The quirky museum rules

From collector to curator

The Merghelynck Museum has a remarkable history. The museum is named after its founder, Arthur Merghelynck (1853-1908). Thanks to his fortune, Merghelynck was able to focus entirely on his hobbies: history, genealogy and collecting. His family history inspired him to establish what he called “Hôtel-Musée Merghelynck”, now the Merghelynck Museum.

In 1892, Arthur Merghelynck purchased the 18th-century city palace where the museum is still located today. At that time, he lived alternately in Beauvoorde Castle and in a building in the Elverdingestraat in Ypres. He bought the city palace to turn it into a museum about the 18th-century aristocratic lifestyle. His fascination with the 18th century was inspired by the heyday of his family history. François Merghelynck (1744-1795) succeeded in holding several high positions, including treasurer and high bailiff of Ypres. In 1773, he was elevated to the nobility by the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. As a genealogist, Arthur Merghelynck immersed himself in his family history and made it his mission to restore the family heritage. The purchase of this property was part of this mission. It was built on the instructions of his great-grandfather, François Merghelynck.

Museum regulations become museum pieces

In 1892, Arthur Merghelynck purchased the city palace and opened his private museum there in 1894. He immediately made a name for himself as a progressive and idiosyncratic museum curator.

Family heirlooms were given a place in the museum and he supplemented the collection with numerous acquisitions. He exhibited visual art, including painted portraits, landscape paintings and still lifes, as well as drawings and etchings, porcelain, applied arts and everyday objects. In addition to unique and high-quality pieces, he also had an eye for curiosities, seemingly banal pieces of lesser quality. He collected everything that could find a place in his museum's story.

Contrary to the spirit of the times, when museums were primarily scientific institutions, he actively focused on public engagement and communication. He set up promotional campaigns, published a catalogue and drew up museum regulations. He commissions top photographers such as the Antony family to photograph the museum. He publishes these images in the press and various publications. He even invites leading international figures and asks them to promote the museum verbally, influencers avant la lettre. These memories of Arthur Merghelynck as curator and the witnesses to his museum vision have now also become part of our heritage.

Rules for travelling players and other curiosities

The museum collection of the Merghelynck Museum and Ypres Museum contains catalogues, photographs and administrative documents relating to the museum's operations. One striking item is the museum regulations from 1898. It is remarkable in itself that museum regulations were drawn up in this way. The regulations are handwritten and signed.

The form and content of these rules immediately illustrate Arthur Merghelynck's idiosyncratic approach. They were written in French and Dutch. At that time, the local elite only spoke French. It was therefore certainly a statement that Arthur Merghelynck drew up these regulations in two languages. One striking rule states that residents of Ypres and the district may only visit the museum with the express permission of the owner. “Playful travellers”, as Arthur Merghelynck called tourists, did not need this permission. As a resident of Ypres, there was therefore a greater barrier to visiting the museum than for tourists. This is remarkable, to say the least. Perhaps this was a consequence of his complex relationship with the local elite, which was particularly cool after his marriage.

In 1895, Arthur Merghelynck married Julienne Flyps. She was a farmer's daughter from Langemark and worked as a waitress in the tavern Het Gouden Hoofd in the Rijselsestraat, near the museum. The local bourgeoisie took the class difference very seriously. This reaction hit the couple hard. Perhaps this condition in the regulations was Arthur Merghelynck's way of denouncing this attitude.