The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for research in art and cultural history at the Rijksmuseum welcomes outstanding PhD and postdoctoral candidates working on the art and cultural history of the Low Countries whose principal concern is object-based research.

We welcome international, independent research proposals which open new perspectives on the Rijksmuseum’s collection, its history and activities. The purpose of the Fellowship Programme is to encourage and support scholarly investigation, and to contribute to academic discourses while strengthening bonds between the museum and universities. The programme enables highly talented candidates to base part of their research at the Rijksmuseum, and offers access to the museum’s expertise, collections, library and laboratories. Furthermore, it facilitates opportunities for Fellows to engage in workshops and excursions to encourage exchange of knowledge - both amongst themselves and the broader museum audience.

Applications are invited for:

The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for research in art and cultural history

As of 2020 the renewed Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for art historical research will take a more thematical and global direction towards research in the domain of art and cultural history: it will focus exclusively on the Netherlands as an international intersection of art, artists, artistic ideas and materials. In recent decades, art and cultural historical studies have seen an upsurge in the scholarly attention paid to wide themes such as mobility, cultural networks, shared cultural heritage and globalization. The Rijksmuseum has actively contributed to this development, and international interfaces with Netherlandish art have been central to its collection and exhibition policy in the past decades. The renewed Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship is in keeping with these themes, and aims to stimulate high-quality, object-based research, focusing on the Low Countries as a centre of international cultural exchange at large.

Proposals could focus on a wide variety of topics within the context of the new thematic direction, such as the migration of artists to and from the Netherlands, international exchange of art in the Low Countries, trade in art materials and naturalia for collectors, matters of artistic and personal identity and style, artistic and social strategies, shared cultural heritage or intercultural networks. The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship promotes diversity, and in particular, seeks to attract early career scholars from widely differing social, ethnic and economic backgrounds. The Fellowship will preferably result in a publication, the content and form of which will be decided by the Fellow and his/her academic supervisors in consultation with the Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum will provide joint working space for the Fellows and access will be given to all relevant resources in the museum, such as the Research Library Collections, collection documentation and the Rijksmuseum’s archives.

Eligibility

• The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship is open to PhD students and postdoctoral candidates. PhD Fellows are those whose proposal is embedded in the research plans of their forthcoming PhD dissertation, postdoctoral Fellows must have completed their dissertation and obtained a PhD degree on the date of application.
• Fellowships are open to candidates of all nationalities and with varied specialisms. They may include researchers specialising in the fields of art history, cultural history or related studies.
• Candidates should have proven research capabilities, academic credentials and excellent command of the English language – both written and spoken. Proficiency in a second language (ideally Dutch or German) is preferred but not required.

Funding

Fellowship stipends are awarded to help support a Fellow’s study and research efforts during the tenure of his/her appointment. The stipend of €39,000 for PhD Fellows or €45,000 for postdoctoral Fellows (subject to taxes and deductions) is for a period of twelve months commencing 1 September 2020, the start of the academic year.

The Fellowship will allow for limited travel for research in art collections and archives elsewhere in Europe to a maximum value of €5,000 annually. The Rijksmuseum will cover visa fees for the Fellow, but not for dependents.

Application and procedure

Complete applications have to be submitted through our online application system. Please follow the link below to learn about the required documents for application.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.