... the founding father of 20th-century research into Rubens.
German art historian Ludwig Burchard (1886-1960) has more than deservedly been given the title of one of the greatest Rubens experts of the 20th century. The core of the library collection consists of his specialised library, artwork documentation and personal archive.
Ludwig Burchard was a goldmine of knowledge about Peter Paul Rubens: he devoted his professional life to mapping all the works of the artist. All the material he collected during his lifework was donated to the city of Antwerp after his death. The collection forms the starting point of the Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard.
The main focus of Burchard's collection? Flemish art from the 17th century with a strong focus on - what else? - Rubens. Expect to find a vast collection including notebooks, letters and diaries.
Burchard's collection includes not only art history sources, but also books on related disciplines such as topography and religion. The documentation covers art from antiquity to the 19th century, and covers objects from different media such as tapestries and painting. Various other artists from various European art movements are also featured.
L. Nijkamp, ‘On the record: Burchard’s material legacy’, in: L. Nijkamp, K. Bulckens an P. Valkeneers (eds.), Picturing Ludwig Burchard (1886-1960): a Rubens Scholar in Art-Historiographical Perspective, London 2015, pp. 91-102.
