Collections of Art-historical documentation in the Netherlands (original) (raw)
Amsterdam
Apeldoorn
Arnhem
Delft
Den Bosch
Den Haag
Eindhoven
Enschede
Groningen
Leeuwarden
Leiden
Maastricht
Nijmegen
Otterlo
Rotterdam
Schoonhoven
Tilburg
Utrecht
Wageningen
Wijk bij Duurstede
Zeist
Introduction
This guide is intended to provide accurate information about those scholarly libraries in the Netherlands that possess holdings that are of particular relevance for professional art-historical research. Thus it can direct researchers quickly to that or those institution(s) in the Netherlands that are best provided with the materials necessary for their work.
The scope of this guide is limited to libraries with holdings concerning the history of art of the Western world from the early Middle Ages until the present day. This means that collections specializing in non-Western art have been omitted, as have those limited to documentation on ancient art, which in Holland is generally studied as part of classical archaeology. Though some of the collections included naturally do possess some material in either or both of these fields, no special reference has been made to it.
Some fifty-odd entries provide information on those institutions we think most fitted to this purpose: administrative data (address, conditions of access etc.) and qualified information (age and size of the collection, its character and emphasis, and any special collections present) that should help the researcher decide whether a visit may be useful, desirable or really necessary.
It should be noted that many more libraries and research institutes in Holland possess general reference material on the history of art, including most public libraries and many museum libraries. Here we have only included those institutions that - either because of the size, age and quality of their general collection in the history of art, or because of their specialization in one of art-history's subdisciplines - allow scholarly research of some profundity. We have also included the Dutch Institutes in Paris, Florence and Rome, which hold ample and specialized art-historical libraries.
We are very grateful to our colleagues in the institutions to have responded - sometimes very fully - to our queries, and we have attempted to edit and translate the information received as accurately as possible. Any diligent reader at all conversant with the art-historical infrastructure in our country doubtless shall spot some mistakes, as he certainly will note many omissions. But we hope he will keep in mind that this guide is an effort, on which we hope to improve. We will be grateful to everyone who cares to draw our attention to the omissions and inaccuracies that are unavoidable in an undertaking such as this.
Last modified: 05 Nov 2003