Rocznik Historii Sztuki (41.2016)

CORPUS RUBENIANUM ИЖС-У REMBRANDT RESEARCH PROJECT.

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the standards by which we interpret thein. Only thus wiii our opinions become rational judgments''s.
During the first fińeen years of their activity the RRP has demoted scores of Rembrandt paintings, but
not without strong opposition and criticism from owners, museums, and other art historians. This strict
reductionist attitude radicaliy changed in 1993 when Ernst van de Wetering took over the Project as the
sole arbiter of authenticity. This in tum led to many reattributions to Rembrandt, so a part reversal of
the previous process. Aithough the Project was originaily envisaged to take a decade, it ended up iasting
aimost fifty years and is stili unfinished. !t is aiso officiaiiy terminated. as Van de Wetering has retired.
A simiiar organisation calied Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard (CRLB) was set up in 1963 in
Antwerp. This equaiiy long-standing and extensive study of Rubens's oeuvre aimed at compiling his definite
cnta/ogMe 7Y7Acw7c, and it is the oniy project in existence which is equivaient to the RRP in scope. ft
was initiated before the Second Worid War by the German art historian Ludwig Burchard (1886-1960),
and is based on his documentation, with the addition of all the new materiai which came to iight since.
Aithough the CRLB's team of Rubens speciahsts from around the world has been working on this project
for over fifty years, it also remains iargeiy unfinished. The CRLB has had a very different approach to
attributions (oniy briefiy addressed in the cataiogue), the technical examination of works (not undertaken),
as weii as chronoiogy (not foiiowed), with an emphasis on iconography and the historicai context. Every
work Ludwig Burchard accepted as by Rubens was given a cataiogue number.
This paper aims to discuss brieffy the history of both organisations and to compare their methodologies
and results. It was originally part of iny (unpubiished) PhD thesis on the subject of Azv/7e7?.s nwJ
CuT?7707.S.S eM7A/?7/7077 //?C /77T7Z)A777,S' p/ 0//7*7'/777/7 0 77 077ć/ ГОГ/AoOVOTy 777 .97770/00077 077(/ /f/T/ós// 0'0//00'/7077,
compieted in 2009 at the University of Warsaw under the supervision of Prof. Juliusz A. Chrościcki, now
revised and updated. Aithough much critical material has been pubiished on the work of the RRP, inciuding
in the press, reiativeiy iittie has been said about the pubiications of the CRLB, except for book reviews^.
A comparison of the two organisations has been made by Koen Bulckens in his articies CD/<?/ogzzz'zzg Azv/tezz^
7777ć/ P7V77/7/*77777//. A (777,SC/' Z00T 77/ //7C ('777y777,S P?//)0/7/7V/7Z//77 7777т/ //?C Ас777/77'7777т// Pc.S7Y77*('/7 Р7'7уТсТ°, and
in A ( V77.S/? 7?/ /7/7777.S. 77/6 P7//7C77.S 7777т/ Ас77?/77*777?т// Co/y/Z/.SĆ/S ( 0777/7777U7T '. The tWO ('7?/77/77g?VC.S 7'7//'.S77777?(,S
of Rembrandt and Rubens are now in large parts available online at http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/
and http://www.rubenianum.be/).

I. THE OLD REMBRANDT RESEARCH PROJECT
The Rembrandt Research Project was unprecedented in terms of the amplitude of research on
the authenticity of one master's oeuvre. No artist had hitherto been submitted to a simiiariy thorough
investigation, in the quest of estabiishing correct attributions through scientific anaiysis and study of the
painting technique. A team of Dutch art historians spent the first four years (1968-1972) examining aii
the Rembrandt paintings around the worid. This invoived extensive travei and years of research anaiysing
the resuits. The team known as the Committee or the Group consisted of six members, two of whom iater

/N'v/gw, p. 39.
19 For book reviews of the CRLB volumes see G. Martin/J.R. Martin, CRLB. vol. I. The Ceiling Paintings for the Jesuit Church
in Antwerp, Tumhout 1968( /?M7/?T?g/07? Afagaz/ne, 112, 1970, pp. 543-544; C. White, 'D. Freedberg. CRLB, vol. Vll. The Life
After the Passion, Tumhout 1984; W. Adl er, CRLB, vol. XVII (1), Landscapes, Tumhout 1982( ATa-sVer Drowmgs-, 23/24, no. 2, 1985/86,
p. 251; C. Brown. 'D. Freedberg. CRLB, vol. VII, The Life of Christ after the Passion, Tumhout 1984', 77?g TJMf/Ng/or? MagorNo, 129,
1987, pp. 403-404; K. Renger, 'A. Balis, CRLB. vol. XVII (2), Hunting Scenes, Tumhout 1986; H. Vlieghe, CRLB, vol. XIX (2),
Portraits after Identilled Sitters Painted in Antwerp, Tumhout 1987', Кыт7т'/?7-ог77Т 41, 1988, pp. 566-572; C. Brown, 'R.A. d'Hulst
and M. Vandeven, CRLB. vol. III, The Old Testament, Tumhout 1989', Г/ге /?T77-/77?g7o77 L/ogozNe, 133, 1991, pp 716-717; F. Haskell,
'E. McGrath, CRLB, vol. XIII (1), Subjects from History, Tumhout 1997', 77?<? ,6?v77/7?g/o?? A/agar/T/g, 140. 1998, pp. 42—43; C. Gôt-
tler, 'E. McGrath, CRLB, vol. XIII (1), Subjects from History, Turnhout 1997', K??7?.s'?c/??-o77/A, 53, no. 9-10, 2000, p. 488; C. White,
'J.R. Judson, CRLB, vol. VI, The Passion of Christ, Tumhout 2000', А/ол/от- D7*ûW777g$, 40, 2002, no. 2. p. 171; C. White, 'G. Martin.
CRLB, vol. XV. The Ceiling Decoration of the Banqueting Hall. Tumhout 2005', //?T?07*7O7?y q/"Nc?/7C7*/o7?v/;T/? Нт*? Асму/е??ет*, 23, 2002,
no. 2, p. 20; G. Soltz, 'The Unobtmsive, Ongoing, Exhaustive, Unprecedented 29-VoIume Rubens Catalogue', НАТтгомлу, June 2007.
20 K. Bulckens, 'Cataloguing Rubens and Rembrandt. A Closer Look at the Corpus Rubenianum and the Rembrandt Research
Project'. R7?/7e7?^/7?7//e??77, V (2014), pp. 93-128.
2* K. Bulckens, 'A Clash of Titans. The Rubens and Rembrandt Corpuses compared', 77?e R??/7e7?707??777; (/7707-?<?7-/y, 2012, no. 3,
pp. 3-4.