The Rijksmuseum published the most in-depth and comprehensive online overview of the work of painter and printmaker Hercules Segers (ca. 1589-1640). The release of the online catalogue The Works by Hercules Segers in the Rijksmuseum means everyone can now access all the works by this remarkable seventeenth-century artist held in the Rijksmuseum collection, as well as all the related information and insights gained through research into them.

Only a fairly small number of works by Segers have survived, and by far the majority of these – 74 etchings, two oil studies, and one painting – are to be found in the Rijksmuseum collection. They formed the core of the comprehensive survey exhibition of Hercules Segers’ work in 2016-2017, which was staged first in the Rijksmuseum and then at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

As part of preparations for the exhibition, in-depth art historical and technical research was carried out at the Rijksmuseum. It yielded vast improvements to our understanding of the artist’s life and work and the experimental techniques and materials he used, as well as more accurate dating of his etchings and paintings. The research findings were published in 2017 in the form of a new and comprehensive catalogue.

The research and detailed descriptions of the 77 works in the Rijksmuseum form the basis of the online catalogue The Works by Hercules Segers in the Rijksmuseum. These entries are augmented with links to works by Segers in collections all over the world, as well as other relevant references. In short, this catalogue represents the most in-depth and comprehensive online overview of the work of this truly exceptional 17th-century artist.