Female Voices in Art: Hildegard Van de Velde, Curator of the Snijders & Rockox House, Antwerp

Hildegard Van de Velde (b. 1960) studied Art History and Archaeology at the University of Ghent and Library and Documentation Science at the University of Antwerp. Since 1995 she has been curator of the modern art collection of KBC and in 2001 she also became curator of the Museum Rockox House in Antwerp, also part of the KBC art collection. She has organized several exhibitions at the Rockox House, as well as abroad with artworks KBC's modern art collection. The Golden Cabinet, the Royal Museum at Rockox guest, is the last project she curated with Dr. Nico van Hout (2013-2017), before the renovation of the museum Rockox House. In 2018, the Rockox House expanded to include the Snijders House, the 17th-century patrician dwelling of stilllife and animal painter Frans Snijders, and became the Snijders&Rockox House museum for which Hildegard continues to curate exhibitions.

Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?

I am curator of the Museum Snijders&Rockox House in Antwerp, the famous patrician dwellings of the Antwerp Mayor Nicolaas Rockox (1560-1640) and the one of the Antwerp animal and still life painter Frans Snijders (1579-1657), two eminent personalities during the baroque period in Antwerp. It is my role to keep alive their legacy, their ideas, their social and cultural role in the city of Antwerp during the first half of the 17th century and to illustrate that whit paintings and original object of art from the 16th and 17th century. The museum is part of the art collection of KBC Bank. I am also curator of this bank's modern collection, a collection that is not open to the public, but is frequently requested on loan.

What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?

It is a great honor to collaborate on this project and at the same time, to be honored somewhere for the often intense work in the museum. But working with art is a gift in itself, offering me beauty every day. It gives me a lot of job satisfaction. It was surprising to witness the making of a portrait and to experience how small objects can give a person an extra appearance. It also taught me that to work on a portrait with Carla you have to set aside a couple of hours, that making a portrait is not easy feat. I admire Carla’s perseverance and her very critical eye.

Do you have a favourite artist?

This is a difficult question, especially since so many interesting artists during the Renaissance and Baroque periods put a city like Antwerp on the map. But one of my favourite is Anthonis Mor (Utrecht, circa 1519 – Antwerpen, 1575). He was a fantastic portrait painter who not only knew how to portray his models physically well, but at the same time could capture their character and authority in paint, a photographer avant la lettre.

What is your earliest memory involving art?

Art was instilled in me from home. From an early age I went on holiday with my parents and sisters to the art cities in Italy. Florence and the Uffizi are my oldest memories. But on weekends we were taken on trips to visit castles and museums in our own country.

Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?

Female artists in the 16th and 17th centuries had a privileged position. They could only take lessons in painting art from their father or a brother, or in some cases, with the intercession of a good relationship, they could work for a professional artist. This does not mean that they had it easy, they remained dependent on their environment and it is still special how some female artists in a male-dominated world managed to develop their own personal style, which helped determine the evolution of a genre. That is admirable. But, of course, their situation cannot be compared to a woman who has to make her art career today. The world looks completely different, yet not obvious either.

What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?

I like to wear simple clothing that still stands out, for example, with a striking detail. For example, the sleeves of the cardigan I'm wearing are sleeves with flared cuffs, a subtle reference to the 17th-century cuffs of the dresses of wealthy burgers in the first half of the 17th century. For this photo shoot, I think it was import to reinforce my involvement with the 17th century patrician dwellings.

What are you currently working on?

The retrospective of Jan Davidsz. de Heem, curated by Dr. Fred Meijer, is currently running. But in the meantime we are already thinking further. Each exhibition project has a lead time of 2 years and without giving anything away, we are now preparing exhibition concepts and negotiating various loans that will of course deal with fascinating themes in the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition, a lot of public activities will take place in the near future, such as the Night of Museums and Open Monument Day for which we are also currently planning the necessary activities.

Could you mention a project, an institution that, or a person who has been important or inspiring for your career and why?

It is not obvious to mention only one person or one institution that would have inspired me to pursue a career in the art world. Of course, it are the art trips with my parents that initially sparked my curiosity for art. But on my path I still meet interesting people every day, who inspire me, with whom I have fascinating conversations, with whom I savour art, from whom I still learn every day.