Portretten, waar ze moeten hangen

The oldest known portraits were death masks, intended to protect the deceased from evil spirits. A form of deception. “Dear spirit, I am not dead and I am not going to die.”

Over time the spirits became less important and the not-dying took precedence. Portraits acquired a sense of permanence. They were painted realistically, though always according to the fashion of the spirit of the time.

Slowly, alongside likeness, the idea of showing a personality behind the portrait became important as well. Emotions, expressions, a soul.

And portraits began to appear of people who never existed.

By then the evil spirits probably needed psychological treatment.

This exhibition returns to the original intention: keeping the evil spirits outside. Nothing more and nothing less.