Last November, Paul Knolle retired from Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede as head of collections and curator of fine arts.
Paul Knolle worked at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe for 23 years. He was fundamental to the repositioning of the museum, which started focusing more on its significant collection of eighteenth-century art. Thanks to Knolle the museum was able to add works of international importance to the collection, including exceptional landscapes by Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable, portraits by Alexander Roslin and five decorative pieces by Jurriaan Andriessen.
Paul Knolle (left) during his farewell reception at Rijksmuseum Twenthe with with Arnoud Odding, director of the museum.
Photo: Wilma Tempelman
In Enschede he organized many exhibitions on diverse subjects, including a set of three exhibitions organized between 2013 and 2014 on the Flemish Primitives, the Flemish baroque and the Flemish Expressionists. He then went on to organize Danger and Beauty. Turner and the Tradition of the Sublime (2015), Finally! De Lairesse (2016-17) and Tischbein and the Discovery of Feelings (2019-2020).
Upon retirement, Knolle resumed his doctoral research on the origins, functioning, and artistic and social importance of drawing academies in the Netherlands in the period 1760-1821.
Paul Knolle has been a member of CODART since 2000. In 2014 he was interviewed by Andrea Steckerová for a special edition of the CODART eZine dedicated to eighteenth-century art.