Early Netherlandish and French Paintings (ca. 1390-1500) in the Collection of the Gemäldegalerie Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

• Applicant: Dr. Katrin Dyballa
• Subject Area: Art History
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 269744248

Moreso than any other museum, the Gemäldegalerie Berlin is particularly remarkable for its collection of Early Netherlandish and French paintings. Among them are outstanding works like The Virgin in a Church by Jan van Eyck, The Middleburg-Altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden, The Monforte-Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes or the so-called Virgin with the Butterflies by Jean Malouel. However, a scholarly catalogue of this collection, which comprises ca. 90 works, does not yet exist. As a consequence, many of the paintings are well-known to both scholars and the broader public, but oftentimes even fundamental information is missing. This applies even to some of the best-known highlights such as the previously mentioned Virgin in a Church whereby basic information regarding its support and condition have never been published. Furthermore, the very short Berlin catalogues that are available, which rather consist of lists than entries, often lack precise information about the provenance of works, their technique, state of preservation and at times contain significant errors. Other, less prominent works remain largely unknown to the professional public. In short, both scholarly entries and good reproductions of all works, including technical images and data are still a desideratum. Thus, it is extremely important to start working on a critical catalogue of Early Netherlandish and French paintings held by the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. The entirety of this task cannot be independently accomplished by the curator, Dr Stephan Kemperdick, given the plethora of his daily duties. To this end, another scholar has to be employed in order to accomplish the work within a reasonable timespan. Therefore, approximately two-thirds of the works in question should be investigated and described by the applicant. She is extremely well-suited for the project as she has already worked at the Gemäldegalerie and is most familiar with the collection. She is also well-acquainted with the catalogue work and its methodology, including technical investigation, via her Phd dissertation on the 16th century Nuremberg painter, Georg Pencz. As the projected catalogue of the Berlin collection stands to fill a wide gap, it would certainly enhance knowledge on Early Netherlandish painting considerably and provide scholarship with a wealth of hitherto unavailable data. The project will also address more general and interdisciplinary questions, such as the function of particular works. Broadly speaking, the planned catalogue aims to make the rich holdings of the Gemäldegalerie available to a large(r) public, both scholarly and pedestrian.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Babette Hartwieg; Dr. Stephan Kemperdick