Experience

ANTWERP | Former Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder at Hotel Thijs at Belgiëlei

Posted by Timothy on

On Open Monuments Day on 8 September 2024 the former Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder on the Belgiëlei or Belgium Avenue in Antwerp exceptionally opened its doors. This townhouse, hôtel particulier or stadspaleis is also known as Hotel Thijs. 

The former Hotel Thijs from 1905 is one of the most luxurious mansions from the Belle Époque. The architect was Joseph Hertogs who gave it an interior in 18th century style. The client was the Antwerp banker Edouard Thijs (1868-1914);

The building was purchased in 1937 by Pieter Smidt van Gelder (1878-1956). He housed his immense art collection and his own home there. 

In 1949, the building and the collection were donated to the City of Antwerp and the building was transformed into a municipal museum. The building suffered a fire and stability problems, which meant that it was empty for a long time. Both the building and the garden are protected.

Municipal real estate agency AG Vespa is now taking care of the townhouse. The project started in 2022.

Why this project?

As the owner of the building, AG Vespa wants to optimise this heritage by renovating and restoring it. Restoring the original grandeur and appearance is central to this. In this way, the building can once again be given a qualitative purpose.

What is happening?

“We drew up a repurposing study and appointed an architect for the restoration and renovation of the building and the garden. The architect drew up a restoration file and management plan and developed a design. The design focuses on restoring the heritage values ​​of the protected building and the garden.” 

“We are committed to preserving the historical image value and restoring the original grandeur and appearance. The spatial layout of the building is being preserved, in particular the continuum of the monumental entrance hall, the staircase with landings, the reception hall on the main floor and the stairs to the second floor. Around that core you will find large show rooms.”

In addition to caring for the historical elements, it is important that the building is given a qualitative purpose again. Thanks to a multi-purpose and flexible approach to the building, many options for repurposing remain possible. 

For example, installing two lifts will improve the accessibility and use of the building. At the same time, the necessary adjustments regarding stability, fire safety and user comfort must also be made.

The works started in April 2022 and will end this year, 2024. The Agency for Immovable Heritage released a heritage premium of 2.4 million euros for the restoration works.

Future?

It is not yet known what the new use of the former museum will be. The townhouse is owned by the City of Antwerp and will be “put on the market“, as it is called, by the municipal real estate company AG Vespa in October. The building will then be given in concession under a number of conditions.

Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder

The former Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder was a museum housed on the Belgiëlei in Antwerp that displayed the private collection of Pieter Smidt van Gelder.

The collection consists of a hodgepodge of furniture, paintings, bibliophile books, ceramics, porcelain and glass. In 1949 the museum was transferred to the city of Antwerp and the following year it opened its doors to visitors.

In 2003, the museum was classified as a monument by Minister Paul Van Grembergen (Volksunie). Restoration work was started that same year, but stability problems were encountered, which led to the work being stopped and the museum being closed again. T

he collection was transferred to a depot and parts were sporadically exhibited in other museums. The collection of valuable book covers had already been transferred to the Antwerp City Library in 1964.

Who was Pieter Smidt van Gelder?

Pieter Smidt van Gelder (Wormerveer, 10 March 1878 – Antwerp, 11 December 1956) was a Dutch paper manufacturer, art collector and patron. Thanks to an inheritance when he was thirty, he was able to devote himself entirely to art and travel.

Van Gelder was a member of the Dutch Van Gelder family. An ancestor of his founded the firm Van Gelder, Schouten & Co in 1803, which would later become the Vereenigde Koninklijke Papierfabrieken der firma Van Gelder Zonen company. Van Gelder was the director of these paper mills.

Van Gelder was a son of Pieter Smidt van Gelder (1851-1934), director of the United Royal Paper Mills of the Van Gelder Sons company, and his first wife Eva Catharine Prins (1854-1880). 

In 1912 he married Elisabeth Cecilia Jacoba Dólleman (1879-1955), a member of the Dólleman family. No children were born from this marriage, which was dissolved by divorce in 1922.

When the Netherlands wanted to exhibit a collection of books at the 1913 World Exhibition in Ghent, he had a library built for it, which he then donated to the City of Ghent.

In 1935 and 1937 he donated several paintings to the Royal Museums in Brussels, for which he received the honorary decorations of Commander in the Order of the Crown and Commander in the Order of Leopold.

In 1949, he was naturalized as a Belgian. In 1954, he was elevated to the hereditary nobility by King Baudouin, with the personal title of knight.

Knighthood in Belgium

Ridder or chevalier is a noble title in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. Traditionally it denotes the second lowest rank within the nobility, standing below baron, but above the untitled nobility (jonkheer, gentilhomme) in these countries. 

‘Ridder’ is a literal translation of Latin ‘eques‘ and originally meant ‘horseman’ or ‘rider’. For its historical association with warfare and the landed gentry in the Middle Ages, it can be considered roughly equal to the titles of ‘knight’ or ‘Baronet’. 

In the Netherlands and Belgium no female equivalent exists.

In modern times, the title of ridder is often associated with certain orders of knighthood or decorations conferred by the reigning monarch or government to individuals for exceptional accomplishments in various fields such as arts, sciences, philanthropy, or public service. 

Art and museums in Antwerp