Spel en betekenisgeving bij de musealisering van christelijk-religieus erfgoed

In Homo Ludens Johan Huizinga argues that play is a necessary condition of culture, as for example in the placement of objects in the Rijksmuseum: their arrangement produces different layers of meaning that can be uncovered in various ways by visitors. Huizinga opposes the idea of the as a museum of art because combining objects of art and historical objects will lead to a ‘historical sensationalism’. The polyptych “The Seven Works of Mercy” (De zeven werken van barmhartigheid) shows how a Christian-religious object can function in the Rijksmuseum’s environment, defined by secular rules of presentation.