Authenticiteit en authenticiteitsbeleving: de presentatie en receptie van museum Paleis Het Loo

Abstract

By means of two case studies this article centres on the question of authenticity in both the presentation and the reception of museum Het Loo. The restoration of the palace in the years 1977-1984 meant a return to the 17th century-situation, leading to the destruction of various later additions. The house was unplastered, lowered by one storey and refenestrated; the landscape garden was removed and replaced by a copy of the original classical garden. The less than enthusiastic responses can be explained - at least in part - by the fact that this was already an old-fashioned restoration practice at the time. The two case studies presented here deal with recent changes in the presentation of the palace and the garden. The rooms once occupied by Queen Wilhelmina, which were moved at the time of the restoration from their original location to a lower floor, were rearranged a few years ago with the aim to give a more realistic impression of the past. With the help of a detailed photograph and a well-stocked depot, the early 20 th century situation of the rooms was accurately restored. Interestingly, the same approach was not adopted in the garden. The discovery of a basin (part of an ensemble consisting of a fountain, cascade and two 'resting places', which constituted the formal ending of the garden in the 17 th century), did not lead to a more realistic presentation of the past in the reconstructed garden. Hence, in contrast to the recent museological policies adopted in the presentation of the palace, which veered in the direction of a higher level of authenticity, it was decided that the archaeological discovery in the garden should be followed by another reconstruction. Already outdated and contested in the 1970s, currently this approach seems even more anachronistic. Be that as it may, the plans met with little resistance. Reconstruction and 'staged authenticity' were thus favoured over preservation and ruin sensibility. This article argues that there is room for both approaches. Visitors have 'different horizons of expectations', they do not have one uniform museological preference: where some enjoy the reconstructed garden (the 'staged authenticity'), others wish to see a more authentic presentation. The curators who have recently altered various spaces inside the house (the rooms dedicated to Wilhelmina and a chamber inhabited and decorated by her daughter Juliana) seem to have anticipated this dual palate on the part of the visitor; this development has not resonated in the Loo gardens.