Reinier Baarsen

Senior Curator of Furniture, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Mr. Baarsen is a well-known expert in French and Dutch decorative arts of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, with a particular emphasis on furniture as well as the role of drawings in the making and marketing of the decorative arts.

In his early years, Mr. Baarsen was integral to the Department of Furniture and Woodwork at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and then worked for J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, CA. He has written numerous books and articles, mainly on European furniture and Dutch silver of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and organized a number of exhibitions including William and Mary style at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York and Carnegie Institute of Arts, Philadelphia; Dutch Decorative Arts of the 19th Century.

In 2013 private benefactors set up a fund within the Rijksmuseum, for the purpose of establishing a collection of European drawings for the decorative arts from 1500 to 1900. For several historical reasons, there were relatively few drawings of this kind in the Rijksmuseum, which boasts a wonderful collection of Dutch and European decorative arts, as well as very large holdings of ornament prints.

The drawings that Mr. Baarsen is concentrating on can be regarded as the missing link between these two existing collections. They provide a unique insight into the process of designing, making, marketing, selling and recording works of the decorative arts.  Mr. Baarsen is at present engaged in building this collection of European design drawings for the Rijksmuseum, which will be the subject of an exhibition in 2022.

In his lecture, Mr. Baarsen will introduce this new collection, and explain why it is such a vital addition to the rich holdings of the Rijksmuseum.