CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

Judith Niessen Named Head of Collections and Science of the Mauritshuis

As of 1 September, Judith Niessen has assumed the position of Head of Collection and Science at the Mauritshuis. She succeeds Edwin Buijsen, who has been appointed Head of the Cultural Heritage Laboratory at the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency.

Judith Niessen
Photo: Mariel Kolmschot

Niessen most recently served as program manager at the Restitution Expertise Center of the Dutch NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, after working for several years at the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History as Head of Collections. She studied art history at Utrecht University and worked at Sotheby’s from 1997. As Director of Old Master Paintings there, she became an expert on Dutch and Flemish painting up to 1800. Between 2007 and 2018, with her agency Niessen Art & Research, she provided art historical and provenance research for individuals and institutions, and collaborated on various art historical projects such as the collection catalogues Early Netherlandish Paintings of the Rijksmuseum and Nederlandse Tekeningen uit de vijftiende en zestiende eeuw of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Niessen is looking forward to this new step in her career. “I am thrilled to be able to work with the dedicated team of the Mauritshuis in the coming years and contribute to the care and research of this magnificent collection. I also look forward to all the wonderful projects that are on the horizon, such as the restoration and research on Paulus Potter’s The Bull, which will commence in 2024.”