Quellinus at work
A comprehensive research project into the working practices in one of Europe’s largest seventeenth-century sculpture studios
A group of some 35 terracotta models and sketches that Artus Quellinus made in preparation for the sculptural decoration of the seventeenth-century Amsterdam Town Hall is the starting point for interdisciplinary research into Quellinus’s large sculpture studios.
About the project
In the period from roughly 1650 to 1665 the Antwerp sculptor Artus I Quellinus (1609-1668) was responsible for the sculptural decoration of Amsterdam’s new Town Hall (now the Royal Palace on Dam Square). It was the most prestigious and ambitious sculpture project ever seen in the Dutch Republic.
The research will cover a combination of archival, art-historical and comparative scientific strands examining Quellinus and his studio, which was one of the largest sculpture workshops in Europe. It will centre around the corpus of Quellinus terracottas belonging to the City of Amsterdam, which is currently divided among the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum. Other terracottas by Quellinus and sculptors from his circle will be included in the project.
Aim of the project
The objective is to build up a comprehensive view of the formation, organization, division of labour and methods, as well as output and impact of Quellinus’s sculpture studios, focusing on the two affiliates in Antwerp and Amsterdam. In addition we hope to gain new insights into the use of terracottas in the daily practice of the Netherlandish sculptor during the seventeenth century. The findings will be presented in a scholarly publication, possibly a doctoral dissertation, as well as in an exhibition for a wider audience in the Royal Palace on Dam Square (2025).
Related publications
- A.W. Kroon, Het Amsterdamsche stadhuis (thans Paleis), 1625-1700. Zijne geschiedenis naar onuitgegeven officiële bronnen bewerkt, Amsterdam 1867
- J. Gabriëls, Artus Quellien, de Oude, "Kunstryck belthouwer", Antwerp 1930
- K. Fremantle, The baroque town hall of Amsterdam, Utrecht 1959
- K. Fremantle and W. Halsema-Kubes, Beelden Kijken, de kunst van Quellien in het Paleis op de Dam, Amsterdam 1977
- H. Vreeken, 'Quellinus' boetseersels voor het zeventiende-eeuwse stadhuis op de Dam', in: in Beeld gebracht, beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum, Zwolle & Amsterdam 1995, pp. 38-59
- I. Gaskell and H. Lie, Sketches in clay for projects by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Cambridge (Mass.) 1999
- F. Scholten, Artus Quellinus. Sculptor of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 2010
- P. Vlaardingerbroek, Het paleis van de Republiek. Geschiedenis van het stadhuis van Amsterdam, Zwolle 2011
- C.D. Dickerson, A. Sigel, I. Wardropper, Bernini, Sculpting in clay, New York, New Haven & London 2012
Related events
An exhibition in the Royal Palace on Dam Square, Amsterdam: summer 2025.
Staff
Bieke van der Mark
b.vander.mark@rijksmuseum.nl
Research Associate
Frits Scholten
f.scholten@rijksmuseum.nl
Senior Curator of Sculpture
Bodill Lamain
b.lamain@rijksmuseum.nl
Conservator Ceramics, Glass and Stone
Dzemila Sero
Assistant Professor in Biometrics and Computer Vision
d.sero@utwente.nl
Partners and sponsors
This project is supported by the Bert en Joos Mastenbroek Fonds/ Rijksmuseum, Fonds. Our research partners are the Netherlands Forensic Institute, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Wageningen University & Research.
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