About the thematic collection presentation of the KMSKA.

Nico Van Hout

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp
Dr. Nico Van Hout is Head of Collections at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) in Antwerp. Van Hout studied Art History at Ghent University and was trained as a restorer of paintings at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In 2005 he obtained his PhD with a dissertation: Functions of dead coloring with a particular study of the underpainting stage in the work of Peter Paul Rubens. In 1999 he curated his first exhibition for the KMSKA. The KMSKA closed its doors for extensive restoration in 2011 and has only recently reopened. During these years the museum’s collection has travelled internationally and Van Hout has curated several exhibitions in other museums such as Old Masters in the Golden Cabinet (Antwerp, 2013-2017), The Sky is the Limit (Antwerp, 2017) and Rubens and His Legacy (Brussels and London, 2014-2015).

Van Hout has also been intensively involved in the new thematic display of the KMSKA’s collection in the renovated museum. The museum aims to present Flemish art in an international context, show more works by women artists and respect the original function of the artwork. In his lecture, Van Hout will explore the choices made by the curatorial team and explain why these were made.