Journal of the History of Collections Advance Access originally published online on March 17, 2009
Journal of the History of Collections 2009 21(2):163-171; doi:10.1093/jhc/fhp013
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
This article appears in the following Journal of the History of Collections issue: Special Issue: The art collector-between philanthropy and self-glorification [View the issue table of contents]
Collecting for posterity
Two Dutch art collectors in the nineteenth century and their bequests to the nation
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Abstract |
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In the first half of the nineteenth century, collecting Old Masters was the most prestigious form of art collecting in the Netherlands, both because of the international fame of these artists and because of their status as national icons. Around mid-century, however, some Dutch collectors began to focus on contemporary European art. This paper will consider this shift in the context of changes in taste and the problem of national identity at that time. The banker Adriaan van der Hoop (1778–1854) and the coal merchant Carel Fodor (1801–60), both of whom left their collections to the city of Amsterdam, will be discussed as examples of this changing fashion.
Address for correspondence Professor Wessel Krul, University of Groningen, PO Box 716, 9700 AS Groningen, The Netherlands. w.e.krul{at}rug.nl