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06. Material history (2007)
The initial photographs that were adhered to the aluminium structure showed the wall of a different corner when the work was exhibited in the Van Abbemuseum in 1973. The same year already these were replaced by new photographs related to its new site when the work was acquired by the Kröller-Müller Museum in 1973. After a loan to the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, at which occasion the photographs were not replaced, ‘The wider the flatter' got damaged during transport to Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels that had to be the next venue in 1975. There are no condition photographs known, but apparently the photographs were damaged so severely that a new prints needed to be made. The course of action is documented in correspondence between the Kröller-Müller Museum and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and a report by the technician of the Kröller-Müller Museum named Hoefsloot from 1976.
Two 4x5" Ektachromes were found in the photo archive of the museum that were probably made at this time for for 'The wider the flatter'. One shows a rather pale version of 'The wider the flatter' in the Kröller-Müller Museum, presumably the version with the new prints from the original negatives that dissatisfied the artist because of their lack of contrast. This was why a new photograph was made of which probably the other Ektachrome in the archive is the result. It shows the wall with colour bars adhered to it and some tape marking the total width of the artwork.
After 1976 when the work was made anew it had been on display for a long time, but is not known until when exactly. It is known that the work was kept in storage for a long time because of the poor condition of the photographic material.
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