CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

Cataloguing museum collections: Past, present and future

Symposium: 12 June 2025

A roundtable discussion on cataloguing museum collections Northern Renaissance art, celebrating the recent publication of Susan Foister’s ‘The German Paintings Before 1800’.

Date: Thursday, 12 June 2025
Time: 6 – 7.45 pm, doors open at 5.30 pm (drop-in)
Location: Pigott Theatre, Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery, London

To celebrate the recent publication of Susan Foister’s ‘The German Paintings Before 1800’, join us for a roundtable discussion on cataloguing museum collections. In conversation with Christine Riding (Director of Collections and Research, the National Gallery) and Susan Foister (formerly Deputy Director, the National Gallery), our three guest speakers Katrin Dyballa (Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg), Stephan Kemperdick (GemĂ€ldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and JosĂ© Juan PĂ©rez Preciado (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid) will share the insights they gained while researching and publishing on the major Northern Renaissance paintings in their care.

The guest speakers will discuss key questions related to the publication of museum collection catalogues, such as: what should collection catalogues be in the 21st century? Who are they intended for? What format should they take: digital, print, or hybrid? What is the future of these time-consuming, costly, yet profoundly rewarding publications? How have they shaped the field of Northern Renaissance painting in the past?

Speakers

  • Christine Riding (Director of Collections and Research, the National Gallery)
  • Susan Foister (formerly Deputy Director, the National Gallery)
  • Katrin Dyballa (Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg)
  • Stephan Kemperdick (GemĂ€ldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
  • JosĂ© Juan PĂ©rez Preciado (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)