The "Sortie de réserves #1" exhibition showcases works that come exclusively from the Musée Unterlinden's reserves, and explains why they are not on permanent display. The decision to place a work in reserve is based on scientific or technical criteria that are often unknown to the public. Closed to the public until the end of the 20th century, the reserves were perceived as a second museum, invisible and governed by the arbitrary decisions of the curator.
Recent acquisitions awaiting a place in the permanent collection, copies considered to be secondary works, works under study or the subject of a collection project, works requiring specific installation before they can be presented to the public... all justify, for different reasons, their temporary conservation in the museum's reserves. "Sortie de réserves #1" allows us to understand the museum's reserves for what they are: "neither treasures nor storerooms" (Annie Caubet), they are today the conservation and study spaces necessary to the life of the collections and inseparable from the multiple activities of a museum.
Location I Ackerhof, 2nd floor
Recent acquisitions awaiting a place in the permanent collection, copies considered to be secondary works, works under study or the subject of a collection project, works requiring specific installation before they can be presented to the public... all justify, for different reasons, their temporary conservation in the museum's reserves. "Sortie de réserves #1" allows us to understand the museum's reserves for what they are: "neither treasures nor storerooms" (Annie Caubet), they are today the conservation and study spaces necessary to the life of the collections and inseparable from the multiple activities of a museum.
Location I Ackerhof, 2nd floor
