Summer Institute for Netherlandish Art 2025
From 12 to 25 July, sixteen emerging talents in the field of art history will participate in the Summer Institute. This 14-day internationally oriented program is organized by the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Center for Netherlandish Art (CNA) at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Harvard Art Museums. At the RKD, the program is coordinated by curator Angela Jager.
Interdisciplinary exchange
The participants of the Summer Institute are talented international master’s students, PhD candidates, and early-career professionals from academic and museum-related fields. Over the course of two weeks, they will work intensively with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, curators, conservators, educators, and scholars affiliated with the four leading institutions in Amsterdam and Boston.
During this immersive program, participants will develop new skills and perspectives in object-based research. They will learn how to apply their expertise more effectively and explore how cross-disciplinary collaboration can contribute to a broader public appreciation of Dutch and Flemish art. They return home equipped with fresh insights and practical tools – ready not only to preserve knowledge, but to share it in inspiring and contemporary ways.
The program offers a rich array of activities, including gallery visits, hands-on sessions in conservation studios, panel discussions, creative workshops, and other opportunities that foster the growth of a lasting international network of peers and established experts.
Research and discovery at the RKD
The RKD program day centers on connoisseurship and the wealth of resources the institute has to offer. Following an introduction to the RKD and its diverse collections by junior curator Sabine van Beek, participants delve deeper into the subject matter during the masterclass Connoisseurship and attribution research, taught by Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings Yvonne Bleyerveld and Curator of Dutch and Flemish Old Master Painting Ellis Dullaart.
The newly gained knowledge is put into practice through a hands-on assignment. Under the guidance of RKD curators – Yvonne Bleyerveld, Ellis Dullaart, Suzanne Laemers, and Laurens Schoemaker – participants tackle challenging case studies. In which they attribute and date artworks and reconstruct their provenance using the RKD collections. The day concludes with in-depth excursions to collections in The Hague, including the Mauritshuis.
Supporting future talent
This program is made possible with generous support from the Class of the Museum of Fine Arts Fund for Emerging Scholars, the Kingdom of the Netherlands Fund for Dutch Scholars, the Fonds Beukenhorst/Rijksmuseum Fund, the RKD Friends Society, and the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund. Their commitment helps foster young talent and strengthen international research in the field of art history.