Annemarie Stefes appointed as Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellow The RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History and the Fondation Custodia are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Annemarie Stefes as the third Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellow. During her fellowship, Annemarie will work on updating her catalogue raisonné of Nicolaes Berchem’s drawings and preparing it for publication, reviewing existing data, adding newly discovered drawings, and re-mapping the oeuvre in light of recent research. Annemarie Stefes Annemarie Stefes is an expert on Dutch drawings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She studied in Freiburg im Breisgau and Vienna, was a curator-in-training at the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, and worked as a research assistant at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, where she published the comprehensive collection catalogue Niederländische Zeichnungen 1450-1850. Kupferstichkabinett der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Annemarie Stefes, the third Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellow Since 2011, Annemarie has worked as an independent art historian and has collaborated with various museums, including the Rijksprentenkabinet in Amsterdam, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She recently curated the exhibition Expedition Zeichnung. Niederländische Meister unter der Lupe at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne together with Anne Buschhoff and Thomas Klinke, and her collection catalogue of the museum’s Dutch drawings will be published online in 2026. Annemarie’s dissertation on the drawings of Nicolaes Berchem, defended at the University of Bern, was awarded the Wolfgang Ratjen Prize by the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich in 2001. Nicolaes Berchem The body of work by the Dutch artist Nicolaes Berchem (Haarlem 1621/1622 – 1683 Amsterdam) consists of more than 350 drawings covering a wide range of subjects and executed in various drawing techniques. His drawings were also widely copied. Berchem is considered one of the most important Dutch Italianates, although a journey to Italy has not been documented to date. Berchem’s drawings are of high quality and had a major influence on his numerous students and followers. Nicolaes Berchem, View of the Ruins of the Colosseum in Rome, circa 1675/1680, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Catalogue raisonné Despite Nicolaes Berchem’s importance as a draughtsman, surprisingly, there is only one catalogue raisonné of his work: Annemarie’s 1997 dissertation, which has not yet been published as a monograph. The Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship will allow her to change that. As a fellow, Annemarie Stefes will focus on compiling an updated publication that will also include the numerous drawings discovered since 1997. In a number of introductory chapters, attention will be given to aspects of Berchem’s artistic practice that have emerged from recent research, such as the role of copies, replicas, counterproofs, sketchbooks, and prints in his work. Nicolaes Berchem, Studies of Sheep, circa 1649, Frits Lugt Collection, Fondation Custodia, Paris New discoveries and insights At the same time, an active search is underway for previously unknown or newly attributed drawings, and the possibility that Berchem may have produced drawings in Italy will be re-examined. With their rich (digital) collections, the RKD and the Frits Lugt Collection provide an excellent foundation for the research, while art collections that have not yet been studied will also be visited. All of this will not only result in a complete catalogue of Berchem’s drawn œuvre but will also provide new insights into the practice of drawing in seventeenth-century Netherlands. Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship The Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship was established in memory of Jacoba Lugt-Klever (1888–1969), the wife of collector and connoisseur Frits Lugt and co-founder of the Fondation Custodia. It offers an advanced researcher in the field of printmaking and/or drawing the opportunity to work on their own research. The fellowship is a collaboration between the Fondation Custodia and the RKD, has a duration of one year, and is based in The Hague. Annemarie Stefes will begin her work on May 1, 2026. Nicolaes Berchem, Allegory of America, circa 1658, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Annemarie Stefes appointed as Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellow The RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History and the Fondation Custodia are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Annemarie Stefes as the third Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellow. During her fellowship, Annemarie will work on updating her catalogue raisonné of Nicolaes Berchem’s drawings and preparing it for publication, reviewing existing data, adding newly discovered drawings, and re-mapping the oeuvre in light of recent research. Annemarie Stefes Annemarie Stefes is an expert on Dutch drawings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. She studied in Freiburg im Breisgau and Vienna, was a curator-in-training at the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, and worked as a research assistant at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, where she published the comprehensive collection catalogue Niederländische Zeichnungen 1450-1850. Kupferstichkabinett der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Annemarie Stefes, the third Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellow Since 2011, Annemarie has worked as an independent art historian and has collaborated with various museums, including the Rijksprentenkabinet in Amsterdam, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. She recently curated the exhibition Expedition Zeichnung. Niederländische Meister unter der Lupe at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne together with Anne Buschhoff and Thomas Klinke, and her collection catalogue of the museum’s Dutch drawings will be published online in 2026. Annemarie’s dissertation on the drawings of Nicolaes Berchem, defended at the University of Bern, was awarded the Wolfgang Ratjen Prize by the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich in 2001. Nicolaes Berchem The body of work by the Dutch artist Nicolaes Berchem (Haarlem 1621/1622 – 1683 Amsterdam) consists of more than 350 drawings covering a wide range of subjects and executed in various drawing techniques. His drawings were also widely copied. Berchem is considered one of the most important Dutch Italianates, although a journey to Italy has not been documented to date. Berchem’s drawings are of high quality and had a major influence on his numerous students and followers. Nicolaes Berchem, View of the Ruins of the Colosseum in Rome, circa 1675/1680, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Catalogue raisonné Despite Nicolaes Berchem’s importance as a draughtsman, surprisingly, there is only one catalogue raisonné of his work: Annemarie’s 1997 dissertation, which has not yet been published as a monograph. The Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship will allow her to change that. As a fellow, Annemarie Stefes will focus on compiling an updated publication that will also include the numerous drawings discovered since 1997. In a number of introductory chapters, attention will be given to aspects of Berchem’s artistic practice that have emerged from recent research, such as the role of copies, replicas, counterproofs, sketchbooks, and prints in his work. Nicolaes Berchem, Studies of Sheep, circa 1649, Frits Lugt Collection, Fondation Custodia, Paris New discoveries and insights At the same time, an active search is underway for previously unknown or newly attributed drawings, and the possibility that Berchem may have produced drawings in Italy will be re-examined. With their rich (digital) collections, the RKD and the Frits Lugt Collection provide an excellent foundation for the research, while art collections that have not yet been studied will also be visited. All of this will not only result in a complete catalogue of Berchem’s drawn œuvre but will also provide new insights into the practice of drawing in seventeenth-century Netherlands. Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship The Jacoba Lugt-Klever Fellowship was established in memory of Jacoba Lugt-Klever (1888–1969), the wife of collector and connoisseur Frits Lugt and co-founder of the Fondation Custodia. It offers an advanced researcher in the field of printmaking and/or drawing the opportunity to work on their own research. The fellowship is a collaboration between the Fondation Custodia and the RKD, has a duration of one year, and is based in The Hague. Annemarie Stefes will begin her work on May 1, 2026. Nicolaes Berchem, Allegory of America, circa 1658, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York