Anna Tummers Explained

Anna Tummers
Nationality:	Dutch
Alma Mater:	University of Amsterdam
Occupation:	professor, researcher, curator, art historian

Anna Tummers is a Dutch art historian, curator, and researcher, known for her work on Dutch Golden Age painting and Flemish painting, particularly those of the seventeenth century.^[1] She is a professor in Early Modern Art at Ghent University.^[2]

Biography

Anna Tummers began her career as a research assistant at the Print Room, Windsor in Windsor Castle, England (1999–2000). She then served as an assistant curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. (2000–2003). From 2003 to 2008, she was a lecturer and research associate at the University of Amsterdam.^{[3] [4]}

On 1 November 2008, Tummers became the curator of old masters at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, succeeding Pieter Biesboer.^[5] She held this position until 2021.^[6]

Tummers has contributed to several exhibitions, including "Aelbert Cuyp" (2001–02), "Five centuries of trompe-l'oeil painting" (2002–03), "Rembrandt's late religious portraits" (2004–05), and "Gerard ter Borch" (2005).^[7]

Tummers is noted for her work in developing new methodologies in art authentication, combining traditional connoisseurship with modern scientific techniques.^[8] She has received significant grants, including an European Research Council grant to explore new methods of identifying art forgeries.^[9]

Publications

• The Eye of the Connoisseur: Authenticating Paintings by Rembrandt and His Contemporaries (2011)^[10]
• Frans Hals: Eye to Eye with Rembrandt, Rubens, and Titian (2013)^[11]
• The Art of Laughter: Humour in the Dutch Golden Age (2018)^[12]
• Art Market and Connoisseurship (2008)^[13]
• First Woman to Become a Master Painter (2008)^[14]
• Frans Hals or not Frans Hals (2024)^[15]

Selected articles

• "Supplementing the Eye: The Technical Analysis of Frans Hals's Paintings – I", in: Burlington Magazine 161 (2019), pp. 934–941.^[16]

Research and grants

Tummers heads and co-heads several research projects funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. These include:

• Frans Hals/Not Frans Hals: A project investigating the criteria for attributing paintings to Frans Hals and exploring new methods in art authentication.^[17]
• 21st Century Connoisseurship: A collaboration with Professor Robert Erdmann, focusing on developing advanced technical and digital tools for analyzing seventeenth-century paintings.^[18]
• ArtDetect: A project aimed at developing new ways to detect forgeries, supported by the Centre for Global Heritage and Development and the Scientific Advisory Board of IPERION HS.^[19]

Exhibitions

During her tenure at the Frans Hals Museum, Tummers curated several exhibitions, including:

• Celebrating in the Golden Age
• The Art of Laughter: Humour in the Dutch Golden Age^[20]
• Frans Hals: Eye to Eye with Rembrandt, Rubens, and Titian (2013), celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Frans Hals Museum.^[21]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Fabrikant . Geraldine . In Haarlem, Treasures of the Dutch Golden Age . The New York Times . November 22, 2011 .
2. Web site: Anna Tummers . Ghent University Research Portal . 2024-07-28.
3. Web site: Anna Tummers . CODART . 2024-07-27.
4. Book: Tummers, Anna . Aelbert Cuyp's Innovative Use of Spatial Devices . The Learned Eye: Regarding Art, Theory, and the Artist's Reputation . van den Doel . Marieke . van Eck . Natasja . Korevaar . Gerbrand . Tummers . Anna . Weststeijn . Thijs . 2005 . 86–98 . Amsterdam . Amsterdam University Press . 9789053567128 .
5. Web site: Anna Tummers to Succeed Pieter Biesboer as Curator of Old Masters at the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem . CODART . 3 July 2008 . 2024-07-27.
6. Web site: Ann Demeester leaving the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem . Frans Hals Museum . 2024-07-28.
7. Web site: Anna Tummers . Frans Hals Museum . 2024-07-27.
8. Web site: Reyburn . Scott . What’s in a Name? For This Rembrandt, a Steep and Rapid Rise in Price . The New York Times . February 23, 2024 .
9. Web site: Is it a fake or not? Time for a new kind of connoisseurship . Universiteit Leiden . 30 June 2023 . 2024-07-27.
10. Book: Tummers, Anna . The Eye of the Connoisseur: Authenticating Paintings by Rembrandt and His Contemporaries . 2011 . Getty Publications . Los Angeles . 9781606060841 .
11. Book: Tummers . Anna . Atkins . Chris . Frans Hals: Eye to Eye with Rembrandt, Rubens, and Titian . 2013 . Frans Hals Museum . Haarlem . 9789462080539 .
12. Book: Tummers, Anna . The Art of Laughter: Humour in the Dutch Golden Age . 2018 . Frans Hals Museum . Haarlem . 9789462621701 .
13. Book: Tummers . Anna . Jonckheere . Koenraad . Art Market and Connoisseurship. A Closer Look at Paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Their Contemporaries . 2008 . Amsterdam University Press . Amsterdam . 9789089640321 .
14. Book: Tummers, Anna . First Woman to Become a Master Painter . 2008 . Amsterdam University Press . Amsterdam . 9789089640314 .
15. Book: Tummers . Anna . Erdmann . Robert . Frans Hals or not Frans Hals. Connoisseurship, Technical Analyses and Digital Tools . 2024 . Open Access . 9783031594885 .
16. Tummers . Anna . et al. . 2019 . Supplementing the Eye: The Technical Analysis of Frans Hals's Paintings – I . Burlington Magazine . 161 . 934–941 .
17. Web site: Frans Hals/Not Frans Hals . NWO . 2024-07-27.
18. Web site: 21st Century Connoisseurship . NWO . 2024-07-27.
19. Web site: ArtDetect: A New Connoisseurship - Smart Ways to Detect Forgeries . Ghent University Research . 2024-07-27.
20. Web site: Siegal . Nina . Need a Good Laugh? Check Out Some 17th-Century Dutch Art . The New York Times . October 21, 2017 .
21. Web site: Frans Hals: Eye to Eye with Rembrandt, Rubens, and Titian . Frans Hals Museum . 29 November 2012 . 2024-07-27.