The beginning of a collecting culture in Europe

AsinMalta’s last lecture for this season will explore the beginning of a collecting culture in Europe, and the motivations and conceptual framework that came to govern the organisation of art and artefacts in the Kunst- and Wunderkammern collections of the 16th and 17th centuries.

From small, ornate tabletop cabinets crafted from rare woods and inlays to sequences of opulent rooms in princely palaces, European collectors brought together diverse objects, often of an exotic provenance to impress upon visitors the collector’s erudition, wealth and power.

The lecture will be delivered by Albert Godetsky, an associate lecturer at the Courtauld Institute. He will take a look at a selection of case studies revealing the breadth of the nature of collecting, from the court of Rudolf II in Prague to the merchants of Holland during the 17th century, the so-called Golden Age.

Finally, he will address the ways in which the Kunstkammer has shaped the nature of modern-day museums and galleries. He will discuss how collections changed from symbols of power to tools of learning geared at societal improvement through institutions in Europe and the US. 

Godetzky’s research concentrates on northern European art of the early modern period. He received his PhD at the Courtauld Institute with a thesis on ‘Haarlem Mannerism’.

For registration and more information, e-mail Nicole Stilon at membership.secretary.asinmalta@theartssociety.org.

The lecture, lasting approximately one hour, will be delivered online via Zoom on Thursday, June 2 at 6.30pm. Godetzky will answer questions after the lecture. There will be raffle and a book will be given as a prize.