Early sculptures Low Countries and Lower Rhine region
New database for research into ancient sculptures
During the 1566 Iconoclastic Fury, many religious sculptures were destroyed. Much of what was spared eventually made its way into several museums. The creation of a scientific database will help research provenance and background of sculptures. Thus, art historians will be able to uncover any new connections.
Sculptures stored in different locations may actually belong together. For example, individual sculptures found in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Museum Het Zwanenbroedershuis in the city of Den Bosch turned out to be part of a single altarpiece by Adriaen van Wesel. This was discovered when art historians started to look into these sculptures. Suzanne Laemers of the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: ‘By comparing detailed characteristics, it is possible to determine the provenance more accurately and establish a link between the sculptures.’ In fact, this kind of research is boosted considerably by describing collections from different museums in a single scientific database.’
Starting point for research
Research in art history should start by having proper access to the relevant data, Laemers continues. ‘In the fields of painting, drawing and printmaking, an online database with this kind of information already exists. However, there isn’t one available for sculpture yet.’ In collaboration with Marjan Debaene of Museum M Leuven (in Belgium), Laemers is currently developing the Early Netherlandish Sculpture database. Its subject: early sculpture from the Middle Ages and Renaissance (circa 1250-1575), originating from the Low Countries and the Lower Rhine region.
Sculpture photographed
In sculpture, stylistic characteristics offer less of a guide when compared to painting. Laemers: ‘Stylistically heterogeneous sculptures can still come from the same studio. Therefore, you also have to look for other features, such as markings. We start by taking photographs from six different angles of the sculptures in different collections, including any identifying markings. That’s the way you can start to identify geographical origin, Sculptors, the studio, as well as when they were made.’
Suzanne Laemers is curator of Early Dutch Painting in the Department of Research & Development at the RKD. Marjan Debaene is the lead curator of Old Masters at M Leuven. In addition to the sculpture collection of M Leuven, the project also includes collections from the Bonnefanten Museum Maastricht, the Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht, the Museum Kurhaus Kleve and the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen. M Leuven maintains the ARDS digital network platform – the platform for medieval sculpture.
The answers are in the details
A readily accessible database allows for new discoveries, anticipates Laemers. ‘By bringing together data from hundreds of images into a single location, the hope is to uncover new patterns and any new correlations. What are the differences you see among the different production sites that make up the database? Did carvers and sculptors perhaps manufacture for a specific market? Or how and with whom did they collaborate? As we know, the answer is often hidden in the details. Early Netherlandish Sculpture must become an indispensable resource to provide just these details.
Opportunities for emerging professionals
A junior curator will work at the RKD for the duration of the project. Interns from a variety of courses can also participate. ‘Many students and emerging professionals are eager to gain work experience with us. As an academic institute, we want to offer them this opportunity too. After all, they’re the researchers of the future.’ There is clearly still a lot of catching up to do in the field of sculpture, concludes Laemers. ‘During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this art form was just as important as painting. Consequently, this area of research also deserves a scientific database of repute. This way we can gain a better understanding as to how sculptors and carvers have contributed to our cultural heritage.’
Visit the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History and M Leuven websites.