Research residencies

What is a research residency?

The Rubenianum supports guest researchers to conduct their research on 16th-century and 17th-century Flemish art and culture. The researcher will share an office and all its facilities with other guest researchers, enjoy free access to the collections, and will be able to attend or organize symposia and lectures at the Rubenianum.

Research residents are encouraged to take an active part in the work of the research community, which includes the staff of the Rubens House, and to contribute to the centre’s ongoing research projects. Rubenianum staff advise and assist guest researchers and provide them with letters of introduction to other institutions where necessary. Guest researchers can also present their research at inter-university seminars in Leuven and Ghent.

Who can apply for a research residency?

PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and professors affiliated with an academic institution are eligible to apply for a research residency.

Practical points

For more information, e-mail rubenianum@antwerpen.be or call +32 (0)3 201 1577.

Current guest researchers

Statements by past guest researchers

Dr. Rachel Wise

University of Pennsylvania, BAEF/Rubenianum Postdoctoral Fellow 2020-2021, guest researcher 2021-2022

“With COVID, there were not many people working on site for the first several months of my fellowship. But I still feel I had the opportunity to talk about my research to senior scholars at the Rubenianum. Arnout Balis was particularly kind in stopping by to talk to me in the early summer. I also was delighted to talk about my research with other fellows. The monthly fellows’ meetings were great: I appreciated connecting with the other fellows. I always felt that if I had any questions, big or small, I knew I could rely on this community to help me find the answer.”

Julia van Zandvoort

The Courtauld Institute of Art, guest researcher 2022

“Many titles in the library would not have been available at my original place of study (UK). Amongst them many specialized articles and books, and dissertations from scholars at Belgian universities, which are usually not accessible to me. Another important resource were the Rubenianum’s connections to other scholars in the field that they managed to put me in touch with. I think the combination of being in the vicinity of a specialist library that focusses on early modern Flemish art and the Antwerp city archive have made my time in Antwerp particularly successful. My stay at the Rubenianum enabled me to complement archival research with a thorough literature study and offered a perfect opportunity of alternating days spent at the archive and at the Rubenianum.”
 

Kendra Grimmett

PhD Candidate, University of Pennsylvania, Rubenianum Fellow 2018-2019

"Working at the Rubenianum shaped and enriched my dissertation in record time.  As a Fellow, the vast collection of specialized publications and archives were as easily accessible as a personal library. Just outside my office, I walked into the stacks and found every book in my preliminary bibliography, as well as rare items that I discovered during my time in Antwerp. Remarkably, when a book was not part of the collection, but related to the work of the institution, the librarians purchased a copy for my use. 

One of the most valuable aspects of working at the Rubenianum is becoming part of its community of scholars. My project and I were greeted with warmth and enthusiasm. After presenting an overview of my research goals to my Rubenianum colleagues, I received thoughtful feedback and helpful suggestions. I am immensely grateful for the generosity and support of the Rubenianum and my fellow fellows who became my friends." 

Dr. Adam S. Eaker

Associate Curator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 
BAEF Fellow 2012-2013

'Even with the digitalization of books there are still many old periodicals and monographs, including works from the eighteenth and the nineteenth century, that I have only ever been able to access here in this collection.'

'For someone in my field the Rubenianum is legendary. It has been amazing to me working here how the names that were just legends for me are people I encounter at the water cooler or making a cup of coffee and get to talk to now on a day-to-day basis about my research.'

Adam S. Eaker relates his experiences at the Rubenianum in a video clip.

Prof. Dr. Aaron Hyman

Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins
BAEF Fellow 2015-2016

'To list the ways that being affiliated with the Rubenianum has streamlined my work would be to sell this experience short. For it has enabled a speed and efficiency of research that I hadn’t known was possible. Even coming from US institutions with incredibly rich libraries, it was hard for me to imagine a place that has virtually everything published (and many times not even published) on my topics of inquiry; in turn, I have accomplished research that might have taken several days and weeks in the States in the space of an afternoon with a stack of books shelved steps away from my desk.'

'The Rubenianum’s prominent standing as a meeting point for both Belgian and international art historical audiences has made it an ideal venue from which to take the temperature of the field of Flemish art history. There is no other institution that so perfectly positions a young academic to meet major scholars in the field, to benefit from seeing specialists in conversation and debate, and to compare art histories practiced in the US and in Europe.'

Past guest researchers

• Sabrina Lind – Ghent University/Università degli Studi di Verona/The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), guest researcher 2019–2023

• Dr. Abigail D. Newman – Princeton University (PhD 2016), guest researcher 2013-2023: Fulbright Fellow 2013-2014, BAEF Fellow 2014-2015, Mellon-Council for European Studies Fellow 2015-2016, Ghent University post-doc 2016-2017, University of Antwerp part-time professor (ZAP) and Rubenianum Research Advisor 2017/2018-2023

• Dr. Wendy Frère – Université libre de Bruxelles, guest researcher 2020-2023

• Dr. Charlotta Krispinsson – Humboldt University, Berlin, with funding from the Swedish Research Council, 2023.

• Dr. Catherine Lusheck - University of San Francisco, guest researcher 2022

• Julia van Zandvoort – The Courtauld Institute of Art, guest researcher 2022

• Dr. Rachel Wise - University of Pennsylvania, BAEF/Rubenianum Postdoctoral Fellow 2020-2021, guest researcher 2021-2022

• Dr. Suzanne Duff – Brown University/University of Antwerp, BAEF/Rubenianum Fellow 2017-2018, guest researcher 2017-2021

• Dr. Marina Daiman - Independent Scholar, BAEF/Rubenianum Fellow 2019-2020

• Dr. Petra Maclot - KU Leuven/FWO Vlaanderen, guest researcher 2019-2020

• Dr. Teresa Esposito - Ghent University, guest researcher 2018-2019

• Dr. Kendra Grimmett - University of Pennsylvania, BAEF/Rubenianum Fellow 2018-2019

• Dr. Koen Bulckens - Brown University, guest researcher 2017-2018

• Dr. Adam Sammut - University College London, guest researcher 2017, 2022

• Elizabeth R. Gebauer - Princeton University, BAEF/Rubenianum Fellow 2016-2017, guest researcher 2018

• Dr. Katharine Campbell - University of Michigan, BAEF Fellow 2016-2017

• Dr. Jamie Richardson - Bryn Mawr College, BAEF/Rubenianum Fellow 2015-2016, guest researcher 2016-2017

• Prof. Dr. Aaron Hyman - UC Berkeley, History of Art Department, BAEF Fellow 2015-2016

• Brecht Vanoppen – guest researcher 2014–2015

• Dr. Sarah Joan Moran - University of Antwerp/Swiss National Science Foundation Research Fellow, guest researcher 2013-2016

• Maarten Bassens - Collection Rosier, guest researcher 2013-2015

• Prof. Dr. Ivo Raband - Universität Hamburg, guest researcher 2013-2014

• Dr. Adam S. Eaker - Assistant Curator in The Department of European Paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, BAEF Fellow 2012-2013

• Dr. Filip Vermeylen - Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam, guest researcher 2012-2013