The Sikkens Painters Museum shows the development of the painter’s trade from 1750 onwards. The heart of the museum shows a workplace from the year 1900, completely in the atmosphere of the time. The car spray shop from the thirties provides a picture of the transition from carriage painting to car spraying. There are numerous masterpieces to admire in addition to the tools. In the fifties many advertising texts were introduced on the reverse side of the glass; a technique that is also displayed in a temporary exhibition of a beautiful collection of Chinese reverse glass paintings from the 18th century.
The beautifully displayed collection of wall hangings fits into the context of the painter/decorator, from gold leather and velour to wallpaper. The alternating exhibition shows a large number of specimens of the craftsmanship of the painter from the last 50 years: they cannot really be separated - wood and marble types, perfectly executed typesetting work, decorative designs and much more. The history of the Sikkens trademark and the charisma of Akzo Nobel Coatings is illustrated in photographs and three dimensional objects. Finally many books about the painter’s trade and the development of the paint industry have been brought together in the library; alongside this a rare collection of painter’s magazines, bound in annual editions, provides a great fund of information.