Issue 17.1 of the Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art opens with a curatorial roundtable on the current state of collecting and presenting the work of women artists of the Low Countries, which is the third in our series of JHNA Conversations. At a time of urgent attention to the artistic contributions of women, curators from an international range of institutions engage in thought-provoking debate about the challenges and rewards of acquiring and exhibiting works of art by women. We are enormously grateful to our colleague Jacquelyn Coutré for producing this feature.
Each of the three articles in this issue considers place from a distinctive approach. Larry Silver explores a woodcut map of the world produced collaboratively by Hans Holbein the Younger with Sebastian Münster in 1532. His article examines Holbein’s corner vignettes, along with their verbal and visual sources in ancient and medieval geographical traditions and in recent travelers’ tales, for how they how they reflected contemporaneous perceptions of the peoples of continents beyond Europe.
Virginia Girard takes us to the rugged terrain of the Ardennes. Her essay looks at sixteenth-century landscape painting through the lens of geomyths, local legends that attempt to explain the region’s striking natural features. Her reassessment of works by Joachim Patinir and Herri met de Bles through a geomythological framework suggests new interpretive possibilities for Netherlandish landscape painting.
Angela Jager follows Dutch merchant ships along Scandinavian trade routes. Her article examines the export of Dutch paintings to Denmark and Sweden during the seventeenth century. Analyzing evidence from published household inventories, toll records, and patterns of ownership, Jager provides a tantalizing look at the role of immigrant communities in the largely unstudied northward spread of Dutch paintings.
Finally, we note with sadness the passing of Molly Faries. Molly is best known for her innovative contribution to the study of underdrawings and for bringing technical studies into the world of art history. She was also one of the original associate editors of JHNA and enormously helpful in the journal’s early years.
The Journal welcomes article submissions at any time. We also welcome proposals for JHNA Perspectives state-of-the field essays, JHNA Conversations roundtables, and inquiries about special issues. Please consult our Submission Guidelines.
With your help as readers and authors, JHNA will remain one of the leading journals for the early modern art of the Netherlands and neighboring regions.
H. Perry Chapman, University of Delaware, Editor in Chief
Jacquelyn N. Coutré, Art Institute of Chicago, Associate Editor
Bret L. Rothstein, Indiana University, Associate Editor
Joanna Woodall, The Courtauld Institute, Associate Editor
Alison M. Kettering, Carleton College, Past Editor in Chief