Jonieke van Es, Head of Collections and Research and a member of the management team of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen died last Sunday at the Erasmus University Medical Center following heart surgery.

Jonieke had worked at the museum since May 2006, supervised twenty-two members of staff, and set new standards for collections management, restoration and conservation, storage, scholarly research, publications, documentation and the library.

Her responsibilities embraced every aspect of developing Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen as a leading museum with a world-class collection. As a scholarly art historian she had an outspoken interest in the accurate documentation and conservation of objects. She took pleasure in working with others and was an excellent manager. Her challenge lay in finding a balance between the needs of an energetic and dynamic museum and the long-term approach demanded by collections management and scholarly research.

Jonieke van Es gained her doctorate in 2010 with a dissertation on Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1868-1944), graphic artist, draughtsman and decorative artist. After completing her studies in the history of art in Groningen, she began her career at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, where she occupied the posts of Curator of Modern Art and later Head of the Department of Modern Art.

Jonieke was forty-six years old. She is survived by her partner Tom and their daughters Esmé and Freke. The time and location of her funeral will be announced later this week.

The museum has created an online condolence register (in Dutch).