Fish - Still Lifes by Dutch and Flemish Masters 1550-1700

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Project details

• Project Name: Fish - Still Lifes by Dutch and Flemish Masters 1550-1700
• Location of Site: Utrecht, Netherlands
• Design Team: Ramin Visch, Rick Abbenbroek, Petra Dekker
• Project Type: Exhibition
• Client: Centraal Museum Utrecht
• Contractor/s: Centraal Museum Utrecht
• Site Area: 1100 sq. mt.
• Built-up Area: 1100 sq. mt.
• Cost of Construction: 40000 Euro
• Date of completion: 2004

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Words from the architect

From 7 February to 9 May 2004, the Central Museum was home to VIS VITALIS, part of a larger exhibition program showing how fish have been not just a source of nourishment but an inspiration to artists over the centuries. VIS VITALIS means life force, but 'vis' is also Dutch for fish; and the full English title of the exhibition was accordingly FISH - Still Lifes by Dutch and Flemish Masters 1550-1700. With over 60 of the world's most beautiful and important still lifes with fish, it was the main exhibition in the program. Little attention had previously been paid to the genre of the fish still life in Dutch painting of the Renaissance and Baroque, and the exhibition in the Centraal Museum, in Utrecht, was the first of its kind.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

The exhibition was held in the museum's Stallen section, the former stables, with an area of 1100 sq. mt.. Besides still lifes, the exhibits included preserved fish, mounted fish skeletons and antiquarian books. Among the museums lending still lifes was the Prado, and it was the client's wish to recapture the stateliness and formality of that Madrid museum in the exhibition. For this purpose, enfilades were a valuable design element.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

A significant starting point for the design was to create tranquility. The Stallen is a fundamentally fragmented, chaotic space. The nine adjacent components were transformed into a single space, in which five new individually coloured volumes arose. Distracting elements such as a mezzanine floor were visually eliminated to enhance the harmony and uniformity. The passages between adjacent spaces were made successively narrower, raising the suggestion of a corridor with a perspective effect. All end walls except two were given distinct colors. The longitudinal walls were painted white and the floor a uniform black. The long walls were used for hanging paintings, while the end walls were reserved for the most prized works and for striking fish skeletons. Fish preserved in formaldehyde were placed in the middle space, which was finished in a subdued dark blue suggesting the depths of the sea. The resulting concept was a route with glimpses into different spaces. The visitor could walk through quickly, taking in only the high points, or could take his or her time and explore the smaller spaces in detail. Since the Stallen has only one entrance, everyone has to pass along the same route twice. There is an opportunity to notice different things on the way back; new glimpses into the spaces and new perspectives, with an emphasis on different paintings and objects. This made it possible for each of the five volumes to have its own, living-room like intimacy; the visitor could feel immersed in a different atmosphere in each space.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

In the detailing, every effort was made to keep the walls uncluttered and allow the spaces themselves to exert their effect. Our self-developed hanging system gave the paintings a dignified coherence. The font used for lettering was the Centraal Museum's house font. Texts and titles were placed high on the walls, well separated from the paintings, so as not to distract the viewer's attention.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Displaying the works themselves was the primary goal of the exhibition design. The layout of the spaces was motivated by the wish to treat them in an uncontrived, intimate way. The spaces and walls formed excellent supplementary frames, in a dynamic but fluid relation that allowed the paintings and objects to speak for themselves.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Photogrph by Jeroen Musch, courtesy of Studio Ramin Visch.

Credits

• Text: Studio Ramin Visch
• Photographs: Jeroen Musch, www.jeroenmusch.nl