Are you an undergraduate or graduate student interested in learning more about exciting projects and possible career paths in the field of Dutch and Flemish art? Designed by students for students, Center for Netherlandish Art (CNA) Student Sessions connect you with various experts in Netherlandish art and history and give you a chance to engage in conversation with them in an informal setting.

Sessions are guided by student concerns and questions, prompting experts to reflect on their current work as well as their academic, personal, and professional journeys. This unique forum gives local and international students the opportunity to connect with one another, opening new pathways for innovation, access, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

In this session learn about the Closer to Memling project. Initiated by the Musea Brugge in partnership with Belgium’s Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), Closer to Memling highlights Hans Memling’s work through ultra-high-resolution images. Hear Anna Koopstra and Bart Fransen discuss their roles in this interdisciplinary project and learn about their professional journeys.

About the Speakers

Anna Koopstra is curator of Early Netherlandish Painting at the Musea Brugge. She obtained an MA in Art History from the University of Groningen and a PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her book about Jean Bellegambe was awarded the Karel van Mander Prize 2023. She has worked at the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum in Aachen, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery in London. Her most recent publication is Hans Memling in Bruges (Hannibal Books, 2024).

Bart Fransen is head of the Centre for the Study of the Flemish Primitives at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, Brussels. He earned his PhD in History of Art from Leuven University with a focus on Rogier van der Weyden and stone sculpture in Brussels. He has worked at the Prado Museum, the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, and Leuven University. He was director of the VERONA project (Van Eyck Research in OpeN Access), which received the 2019 European Heritage Award /Europa Nostra Award. Currently, Fransen is leading a research project on Justus of Ghent and the Ghent Calvary Triptych.

Previous guest speakers have included Carrie Anderson, professor of Art and Architectural History at Middlebury College; Jessie Park, Nina and Lee Griggs Assistant Curator of European Art, Yale University Art Gallery; Pieter Roelofs, head of Fine and Decorative Arts at the Rijksmuseum; Dr. Abbie Vandivere, paintings conservator, Mauritshuis; and Judith Noorman, associate professor of Early Modern Art History at the University of Amsterdam.

The 2023–24 season of Student Sessions is organized by Tanne Bloks and Jessica Sternbach, with support from the Center for Netherlandish Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The Founders of the Center for Netherlandish Art at the MFA are Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo and Susan and Matthew Weatherbie.