We are very pleased to announce that by April next year, CODART will publish its CODART Canon list of masterpieces in book form. The book will be published by Lannoo and is supported by the Friends of CODART Foundation and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Brussels. The CODART Canon consists of 100 Dutch and Flemish artworks dating from before 1750 that are of particular importance to the history of art. The list was compiled in 2019 and can be found on canon.codart.nl.

One hundred CODART members from over twenty countries have accepted our invitation to each write about one of the masterpieces in the canon. We are very grateful to all of the authors for the enthusiasm with which they shared their passion and knowledge. The entries will be prefaced by an essay that explores the phenomenon ‘canon’ and recounts the process of compiling one, written by the current and former chair of CODART’s program committee, Quentin Buvelot of the Mauritshuis and Friso Lammertse of the Rijksmuseum. If circumstances allow, we will organize a festive book launch in 2021.

In making a canon, CODART sought to present a survey of the overwhelming quantity of Dutch and Flemish art as displayed in museum collections worldwide. CODART aims to make these artworks more visible and stimulate discussion about art and the profession of curators.