Large Mondrian Collection Gets A Check-Up
Every painting by Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) in the Gemeentemuseum’s collection, in The Hague, has been scrutinized by conservators as part of the Dutch institution’s major Mondrian Restoration Project. 
The public is sure to reap the benefits of this initiative when the museum’s landmark exhibition on Mondrian opens on 3 June. The show features 301 paintings, drawings and sketches—every work by Mondrian in the museum’s collection, from the very first piece he exhibited (Basket with Hare (1891)) to his final composition (Victory Boogie Woogie (1942-44))—including pieces coming out of storage for the first time in decades and those that have been on loan to other institutions. It is an exhibition that only the Gemeentemuseum—the world’s largest repository of works by Mondrian—could stage and, importantly, one that “is only possible because all of the works have been treated,†says the paintings conservator Ruth Hoppe.
