International two-day symposium on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the ANKK
The symposium will take place at the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History in The Hague. The event is jointly organised by the RKD and the ANKK (German organisation for the Study of Netherlandish Art and Culture /Arbeitskreis Niederländische Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte e.V.).
The symposium marks the 10th anniversary of the ANKK as well as the conclusion of the RKD project on ‘Nachwirkung’ of Dutch and Flemish art in Germany, Austria, Bohemia and Silesia. The basis of this project is the pioneering publication by Horst Gerson (1907-1978), Ausbreitung und Nachwirkung der holländischen Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts (Amsterdam 1983, ed. princ. Haarlem 1942), in which the circulation and imitation of Dutch paintings in Europe are processed by country.
Collecting Dutch and Flemish Art in Germany 1600-1900
From the 17th century on, Germany was a major market for Dutch and Flemish paintings, drawings and prints of the Golden Age. Although this market remains important until the present day, its peak was during the 18th century: Netherlandish art was passionately collected at the numerous courts and in the towns which were centres of commercial activity. As a result, there is more Netherlandish art to be found in Germany today than in any other country.
In this conference several case studies will be presented on key figures of the collection history of Germany, Austria and Bohemia. There will be a focus on networks and the negotiations of collectors, art dealers and agents. With the growth of the collections of Netherlandish art in Germany, connoisseurship and academic discourse developed accordingly: Germany is the cradle of the art history of Dutch and Flemish painting. Last but not least, the focus on Netherlandish art had a significant impact on German artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, who competed with artists from the Netherlands, who had been working in times gone by.
For the program and more, see the RKD-website.