On 17 April 2025, the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, in collaboration with the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, will organise a hybrid symposium in honour of the launch of the online catalogue raisonné of the oeuvre of Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627-1678).

In addition to his apprenticeship with Rembrandt, Samuel van Hoogstraten became an inventive artist and writer who constantly experimented with different subjects and was a pioneer in the field of trompe-l'oeil. The catalogue raisonné of his oeuvre will be published in April 2025 in the form of an RKD Study. The online publication describes all of Van Hoogstraten's works. Experts from the Netherlands and abroad contributed their expertise. In addition to this catalogue raisonné, the RKD Study includes an introductory biography and three essays written by Stephanie Dickey, Leonore van Sloten, Michiel Roscam Abbing and David de Witt.

The launch of the RKD Study marks the end of a large-scale collaborative project between the RKD and the Rembrandt House Museum, where the accompanying exhibition The Illusionist. Samuel van Hoogstraten will be on display till 4 May 2025. To mark this milestone, the RKD and the Rembrandt House Museum, with the support of Bader Philanthropies, are organising a symposium to present the most important findings of the research into Samuel van Hoogstraten that the institutions have carried out in collaboration. The symposium will take place on 17 April at the RKD, with a full programme of various lectures and presentations, which can also be followed online.

Date and time: Thursday 17 April 2025, 10:00-17:00
Location: RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 5, The Hague
Language: English
Price: €15, €7.00 for students, participating online is free
More information: https://www.rkd.nl/en/current/events/samuel-van-hoogstraten-symposium

// Programme:

10.30 Welcome by Prof. Dr. Chris Stolwijk, General Director RKD

10.35 Dr. Michiel Roscam Abbing, Independent scholar
Biographical introduction to Samuel van Hoogstraten: a focus on the influence of his father Dirk, his childhood in The Hague, and his relationship with Rembrandt

10.55 Dr. Sabine Pénot, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
Rembrandt - Hoogstraten. Colour and Illusion, an overview of the exhibition in Vienna

11.15 Questions

11.25 Drs. Leonore van Sloten, The Rembrandt House Museum
The Illusionist. Samuel van Hoogstraten, an overview of the exhibition in Amsterdam

11.45 Prof. dr. Marieke de Winkel, Radboud University
Clothing as a vessel of time: a synthesis of her contributions to the Vienna catalogue on the attributes and representation of gold, and her research on the drawing in Paris

12.05 Wrap-up and questions

12.20 Lunch break

13.15 Prof. dr. Erma Hermens, Hamilton Kerr Institute/ Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Keynote: Samuel van Hoogstraten as technical art historian avant la lettre and prospects for future research

14.00 Drs. Moorea Hall-Aquitania, University of Amsterdam / RKD
Samuel van Hoogstraten’s coloured grounds

14.20 Dr. Lidwien Speleers, Dordrechts Museum
The restoration of Sir Norton Knatchbull and some observations on technique and materials

14.40 Elizabeth Wigfield MA, Art Institute of Chicago
Van Hoogstraten’s Resurrection of Christ – treatment and reconstruction

15.00 Questions

15.10 Coffee/tea

15.35 Dr. David de Witt, The Rembrandt House Museum
Technique and style: interpreting the material and technical aspects of the paper oeuvre

15.55 Dr. Rob Fucci, University of Amsterdam
Watermarks as a source for dating drawings and the technique and research of C. Richard Johnson, Jr.

16.15 Prof. dr. Stephanie Dickey, Professor Emerita Queen’s University
The prints of Samuel van Hoogstraten

16.35 Questions

16.45 Sabine van Beek MA, RKD
Launch RKD Study: digital oeuvre catalogue Samuel van Hoogstraten

17.00 Drinks