Academic staff
Art History in Utrecht has many staff members with diverse specialisations. You will be taught by them, and they will supervise your tutorials, thesis, internship. The core lecturers with whom you will frequently come into contact are listed below:
Dr Patrick Van Rossem (Programme Coordinator)
Patrick Van Rossem is Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art History department. His teaching focusses on post 1960s art, audiences for art, curating, art mediation and education. His research focusses on art post 1960s art and more specifically on artists who have a particular focus on and interest in the presence of the audience. He published on the (self) representation of audiences, the performative turn, representation, and artist - audience relations.
Prof. Thijs Weststeijn
Thijs Weststeijn studies early modern art in a broad cultural context. His special interest is the global connections that shaped early modern Netherlandish art as well as the opportunities that non-Western works provide to look back at the Netherlands. He chairs the research project 'The Chinese Impact: Images and Ideas of China in the Dutch Golden Age.
Dr Marjolijn Bol
Marjolijn Bol her research intersects with historical studies of craft, heritage, knowledge, and the environment with a special focus on performative methods (reconstruction) and written sources on art technology. In 2018 she established the ArtLab at Utrecht University, a cross-disciplinary space for research and teaching from the perspective of making and materials, hosted by the Department of History and Art History.
Prof. Sven Dupré
Sven Dupré is Professor and Chair of History of Art, Science and Technology. His research focuses on the production and consumption of art and its embedding in the history of knowledge. He is leader of the ERC project Technique in the Arts: Concepts, Practices, Expertise, 1500-1950.
Dr Lora Sariaslan
Lora Sariaslan academic focus is on modern and contemporary transnational art practices, cultural and identity politics, mobility and migration, and mapping the urban. She specializes in modern and contemporary cultures, curating, and museums and the intersection of the critical practices that transform collecting and presenting.
Dr Lia Costiner
Lisandra (Lia) Costiner researches late-medieval and early-modern visual culture, with an interest in digital methodologies. In the field of digital humanities, Lia leads a number of collaborative projects that use computational techniques to analyse paintings and explore immersive ways of studying and engaging with cultural heritage.
Prof. Michael Kwakkelstein
Michael W. Kwakkelstein is Professor in Visual Arts and Theory of Art of the Renaissance in Italy and director of the NIKI in Florence. His research is focused on the relation between art theory and artistic practice, with particular emphasis on Leonardo da Vinci. He is regularly involved in the curation of exhibitions.
Prof. Chris Stolwijk
Chris Stolwijk is Professor of Dutch art history in an international context, 1800-1940, and director of the Netherlands Institute for Art History in The Hague. His core interests are Vincent van Gogh, the history of art history, the history of art collecting and trade, museification, and digital art history.
Dr Sjoukje van der Meulen
Sjoukje Van der Meulen's ongoing research areas are art in the European Union, Chinese contemporary art in a global context and art and digital culture, including the new challenges of artificial intelligence for art and society. Van der Meulen considers herself an interdisciplinary art historian, connecting and deepening art history with fields such as globalisation studies, European studies and media studies.