{"id":123696,"date":"2026-07-03T09:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/?p=123696"},"modified":"2026-07-03T09:57:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T07:57:43","slug":"de-familie-tenenbaum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/07\/de-familie-tenenbaum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tenenbaum family"},"content":{"rendered":"

I usually write for Cultuurpers about technology or governance. About directors and regulators, about organisations that lose sight of why they were originally set up, and about why people who are supposed to keep power in check sometimes end up becoming part of it. Last week, the topic here was the Dutch Photo Museum<\/a>. The court was highly critical of the way the board had treated former director Birgit Donker, bringing a long period of managerial failure to a painful end. Or so I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is so often the case in a Wes Anderson film, there turned out to be a second storyline. Not the one set in the courtroom, but the one centring on the characters \u2013 the custodians who disappear one by one. One leaves with a carefully crafted farewell message containing nothing but warm words about the museum\u2019s bright future, whilst another opts for complete silence. As if a Board of Trustees were a piece of scenery that is silently wheeled offstage once the performance is over, whilst the audience is still watching the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I read in An interview in the NRC<\/a> with the museum\u2019s interim director, Roderick van der Lee. Suddenly, everything fell into place \u2013 not because the interview shed any light on the court case, but because it offered a glimpse into the world in which some directors seem to see themselves. It starts right from the opening sentence: \u201cI already had a Burberry jacket when I was four.\u201d<\/em> This is followed by a fond description of Italian and English suits, Vinted finds, red socks, a collection of hundreds of ties, and a quote from Oscar Wilde: \u201cIt is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.\u201d<\/em> Van der Lee adds that what he wears reflects what he values: quality, craftsmanship, sustainability and an appreciation of the past.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone reading the interview without further context will see an art historian with a flair for style and tradition. It conveys a love of craftsmanship and objects steeped in history. It is a likeable portrait that fits perfectly into a lifestyle section of the NRC. However, context is not merely what is written on the page, but also what the reader already knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is precisely what gave the interview an air of unreality. Whilst the judge had only just ruled that the museum had been seriously remiss in its administrative duties, I was reading about Burberry jackets, carefully chosen pocket squares and red socks. Whilst, behind the scenes, an organisation is grappling with the consequences of years of failing oversight, the camera in the interview lingers affectionately on the details of taste, style and personal aesthetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps that is precisely why I keep thinking about The Royal Tenenbaums<\/em><\/a> made me think. Wes Anderson rarely makes films about bad people. His characters are charming, well-read and impeccably dressed. Their homes are carefully furnished, their routines almost ritualistic, and their sense of aesthetics impeccable. Yet they often live for so long within their own carefully constructed universe that, without realising it, they lose touch with reality. Their tragedy is not that they wish to do harm, but that they have come to regard their own story as more important than the world around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the same applies to governance. Major governance failures rarely arise because people deliberately do the wrong thing. Far more often, they arise because directors and supervisors gradually shut themselves away in a world where reputation, position, style and mutual unquestioned acceptance become more important than the uncomfortable question of whether they still dare to critically assess their own performance. Loyalty then takes precedence over correction, and oversight imperceptibly becomes mere window dressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since reading the NRC interview, I have therefore come to view the crisis at the Nederlands Fotomuseum differently. Less as a series of bad decisions and more as a clash between two worlds. One world revolves around responsibility, accountability and the ability to correct one\u2019s own mistakes. The other revolves around identity, culture, taste and the careful cultivation of a self-image. In a Wes Anderson film, this would result in a moving tragicomedy, complete with symmetrical sets and melancholic music. In the boardroom of a public museum, however, the same script rarely ends with applause.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guido van Nispen writes: There are stories that end with a court case. And there are stories that only really begin with a Burberry jacket, red socks and a carefully folded pocket square. This is one such story.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1273,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15614,12326,16518,3,11687],"tags":[16572,16554],"class_list":["post-123696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beleid","category-column","category-featured","category-opinie","category-donatie-gevraagd","tag-governance","tag-nederlands-fotomuseum"],"featured_image_url":[],"post_author":"Guido van Nispen","assigned_categories":"beleid, Column, featured, PERSOONLIJK, WAARDEER & DONEER!","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":123108,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/07\/na-het-vonnis-over-het-fotomuseum-begint-de-echte-bestuursvraag\/","url_meta":{"origin":123696,"position":0},"title":"After the verdict on the Photomuseum, the real governance question begins","author":"Guido van Nispen","date":"1 July 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Guido van Nispen: At first glance, the judgement in the case involving former director Birgit Donker appears to mark the conclusion of a long-running labour dispute. But its significance extends much further. The court was exceptionally critical of the actions of the Supervisory Board of the Nederlands Fotomuseum\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":132010,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/08\/met-de-blik-op-de-toekomst\/","url_meta":{"origin":123696,"position":1},"title":"Looking to the future","author":"Guido van Nispen","date":"9 August 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Guido van Nispen: \"Three board members left the Nederlands Fotomuseum before the court had handed down its ruling. As a result, a labour dispute unexpectedly turned into a much broader governance issue: who is actually accountable when the very nature of oversight itself becomes the subject of debate?\"","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":127744,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/07\/open-brief-aan-wethouder-joan-nunnely\/","url_meta":{"origin":123696,"position":2},"title":"Open letter to Councillor Joan Nunnely","author":"Guido van Nispen","date":"19 July 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Copy: Registry, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, parties involved in the affairs of the Nederlands Fotomuseum Subject: Nederlands Fotomuseum, council debate 16 July 2026 17 July 2026 Dear Ms Nunnely, Upon taking up your post as Councillor for Culture, you are inheriting a case that now extends far beyond a labour dispute at the Nederlands Fotomuseum. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98639,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2025\/09\/open-brief-aan-toezichthouders-nederlands-fotomuseum\/","url_meta":{"origin":123696,"position":3},"title":"Open Letter to Supervisors Netherlands Photo Museum","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"23 September 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"To: Nederlands Fotomuseum Supervisory BoardCC: national newspapersDate: 22 September 2025Concerning: Administrative turmoil and the future of the Nederlands Fotomuseum Dear members of the Supervisory Board, We, photography enthusiasts, stakeholders and professional administrators active in the art sector, have noted with concern the sudden resignation of the director-director of the Nederlands Fotomuseum this summer. Our concerns stand...","rel":"","context":"In "beleid"","block_context":{"text":"beleid","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/beleid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nederlands-fotomuseum.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nederlands-fotomuseum.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nederlands-fotomuseum.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nederlands-fotomuseum.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112193,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/05\/er-zijn-alleen-verliezers-toezicht-zonder-zichtbaar-toezicht\/","url_meta":{"origin":123696,"position":4},"title":"\u201cThere are only losers\u201d Surveillance without visible oversight","author":"Guido van Nispen","date":"25 May 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A court case over Birgit Donker's dismissal at the Nederlands Fotomuseum grew into an uncomfortable mirror for supervision, legitimacy and public accountability. 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