Donders’ research is entitled Bequeathed. Through this research project, the museum will highlight the significant role of women who have gifted or bequeathed artworks to MBVB. The new knowledge generated by this research will tell a richer story about the collection and its history, enabling a wider public to recognise itself in the stories the museum has to tell.
Little information is currently available about these women. The research will be conducted in three phases. In the first phase, the donors and legators will be inventoried, resulting in a dataset with biographical data and details about the donated objects. Phase two will explore who these women were, what they donated and why they gifted or bequeathed works. The third phase will use the knowledge acquired to assess the significance of women in the museum’s history.
Bram Donders’ research is part of The Other Half, which highlights the role of women in Dutch art history. This programme is a collaboration between the University of Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History.
