CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

The Rembrandt Database receives 3-year grant

From the RKD, 31 March 2015

The RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History and its partners are pleased to announce that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a final three-year renewal grant for the Rembrandt Database (2015-2017). Grant funds will be used to improve the platform, expand its contents, and move the resource toward full independent sustainability after 2017. The RKD invites all holders of Rembrandt material to take part and join The Rembrandt Database and make an invaluable contribution to this landmark international scholarly endeavor.

The Rembrandt Database offers museums, research institutions, and individual researchers an open, online platform to share high-quality and in-depth information and documentation concerning Rembrandt paintings in digital format with the academic and museum community. At the moment 9.500 documents have been published on the website, relating to no less than 168 paintings in 23 collections worldwide. Recent additions include paint sample documentation from the Cultural Heritage Agency in Amsterdam/Amersfoort, access to the first five Rembrandt Corpus volumes, and the rich research documentation of 14 paintings from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

By 2017, at least 500 paintings by and/or formerly attributed to Rembrandt are expected to be in the database with consistent high-quality information and at least one image. This phase will encompass collaborations with new and existing partners, such as the Doerner Institut in Munich. The Rembrandt Database team also welcomes new partner institutions; your institute’s documentation would further complement the material in the database and enable new forms of scholarship. The highly experienced team can guide you through the necessary steps, such as making an inventory of your text and image documentation, selecting what to present, and digitizing the material. The team will then add your material and its proper description to the database.

A second goal of the grant period is a revision of the website. The Rembrandt Database is based on already existing RKD databases in order to guarantee a sustainable product. A new user interface, derived from the recently successfully renewed RKD website (www.rkd.nl), will be developed in the coming year. The new website will have better navigation, higher speed, comprehensive search functionalities, and tools for printing, downloading, adding comments, and making your own selections of data.

‘On behalf of the RKD, The Rembrandt Database team, and all people and institutions involved in the project I would like to express our gratitude to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its generous support over the past and subsequent years for The Rembrandt Database project.’ Chris Stolwijk, Director RKD

Contact The Rembrandt Database: weidema@rkd.nl

Do you want to stay informed on our latest news? Send an email to: rembrandtdatabase@rkd.nl and we will keep you posted.

www.rembrandtdatabase.org


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