Symposium Marks on Art: Brands and Stamps on Early Modern Paintings.

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 (https://www.rkd.nl/en/current/news/marks-on-art-database-online), 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).

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.

9:30-10:15 Registration and Coffee.
10:15-10:25 Welcome and Introduction.
Short Introduction to Marks on Art and the programme by Angela Jager.

10:25-11:40 Session 1: Documenting Marks.
Uta Neidhardt: Marks on Flemish supports from the Royal Painting Collection in Dresden.
Kirsten Weterings and Marta Domínguez-Delmás: 3D-scanning the reverse of panel paintings: upscaling the recording and classification of panel makers' marks and tool traces.
Lieve Watteeuw and Hendrik Hameeuw: The Portable Light Dome: A Tool for Art Technical Research and Documentation.

11:40-12:30 Session 2: Northern Netherlandish Marks.
Angela Jager: Northern Netherlandish panelmaking craft and marks.
Sabine van Beek: Tracing portrait series through the Dutch ‘4MM' panel mark.
12:40-14:00 Lunch break.

14:00-15:00 Session 3: Other types of marks on panel.
Peter van den Brink: An unknown mark on panel paintings with a Cologne provenance.
Iban Redondo Parés: Tracing the marks: the role of merchant marks in Art History (15th – 17th c.).
15:00-15:30 Coffee/tea break.
15.30-16:30 Keynote lecture by Jørgen Wadum.
Marks & Brands on Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings on Panel or Copper: History – Meaning – Digitzation.
16.30-16:40 Launch RKD Studies by Angela Jager.
16.40-17:00 Final remarks / discussion.
17.00-18:00 Festive Reception.

The symposium can be attended in The Hague or online. For this, we have different tickets available.
Price on location: €50, €25 for Vrienden van het RKD and students. Price includes lunch and drinks afterwards. https://webshop.rkd.nl/symposium-marks-on-art.html
Price for Online participation: €12,50. https://webshop.rkd.nl/online-symposium-marks-on-art.html

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.

The program can also be found here: https://www.rkd.nl/en/current/events/symposium-marks-on-art#:~:text=Information&text=On%20Thursday%2030%20October%202025,on%20panel%20and%20copper%20supports.