Symposium Marks on Art
On Thursday 30 October 2025, the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History will organise Marks on Art: Brands and Stamps on Early Modern Paintings, a symposium about marks and brands found on the reverses of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish paintings on panel and copper supports.
On the back of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century supports from the Northern and Southern Netherlands, different kinds of marks are found, such as monograms of panel makers, quality stamps of guilds and transport markings of woodcutters. These marks are a crucial source for research into the use of materials, production processes and trade networks within and outside Europe. Through systematic documentation and analysis in the Marks on Art database, launched in November 2024, the RKD contributes to resourcefully enclosing material and technical information about works of art.
The database is a pioneering resource for studying marks on artworks and opens new avenues for research into the significance and identification of various marks, materials, and production processes. On 30 October, the Marks on Art project will present the first part of the RKD Studies series about marks: a revised and extended version of Jørgen Wadum’s groundbreaking article ‘The Antwerp Brand on Paintings on Panel’ (1998).
Marks on Art symposium
On the occasion of this new publication, the RKD organizes Marks on Art: Brands and Stamps on Early Modern Paintings. At this symposium a variety of international specialists will give lectures about research they have done on marks. The keynote presentation will be given by Prof. Em. Dr. Jørgen Wadum.
The full program can be found here.
The symposium will take place on 30 October at the auditorium of the KB – National Library of the Netherlands.
You can also attend this symposium online. For this, you need to buy a separate ticket through this link.
The symposium Marks on Art: Brands and Stamps on Early Modern Paintings is made possible with the support of DutchCulture.
The Marks on Art project is made possible with support from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Mondriaan Fund.