Descendants of architect Frans Van Dijk have design drawings auctioned at KMSKA (Antwerp)
Auction house Bernaerts is capitalizing on the opening of the KMSKA with a prestige auction in which Antwerp masters play the leading role. Eye-catcher are ten design drawings that architect Frans Van Dijk made in 1883 of the museum temple on the South. they come from the property of his great-grandson.
Frank Heirman,
“We got the drawings a few years ago, but we wanted to include them first with the reopening of the museum,” says Peter Bernaerts. He also immediately contacted the museum itself and various archives to find out whether they knew the pieces and whether they were anticipating a public sale. Legally there appeared to be no problem at all for public auction, because all drawings had been made in duplicate in the spring of 1883, as is customary: one for the client and one for the architect. The first collection of design drawings for the city always remained in public possession.
It is the archive of the architectural firm that is now up for auction. The design drawings have been in the hands of the Van Dijk family for four generations. The razor-sharp drawings, sometimes almost two meters long, were executed by architect Frans Van Dijk (1853-1939) in Indian ink, often heightened with watercolor. The master builder was known for his razor-sharp aesthetic design drawings.
Two winners
In 1879, the young Frans Van Dijk won the architectural competition for the new museum ex aequo with Jean-Jacques Winders. The jury asked budding architects to put their plans together. It is generally assumed that Van Dijk left his mark on the rear facade and the hall circuit. This is apparent from a first competition in 1877, which did not yield a winner, but six proposals were selected, including Winders’s.
At Bernaert, drawings design the hammer in which the front, rear and side facades are elaborated in detail floor plans of the various floors. There is also a big fate with the extensive correspondence between architect, city council and contractors. Finally, there is a smaller archive with drawings for the expansion of the museum in 1925. The spectacular pen drawings have reached around 3000 euros. They can be viewed at auction house Bernaerts, Verlatstraat 16 in Antwerp from 27 to 30 September and from 3 to 9 October. The auction will take place on October 11.
www.bernaerts.eu