The assignment from the Sex museum consists of various phases.

Phase I - restoration Marilyn Monroe

If there is one thing a museum like the Sex museum in Amsterdam cannot do without, then that is the most famous sex symbol of all time: Marilyn Monroe. The museum must temporarily do without her because an over enthusiastic visitor accidentally knocked her over, breaking her arms and legs in four places.

We were asked to restore her back to her original condition. After 30 years, it was also time to replace or restore her dress, bag, shoes and hairpiece. This was one challenge we could not refuse!

The figure bought by the Sex museum was created by artist René de Broyer. In 1983/1984 he worked on a project which resulted in this wonderful figure, which closely resembles a wax figure.

The people at the museum did try to fix the limbs themselves. Though this caused a problem with different skin tones and a smooth skin texture. Not only did the breaks need to be carefully treated, but the figure also needed a thorough clean. Plus, a solution also had to be found for the stability problem.

Our restorer then started restoration work on Marilyn. This involved carefully re-applying colours and shadows to the entire body. Her make-up has also been renewed, her teeth have been cleaned and her nails ‘re-polished’. Her eye lashes were also replaced. Initially, the whole figure was supported by a single pin in her left foot. We have now made a hole in her right foot so that a copper tube can be inserted far inside her leg. This measure should prevent Marilyn from suffering another fall.

In the meantime, we made an exact replica of her original dress. Though we did encounter a problem when doing so: the beautiful fan shape on her dress was realised by crinkling the fabric.

After a lot of searching we discovered that there is only one place in the Netherlands where fabric is still crinkled – namely in Breda. Almost the entire country contacts this one dry cleaner to have their clothes professionally crinkled, which includes our Queen!

We also made a small handbag using matching fabric. We made three copies of the dress and bag so the museum can change the outfit every month. Because Marilyn stands on a grill which blows air, her clothing comes under a great deal of strain.

After 30 years Marilyn’s shoes also needed to be restored. Replacing the shoes was not an option because the figure’s feet featured openings for the shoe straps. Any other type of shoe would thus not fit in the same way.

There were cracks in the leather and the iron grill had caused the leather to tear and lift in a number of places. We applied a few new layers to the shoes, which helped to get rid of tears and other deformations. We finished the shoes with a layer of protective paint.

We also had to replace her ear rings. Because they had suffered so much damage, it was no longer possible to restore them.

Finally, we had a hairpiece knotted in the original hair colour of Marilyn Monroe. The museum still had a well preserved lock of hair, which accurately reflected the colour of the original hairpiece. Judith, our make-up artist, then worked wonders once again by returning the hairpiece to great condition.

Marilyn Monroe can now be marvelled again in the world’s first and oldest sex museum, the 'Temple of Venus' in Amsterdam.