RKD Symposium Marks on Art | 30 October
Date: 30 October
Location: Auditorium of the KB – National Library of the Netherlands & online
Registration: On location, online
Mark 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, 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).
Follow this link for more information about the program and registration.