PRESS RELEASE
28.03.2014
Het Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam
Atlases newly staged
The National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) is presenting its extensive collection of maps and atlases in a new setting. ATELIER BRÜCKNER designed the exhibition, which is set to open on 31st March. The focus is on four pioneers of cartography and on their forefather Claudius Ptolemy (90 – 168 B.C.). Abraham Ortelius, Gerhard Mercator, Cornelis Claesz and Joan Blaeu published maps and atlases that forever changed the way we see the world. The unique exhibits were created between 1482 and 1665, and include the first views of America and extremely precise maps of Amsterdam.
The valuable documents, still fascinating today due to their wealth of details, are the initial point of the exhibition design. Their characteristic colours are taken up in the space's colour scheme. The inscriptions for the different objects have been designed to be in tune with the legends for the maps. At a central media station, visitors are able to immerse themselves in the concept and history of cartography. Here, they can browse through digitised maps and atlases. A large-scale installation then presents a film summarising the history of cartography. It relates the Dutch exhibits to corresponding international exemplars.
The exhibition, entitled "The Atlases", is being shown in the east wing of the museum. It is part of the so-called object galleries, designed by ATELIER BRÜCKNER and opened in 2011. They include an important collection of navigation instruments, ship models, maritime paintings, ships' ornaments as well as photo albums and handcrafted objects made of glass, silver and porcelain. For each group of objects, a special narrative space was developed which combines the groups of exhibits to form highly expressive units. "The Atlases" replaces the presentation of the museum's own globes, which could only be shown temporarily for conservational reasons.
Photo: Michael Jungblut
Photo: Michael Jungblut
CONTACT
ATELIER BRÜCKNER GmbH
Claudia Luxbacher
Press and Public Relations
T. +49 711 5000 77 126
F. +49 711 5000 77 22
presse(at)atelier-brueckner.com
Het Scheepvaartmuseum
Kirsten Ruter
Press Relations
T. +31 205232270
kruter(at)hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl
www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl