BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:PhD defence C.C.S. Rulkens METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260424T134500 DTEND:20260424T151500 DTSTAMP:20260424T134500 UID:2026/phd-defence-c-c-s-rulkens@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260418T222739 LOCATION:Hoofdgebouw, Aula De Boelelaan 1105 1081 HV Amsterdam SUMMARY:PhD defence C.C.S. Rulkens X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Rembrandt and Rubens Re visited

More insight into Rembrandt and Rubens attribu tions

Replicating research is also valuable in art hi story, provided that attention is paid to expertise and interpretatio n. This is evident from research by art historian and curator Charlot te Rulkens. The approach leads to more transparent and better compara ble attributions of works by Rembrandt and Rubens, among others.

< p>Replication in art history
‘The impetus for m y research is the so-called replication crisis in the biomedical and social sciences, which showed that many studies did not yield the sam e results upon repetition. This raised the question of whether simila r problems also exist in the humanities, where expert judgment plays a central role,’ says Rulkens.

The research shows that replic ation of attribution research yields more than just confirmation of p revious conclusions. ‘It makes assumptions visible, helps improve m ethods, and contributes to better recording of expert knowledge. This makes the judgment of experts, often perceived as a “black box,” more transparent and easier to discuss.’

Role of exp ertise and interpretation
According to Rulkens, other dis ciplines can learn from this. ‘In many replication discussions, the emphasis lies on data and measurement methods, while the role of exp ertise and interpretation remains underexposed. Yet these factors are essential to understanding why studies are sometimes reproducible an d sometimes not.’

Importance of attributions
Attributions help determine how artworks are interpreted, present ed, and valued. Differences in expert judgment can lead to divergent conclusions, sometimes with major cultural and financial consequences . The research offers tools to make this process more transparent and careful.

Method: Attribution Expert Consensus Meeting< /strong>
For the study, Rulkens, together with a multidisciplinary team, repeated previous attribution studies of two portraits by the young Rembrandt and a painting related to Rubens. In doing so, she de veloped the method of the Attribution Expert Consensus Meeting.

Rulkens: ‘Experts first give their judgment individually, then dis cuss this jointly, and subsequently reassess the work. This approach reduces mutual influence and makes visible where experts agree or dis agree. In this way, outcomes can be better compared and replicated in the future.’

More information on the thesis

DESCRIPTION: More insight into Rembrandt and Rubens attributio ns

Replicating research is also valuable in art histo ry, provided that attention is paid to expertise and interpretation. This is evident from research by art historian and curator Charlotte Rulkens. The approach leads to more transparent and better comparable attributions of works by Rembrandt and Rubens, among others. Replication in art history
‘The impetus for my researc h is the so-called replication crisis in the biomedical and social sc iences, which showed that many studies did not yield the same results upon repetition. This raised the question of whether similar problem s also exist in the humanities, where expert judgment plays a central role,’ says Rulkens. The research shows that replication of attrib ution research yields more than just confirmation of previous conclus ions. ‘It makes assumptions visible, helps improve methods, and con tributes to better recording of expert knowledge. This makes the judg ment of experts, often perceived as a “black box,” more transpare nt and easier to discuss.’ Role of expertise and interpreta tion
According to Rulkens, other disciplines can learn fr om this. ‘In many replication discussions, the emphasis lies on dat a and measurement methods, while the role of expertise and interpreta tion remains underexposed. Yet these factors are essential to underst anding why studies are sometimes reproducible and sometimes not.’ < strong>Importance of attributions
Attributions help deter mine how artworks are interpreted, presented, and valued. Differences in expert judgment can lead to divergent conclusions, sometimes with major cultural and financial consequences. The research offers tools to make this process more transparent and careful. Method: A ttribution Expert Consensus Meeting
For the study, Rulken s, together with a multidisciplinary team, repeated previous attribut ion studies of two portraits by the young Rembrandt and a painting re lated to Rubens. In doing so, she developed the method of the Attribu tion Expert Consensus Meeting. Rulkens: ‘Experts first give their j udgment individually, then discuss this jointly, and subsequently rea ssess the work. This approach reduces mutual influence and makes visi ble where experts agree or disagree. In this way, outcomes can be bet ter compared and replicated in the future.’ More information on the thesis Rembrandt and Rubens Revisited END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR