Privacy Policy and Personal Information

Sometimes we ask you to provide some personal data. What information might we collect about you? How do we manage the data? Please read our privacy policy for more information.

Everyone is welcome in our unique museum, founded in 1887 by Hendrik Willem Mesdag and his wife Sientje. In some cases, we require information about you linked to your upcoming visit, if you subscribe to our email communication or if you ask us a question. For example, if you order a ticket online, book a guided tour or hire a room.

It goes without saying that we handle your personal data with the greatest possible care. After all, this concerns your privacy. Read on for more information about our privacy policy and how we use your data.

The Mesdag Collection
This privacy statement applies to: Van Gogh Museum Foundation (formerly Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh / Rijksmuseum H.W. Mesdag), i.e. The Mesdag Collection. In all instances where ‘The Mesdag Collection’, 'the museum' or 'we' is mentioned, the information applies solely to this party.

The The Hague Public Health Service (GGD) may ask The Mesdag Collectie to provide personal data in order to help them track coronavirus. For the sake of public health, The Mesdag Collectie will comply with any such request.

How does The Mesdag Collection handle your personal data?

The Mesdag Collection limits processing personal data to an absolute minimum. However, The Mesdag Collection will always require certain personal data, such as for the provision of all the products and services offered by the museum. For example, the online ticket shop requests certain personal data: this data is required in order to supply the ordered admission tickets correctly. There are also other instances when we require your personal data. Such as when you book a guided tour, subscribe to our email communication, apply for a job at the museum or when you want to support us by making a donation.

Your personal data is handled with the utmost care. In principle, this data will not be supplied to third parties, unless this is necessary for the service in question, or if we are legally obliged to do so. We do our utmost to ensure that this data is secured to the best of our ability.

Personal data will be stored for the shortest possible length of time (see article 7). We take legal retention periods that apply to certain data into consideration.

Whoever supplies his or her data to us is – and remains – the owner of this data. This means that the owner of this data has given permission for the personal data to be processed. It also means that the owner can revoke this permission and request that his or her data is deleted (see article 15).

1. What is personal data?

Personal data is understood to be: All data concerning an identified or identifiable natural person. This means that information directly relates to someone or can be traced to this person. Data relating to the deceased or organisations is not considered to be personal data.

2. What is processing personal data?

Processing is understood to mean all actions carried out with regard to personal data, both digital and on paper. For example, collecting, recording, categorising, storing, editing, amending, requesting, consulting, using, forwarding, distributing, combining, linking, protecting, erasing and destroying personal data, as well as making it available.

3. What personal data do we process?

Museum visit

CCTV recordings are made inside and outside the museum for security purposes. These recordings are used to help us safeguard the safety and security of visitors, staff and the artworks to the best of our ability.
During events such as the opening of a new exhibition, the purchase of a new artwork etc. we make photographs or videos. These images are being used to report and give an impression of these events. We will not ask your consent for these images, because these images are made in the context of the freedom of press. As mentioned in the Uitvoeringswet AVG in case of freedom of press consent is not necessary. In case you don’t want to be photographed, please inform the photographer, so he/she can take this in account. If we take pictures of a minor or a incapacitated person, we will always ask consent of a legal designated representative.
We will ask consent for all other images we make inside or outside of the museum.

Website visit
Various services are offered on our website. Visitors to the website can purchase an admission ticket or book a guided tour or workshop. You can also hire a room or the garden for a wedding or other event, support our museum or subscribe to our email communication. We ask you to provide personal data in all of these cases, in order to handle your purchase, request or question as best we can.

We use cookies, analytics and other technologies on our website and in our apps. These all help us to ensure that the website and apps work properly and to collect data that helps us to improve the website. This data is anonymised whenever possible and is not supplied to third parties.

More information about cookies and how we use them is available in our cookie policy.

Read our cookie policy

We may ask for the following personal data:

Online tickets and email communication

If you use our services, would like to stay up to date on our activities or to follow us via social media, and have entered certain relevant personal data, we can process the following personal data supplied by you:

first and last name (only for online tickets);
email address;
any other information voluntarily provided by the visitor to the website and/or for which the visitor has given explicit permission for it to be processed, e.g. as part of research or to stay up to date on activities in and around the museum;
IP address, when completing forms to request a guided tour or workshop, or when completing a contact form. This IP address is automatically added when a form such as this is submitted.

Friends of Mesdag
With regard to Friends of The Mesdag Collection, the following personal data is processed:

first and last name;
address information;
telephone number;
bank account number;
email address;
if applicable: information required to allow you to deduct your gift from your income tax return.

Guided tour or workshop
With regard to visitors who book a guided tour or workshop (by telephone, email or via the website), the following personal data is processed:

first and last name;
address information;
telephone number;
email address;
country information;
other information supplied voluntarily;
IP address that is automatically added when you complete and submit a form on the website.

Requesting images for commercial usage
If natural persons request images, this privacy statement applies. In order to be able to assess and handle image requests, including payment, the following personal data is processed: - sex; - language preference; - first and last name; - address information; - country information; - telephone number; - email address; - VAT number.

Research
We regularly conduct research in order to help us improve the quality of our website and apps. This research is usually conducted anonymously. In the case of research requiring the processing of personal data, we do not request more personal data than is strictly necessary. We also ask for explicit permission to process this data.

Apply for a job at the museum
If you apply for a job, we process the following data supplied by you:

first and last name;
address information;
telephone number;
email address;
CV;
motivation.

Hiring a room or the garden
If you would like to get married at our museum or in our spectacular garden, or if you would like to use our facilities for another event, we will request the following personal data from you:

first and last name;
address information;
telephone number;
email address;
IP address that is automatically added when you complete and submit a form online;
other information supplied voluntarily.

Authenticity requests
You might ask us to verify the authenticity of your artwork of Mesdag or the Hague School artists. This privacy statement is only applicable in the case of authenticity requests submitted by natural persons, not in the other cases.

In order to conduct authenticity research when requested, we also require personal data concerning the (previous) owner(s) of the artwork(s). This is why the following personal data is processed:

sex;
first and last name;
address information;
country information;
telephone number;
email address.

Contact
When you contact us or submit a request for a call back, we might ask personal data in order to answer your question or handle your request. We might process (besides the company data) the following personal data:

first and last name (of contact);
email address (of contact);
telephone number (if you requested telephone contact);
other details you give us.

Other relations
Personal data of other relations are recorded in our CRM-system. We keep in contact with these relations by sending them information about our museum and our activities or invite them for events.

The following personal data can be processed:

first and last name;
(private) address information;
(private) telephone number;
(private) email address;
in some cases a passport photo;
in some cases date of birth;
in some cases information you provide us in a conversation.

4. When do we process personal data?

Personal data is only processed if:

it is required in order to fulfil an agreement;
the owner has given explicit, unequivocal permission for us to do so;
there is a justified interest for The Mesdag Collection (e.g. analytical purposes or direct marketing);
processing the data is necessary in order to comply with a legal obligation.

5. Why do we process this data?

The Mesdag Collection processes personal data:

to help us to deal with your request for visual material, authenticity requests, location hire, a workshop or guided tours;
so that we can get in touch with you in the case that there are urgent changes that impact the booking for your museum visit, guided tour or workshop, or the hire of a room or the garden, or if there is/are uncertainty or issues regarding your booking;
to help us ensure that your visit to the museum is as enjoyable as possible;
to help us safeguard the safety and security of visitors, staff and our artworks;
so that we can request payment for the museum activity provided or hire of our garden or rooms, or so that we can accept a donation/gift;
so that we can deal with your job application;
if you have requested information from us;
so that we can invite you to events;
for purposes of analysis that will help us to improve the service we offer, in which case the data will be anonymised wherever possible;
if you have given permission for your data to be processed. For example, if you would like to be kept up to date on our events and developments at our museum, for research purposes or to help us improve our services.
to inform you about special offers you might find interesting.

6. Processing by third parties

We supply third parties with personal data if this is required for technical reasons (e.g. in the case that we do not have the required technology in-house), or due to (legal) obligations.

In such cases, we employ the services of a specialised third party to provide the agreed service. This third party also processes the personal data. E.g. a specialised party that ensures that your admission ticket is delivered to your inbox.

In such cases, we will employ the services of a third party who satisfies our safety norms and privacy guidelines. We make clear agreements with this party regarding handling personal data with care. The Mesdag Collection is, and remains (also in such a case), responsible for the processing of the data.

We may also be required to make a declaration or report a crime, e.g. in the case of fraud. The police, judiciary, watchdogs and/or the Tax Office may request data from us on legal grounds. A judge also has the power to oblige us to provide data. In all of these cases, we are required to supply the necessary personal data to third parties

7. For how long do we store your data?

Personal data will not be stored for longer than is strictly required in order to realise the purpose for which the data was collected. In some cases, we are bound by a legal retention period.

Job applicants’ data is deleted or destroyed 4 weeks after a recruitment procedure is completed or stopped, unless it has been agreed with the applicant that their data will be kept on file. In the case of the latter, we will store the data for a maximum of 1 additional year.

With regard to Friends of Mesdag, when a donation is cancelled, we ask whether the personal data should be deleted or whether the person in question would like to stay up to date on the museum’s activities (whether they would like to remain on our records as a museum relation).

If you have subscribed to receive our email communication (such as newsletters) or have indicated that you would like to be added to our records as a museum relation, we process your data until such time as you indicate that you would no longer like to receive the email communication or would like to be deleted from our records. To unsubscribe from our newsletter, you can also click ‘Unsubscribe’ in the footer of our newsletter.

All data collected in relation to the provision of our products and/or services will be deleted as soon as possible after the transaction has been completed in full.

We store personal data from relations that visit our museum regularly, such as schools, until they ask us to delete these personal data.

In case of events we store personal data with a maximum of four weeks after the event. Images made during events are stored in our digital archive and is, for press purposes, stored and used for an indefinite period of time.

8. Do we share personal data with third parties?

Personal data is only shared with third parties if this is required to fulfil an agreement or contract entered into with you, to comply with legal obligations or to cooperate with investigations being conducted by the police or other authorities. See also article 6.

9. The transfer of personal data to third countries

Your personal data will be processed and stored within the European Union as much as possible. Our processors might store or process your personal data outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). Transfer of personal data to a country outside of the EEA will only take place when that country ensures they take appropriate precautions to protect personal data.

10. CCTV surveillance

For purposes of security, the museum uses CCTV surveillance both inside and outside of the museum. It goes without saying that we handle the recordings with care. They are not shared with third parties unless the police or other authorities request them. Recordings are stored for a maximum of 4 weeks, unless this data is required as part of investigations being conducted by the police or other authorities.

11. Wi-Fi network

At the museum you can use our free Wi-Fi service. As a result of offering the Wi-Fi service, the museum may receive information that could be used to identify you or the device you are using. For example, your MAC address or unique means of identification, such as a name or number assigned to a device. This data is not stored or shared with third parties.

12. Social media

The Mesdag Collection makes use of social media to inform you about our collection, to keep you up to date on our activities and to offer you glimpses behind the scenes. We also use social media to respond to your questions and comments. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube. If you use these social media platforms, you agree to the terms & conditions of the social media platform in question.

We place advertisements for our exhibitions and other activities on social media. We show you advertisements based on the data that the social media platform collects with your permission, e.g. that you follow us, your age, where you live or that you are interested in art.

The Mesdag Collection does not have any influence on the data that the social media platforms collect about you. To find out more, check the terms & conditions of the social media platform you use. You can also often manage these privacy preferences in the settings in your social media profile.

13. Google Analytics

The Mesdag Collection uses Google Analytics to gain insight into how visitors use its website. We use the information to help us improve the website.

The data cannot be traced back to individual people. Read more about the Google privacy policy.

The Mesdag Collection has taken the following measures to protect your privacy:

• We have signed a data processing agreement with Google. • We have turned off the ‘share data with Google’ option. • Google Analytics cookies are not used in combination with other Google services. • The last three numbers of your IP address have been deleted, meaning it is anonymised.

14. Cookies

On The Mesdag Collection website, we use cookies to ensure that the website works properly, to analyse how the website is used and to show you advertisements tailored to your interests and how you use the internet. More information is available in our cookie policy.

Read our cookie policy

15. What rights do you have?

If you have subscribed to our newsletter and would like to cancel your subscription, you can do so by clicking on the ‘Unsubscribe’ hyperlink in the footer of the email. Alternatively, email your request to newsletter@demesdagcollectie.nl.
If you are under the impression that we process your personal data unlawful or improper, you can request a restriction on the processing of your personal data by the Van Gogh Museum.
You have the right to request what personal data we process about you.
If your personal data we hold is incorrect, you have the right to request to have any inaccuracies corrected.
You can withdraw your consent at any time for future processing by us of your personal data. In case of images we need to know at what date the images is made, at what event and we need a clear description of the image. If possible attach the image to your request. If we grant your request the image will not be used for future processing.
You have the right to request to transfer your personal data to another company. We will grant this request to the extent that this (data portability) is technically possible.
You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data. If you do so, we will stop processing your personal data, unless our urgent justified grounds outweigh your interests. In that case we will inform you about it.
You have the right to be forgotten. After you request, your personal data will be deleted as soon as possible, unless we are not able to do so because of legislation. Due to technical reasons it is not always possible to delete personal data. In that case we will anonymize your personal data whenever possible.

Any request about your personal data must be made in writing to:

Van Gogh Museum
Privacy Officer
P.O. Box 75366
1070 AJ Amsterdam
The Netherlands

or sent by email to privacy@vangoghmuseum.nl. We will respond to your request as soon as possible, and within 4 weeks at the latest.

If we are not possible to grant your request we will let you know with reasons. In order to prevent abuse, we might ask you for identification, by sending us a copy of your identification.

16. The right to file a complaint

If you believe that we do not handle your personal data with care or responded to your request seriously, you have the right to file a complaint with the supervisory authority Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (Dutch DPA)

17. Personal data security

The Mesdag Collection will always do its utmost to secure your personal data. Our aim is to prevent misuse or loss of data, as well as unauthorised access, unwanted publication or unlawful adjustments. All our websites have a SSL Certificate, to ensure that your personal data is sent safe and encrypted.

If you nevertheless get the impression that your data is not properly secured or that there are signs of misuse, or if you would like to receive more information about how your personal data is secured, contact us by sending an email to privacy@vangoghmuseum.nl mentioning ‘The Mesdag Collection’.

18. Amendments

The Mesdag Collection reserves the right to make changes, additions or adjustments to its privacy statement.

This privacy policy is adjusted on 20 May 2019.

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