{"id":86764,"date":"2026-07-26T00:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T22:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/?p=86764"},"modified":"2026-07-26T00:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T22:49:09","slug":"museum-skeleton-portraits-exhibition-in-watergraafsmeer-end-of-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/cultuur\/museum-tot-zover-expositie-skeletportretten-watergraafsmeer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tot Zover Museum captures images of Amsterdammers with a skeleton on the street"},"content":{"rendered":"

The museum took to the streets with one of artist Aat Veldhoen\u2019s skeletons and asked anyone who wanted to answer a simple\u2014yet not-so-simple\u2014question: What is the most beautiful thing you can say about death? The answers now hang as large portraits in the Tuinzaal of the Museum Tot Zover caf\u00e9, in Watergraafsmeer. These aren\u2019t abstract reflections on mortality, but real people looking into the camera and sharing something personal.<\/p>\n

The project is based on the work of Aat Veldhoen. The artist, known for his colorful and sometimes provocative art, created posthumous portraits of people who had just passed away and also regularly used skeletons as models. His direct and unflinching approach to death served as the starting point for the street interviews that resulted in this exhibition. The museum is also hosting a separate exhibition of his work: \u2018Aat Veldhoen, Realist to the Grave.\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"museum-so-far-exhibition-amsterdam_3\"<\/figure>\n

The exhibition combines two layers. In addition to the photographs in the Garden Room, a series of videos is playing in which the subjects further explain their answers. Anyone who looks only at the photograph sees a face and a short text. Those who pause in front of the screen will hear the full story behind it: why this person chose these words, what death means to them, and what memory or experience played a role. This combination of still images and the spoken word makes the project more personal than a typical photo display.<\/p>\n

The portraits themselves are exactly what they are: close-ups, printed large, without any unnecessary embellishment. No backdrop, no props\u2014just the face and the accompanying text. That simplicity suits both the subject and the venue. Museum Tot Zover is, after all, no ordinary museum, but a funeral museum that has focused for years on funeral culture and the history of death. This exhibition fits seamlessly into that theme, without becoming too somber.<\/p>\n

The Garden Room, part of the museum caf\u00e9, is a place where you\u2019d normally have a cup of coffee after a guided tour of the permanent collection. Now, however, it also features this: faces of ordinary people, each offering their own answer to the biggest question of all. While admission to the museum itself is 11 euros for adults, viewing this specific exhibition is free. You can simply walk in, head to the Garden Room, and listen to what other Amsterdammers had to say about death.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Garden Room of the Tot Zover Museum, large portraits hang of people who answered a single question: What is the most beautiful thing you can say about death? The exhibition is inspired by the work of artist Aat Veldhoen, who used skeletons as models. Admission to view these photos is free.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":86765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Museum Tot Zover","rank_math_title":"Museum Tot Zover | Expositie skeletportretten Watergraafsmeer","rank_math_description":"Museum Tot Zover toont in de Tuinzaal portretten van Amsterdammers over de dood, ge\u00efnspireerd op kunstenaar Aat Veldhoen."},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"district":[12],"class_list":["post-86764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultuur","district-amsterdam-oost"],"acf":{"slider":[86766],"fotograaf":"Tiqets \u00b7 Google \u00b7 www.tiqets.com","editor":"","video":"","google_360":"","instagram_code":"","subregel":"Grote portretten en video's in de Tuinzaal, ge\u00efnspireerd op het werk van kunstenaar Aat Veldhoen","new_in_town":false,"featured_item":false,"beste_van_amsterdam":false,"homepage_carousel":false,"start_datum":null,"eind_datum":null,"cord_A":"4.938867","cord_B":"52.3463478","introductie_tekst":"In de Tuinzaal van Museum Tot Zover hangen grote portretten van mensen die antwoord gaven op \u00e9\u00e9n vraag: wat is het mooiste dat jij kunt zeggen over de dood? De expositie is ge\u00efnspireerd op het werk van kunstenaar Aat Veldhoen, die skeletten als model gebruikte. Toegang tot deze foto's is gratis.","rubriek":"Locatie","locatie_event":null,"naam_locatie":"Museum Tot Zover","adres":"Kruislaan 124, 1097 GA Amsterdam","stad":"Amsterdam","website":"https:\/\/www.totzover.nl\/overdedood\/","telefoon_nummer":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86764"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87470,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86764\/revisions\/87470"}],"acf:attachment":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86764"},{"taxonomy":"district","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/district?post=86764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}