Rocznik Muzeum Narodowego w Warszawie (1(37).2012/2013)

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Neerlandica

of call on the Internet for everything related to Dutch and Flemish art in museums. It func-
tions as an information and meeting center, a research tool and as guide to information and
sources found elsewhere on the Internet. Visitors of the website scan the latest news, seek
information about museum curators and undergoing exhibitions, look at paitings in collec-
tion catalogues, read the CODART publications.
The annual CODART congresses are unique events for members, who gather from all
over the world to share insights and find partners for new exhibitions. The congress themes,
workshops and excursions focus on issues related to curatorial work within a broad, topical
and international framework.
The focus meetings are one-day sessions in which curators show their collections, open
their stores and discuss their exhibitions with colleagues from abroad. In this respect, it is
worthwhile mentioning the CO DART focus meeting that took place in the National Gallery
in Prague on the occasion of the exhibition “Rembrandt & Co.” (May, 2012). During one day,
the National Gallery hosted an international group of twenty-five curators for lectures, a visit
to the exhibition and an expert meeting during which Dutch and Flemish “uncracked nuts”
from the storages were discussed.
The CODART eZine is the beautifully designed digital successor of the paper CODART
Courant. It provides information on the network’s activities, new developments, lesser-known
collections and new curators. The newsletter also contains information about the results of
congresses and study trips. The eZine has a broad target audience, made for and by members,
meant for everyone interested in Dutch and Flemish art around the globe.
CODART and Poland
Since its founding, CODART has cooperated closely with museums in Poland. One of the
highlights of this cooperation was the realization of the “Dutch and Flemish Art in Poland”
congress in Utrecht and the CODART study trip to Poland, both organized in 2004, with
the National Museum in Warsaw as main partner. Thanks to this initiative, an international
group of curators could deepen its knowledge of Dutch and Flemish art in significant Polish
collections, and learn a lot about the rich cultural heritage that Poland and the Low Countries
have in common. One of our hosts made use of the occasion in an excellent way and pre-
pared a special exhibition to honour the study trip: Skarby Niderlandów. Rysunki i wybrane
ryciny artystów niderlandzkich XVI-XVII wieku ze zbiorów Fundacji Książąt Czartoryskich [The
treasures of the Netherlands. Drawings and selected etchings by Netherlandish artists of the
sixteenth-seventeenth centuries in the collection of the Princes Czartoryski Foundation]
was organized by the National Museum in Krakow and the Princes Czartoryski Foundation,
with an extensive catalogue edited by Ewa Czepielowa. In addition, the CODART Courant
8 (June 2004) was dedicated to Dutch and Flemish art in Poland (the complete issue can be
found at: <http://www.codart.nl/downloads/Courants/courant8.pdf>).
The National Museum in Warsaw is one of the loyal partners of CODART. NMW cura-
tors are playing an active role in the network as speakers during conferences and as authors
of articles for the CODART newsletters. Piotr Borusowski, member of the CODART website
committee, acted as “curator in the spotlight” on the CODART website in April 2011.
Hanna Benesz, interviewed by Ruud Priem (now director of Museum het Catharijneconvent
in Utrecht) for the CODART Courant 17 (Winter 2008), underlined the importance of CODART
for her work as a curator as follows: “Annual congresses fundamentally broaden our knowledge
of Dutch and Flemish art. [...] This knowledge is especially valuable when writing a collection