RKD The Hague

Netherlands Institute for Art History

The RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History opened its doors in The Hague in 1932. The RKD owes its existence to its large collection of pictorial documentation and catalogues about Netherlandish art. Frits Lugt was one of the founders of the RKD, together with Cornelis Hofstede de Groot and Eltjo Aldegondus van Beresteyn.

Plate with the names of the three founders of the RKD

Before its opening in 1932, Frits Lugt gave the RKD over 100,000 reproductions of paintings and drawings, 22,000 sale catalogues (enough to fill over 145 metres of shelving) and some 7,500 books. Over the years the collection has been supplemented and extended to become the prime international source of art historical documentation that it is today. The RKD, with its analogue and digital collections of pictorial documentation, its library and its archival items, is among the most important art historical knowledge centres in the world.

Photos: RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, Gerrit Schreurs

Cooperation with and support of the RKD is one of the objectives specified in article 3 of the Fondation Custodia’s regulations. ‘The Foundation endeavours …. in particular to support the Netherlands Institute for Art History/La fondation a pour but (…) de donner son appui au Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie’.

You can find more information on the RKD’s website: rkd.nl.