Female Voices in Art: Martine Gosselink, General Director of the Mauritshuis, The Hague

Martine Gosselink (b. 1969, Utrecht, NL) is General Director of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 1 April 2020. Martine has been active in the cultural field, particularly the museum sector. In 1995, she graduated in art history at the University of Amsterdam under Professor Ernst van de Wetering. In that same year she started -with a partner- her first venture: the art-historical consulting and research bureau Art & Culture. Six years later she founded the cultural collective De Nieuwe Collectie, with products such as exhibitions and publications for museums in the Netherlands, New York, Iran and Sri Lanka. From 2009 until 2020, she was Head of the History Department at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, with responsibility for the museum’s historical programming. In this capacity Martine was committed to the growth of the History Department, provenance research into the museum’s colonial collections, the publication of the eight-volume Country Series, changing terminology and interpreting the collection by means of multiple perspectives.

Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?

What’s important to me is the process of democratization of art. It belongs to all of us. That literally means that all of us can enjoy it, make it, criticize it.

What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?

To see how many disciplines are involved in the arts.

Do you have a favourite artist?

No, my taste is very eclectic. I can admire a Roman mosaic as much as a Modigliani, a Ghandaran Buddhist sculpture as much as a Bernini.

What is your earliest memory involving art?

My father took me to the Rijksmuseum when I was 8 or 9. I do not remember a specific work of art, but I do remember how much the building impressed me.

Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?

No. See answer 1.

What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?

Ah, yes, that’s an antique Chinese silk jacket that belonged to my mother. It’s a bit tight, she was much smaller than I am. We both love Asian textiles. I have a whole collection at home. Unfolding them, smelling the cloth, it brings me back to ancient memories, not particularly my own.

What impact has the current health crisis had on your daily practice?

I missed working together with my colleagues immensely. Mainly because I started my new job when the first lockdown just had been imposed. How to build up working relations without genuine contact?

Has it changed your views on Art?

Yes, even more than I did already, I realized the eternal power of bliss some works of art give us.

Have you created new initiatives and ways of working?