On Tuesday, 18 March 2025, the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History is organizing the hybrid symposium ‘Medieval miniatures from Byvanck to the RKD’. The symposium, which is dedicated to illuminated manuscripts, is organized on the occasion of the incorporation of the Byvanck database into RKD Research. As a result of this project, more than 25.000 descriptions of Dutch medieval manuscripts and book illustrations will become accessible online.

Detail of the Mass of Saint Gregory from the Book of Hours, possibly produced for a member of the Lochorst family, with painted illustrations and border decorations by the Master of Catherine of Cleves. Utrecht, ca. 1460 (The Hague, Huis van het boek, Ms. MMW 10 F 50, ff. 147v-148r)
The symposium features four international speakers, who will present talks on different aspects of manuscript illumination. Makers and buyers of illuminated manuscripts will be discussed, as well as research into manuscript illumination and the opportunities of linking digital heritage collections. The program starts at 13:30 and ends at 17:30, with festive drinks after. It will take place in the auditorium of the National Library in The Hague, but can also be attended online.
Presentation
- Systematic Studies of Dutch Medieval Manuscript Illumination: Past and Present
James Marrow (professor emeritus of Art History, Princeton University) - Manuscript Illumination in the Northern Netherlands: Patterns of Production and Demand
Anne Margreet As-Vijvers (senior curator of Medieval Manuscript Illumination, RKD) - Multi-Tasking Manuscript Illuminators in the Fifteenth-Century Netherlands and Europe
Thomas Kren (curator emeritus, Department of Manuscripts, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles) - A Well-Marked Path or Labyrinth? Medieval Manuscripts and Linked Data
Mariken Teeuwen (senior researcher, Huygens Instituut, KNAW Amsterdam, and professor for the Culture of Writing in the Middle Ages, Leiden University)
More information and registration via the RKD website.