De Montias Database: Amsterdamse kunstinventarissen uit de 17e eeuw
15 februari 2010
Onwetende die ik ben! Ik had nog nooit gehoord van Michael Montias, die in 2005 overleed. Met de Frickcollectie was ik ook al niet bekend. Dat je via de website van Frick kunstinventarissen uit de collectie van het Stadsarchief Amsterdam kunt doorzoeken vind ik misschien daarom wel verbazingwekkend.
The Montias database, compiled by late Yale University Professor John Michael Montias, contains information from 1,280 inventories of goods (paintings, prints, sculpture, furniture, etc.) owned by people living in 17th century Amsterdam. Drawn from the Gemeentearchief (now known as the Stadsarchief), the actual dates of the inventories range from 1597-1681. Nearly half of the inventories were made by the Orphan Chamber for auction purposes, while almost as many were notarial death inventories for estate purposes. The remainder were bankruptcy inventories. The database includes detailed information on the 51,071 individual works of art listed in the inventories. Searches may be performed on specific artists, types of objects (painting, prints, drawings), subject matter etc. There is also extensive information on the owners, as well as on buyers and prices paid when the goods were actually in a sale. While not a complete record of all inventories in Amsterdam during this time period, the database contains a wealth of information that can elucidate patterns of buying, selling, inventorying and collecting art in Holland during the Dutch Golden Age.
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