PROGRAMME

25 January

Oskar J. Rojewski, Assistant Professor of Art History at the Institute of Art Studies, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland

lecture of 40 minutes followed by discussion

The Court Painter of Queen Isabella of Castile and the Habsburg Dynasty:  Michel Sittow’s Life and Oeuvre
Michel Sittow (ca. 1469-1525) emerged as a significant innovator in Early Modern painting, mainly in portraiture. An itinerant artist and economic migrant, he was esteemed as a painter during his lifetime. Originally from Reval (present-day Tallinn, Estonia), he trained in his craft in Bruges, possibly in the workshop of Hans Memling. During his life, he travelled across Europe to the courts diplomatically related to the Holy Roman Empire, for example Castille, the Low Countries, and Denmark. This presentation focuses on the current studies about Michel Sittow and the significance of the written records about his life, presenting the state of the art and launching new insights into the works he executed during his stay in Castile and his service to the Habsburg dynasty. Sittow’s name appears among the few references to the painters in records from the Castilian court that allow us to trace his career over a decade (1492- 1502). Later, he was documented in Reval as a craftsman (1507-1513), but he left his home town for the second time and returned to work for the Habsburgs. His name appeared in the inventories of Margaret of Austria's collection in Mechelen from 1516 and 1523/4. These inventories have been essential in identifying Sittow's works and style. After 1518, he settled in Reval, where he died 500 years ago. His itinerant life highlights the exchange of ideas and diplomatic ties among the European elite in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Oskar J. Rojewski is an Associate Professor of Art History at the Institute of Art Studies, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. He holds a PhD in Art History from the University of Valencia and the University Jaume I in Spain. His research focuses on the migration of Flemish artists to the Mediterranean world in the fifteenth century and on court culture, with a particular emphasis on the role and position of court artists. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Instituto Moll. Centro de Investigación de Pintura Flamenca in Madrid, a member of several research groups; Oskar has completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Copenhagen in the Centre for Privacy Studies and at the University Rey Juan Carlos in the research team CINTER.

25 February

Martyna Łukasiewicz, National Museum in Poznan

museum presentation of 20 minutes followed by q & a and discussion

Challenges and Complexities of the European Painting Collection in the National Museum in Poznan
This presentation examines the historical factors that shaped the development of the European Paintings Collection at the National Museum in Poznań, while addressing the current challenges it faces. A key issue stems from insufficient documentation and inventory, particularly related to looted objects during World War II and post-war nationalization. These gaps have resulted in ongoing difficulties in verifying provenance and determining rightful ownership.
The case studies presented will illustrate the scale of provenance challenges, including missing or incomplete records, complex ownership claims, and efforts to restitute looted items. The analysis investigates the legal and political complexities surrounding Poland's demands for the restitution of cultural losses from the Second World War, and, more broadly, its pursuit of war reparations. This is contrasted with the issue of artworks from German state museums that are now housed in Polish collections. The paper further explores the broader context of national and transnational ownership disputes, revealing how political dynamics influence museum restitution processes and complicate resolution of collection disputes.

Martyna Łukasiewicz is an art historian and curator at the National Museum in Poznan. She is a PhD candidate in art history with a dissertation dedicated to 19th century Danish museology. Her research interests encompass the 19th-century European painting, museology, and the history of collecting. She curated the first exhibition of Vilhelm Hammershøi in Poland (2021/2022). She presented her research findings at various international conferences, including the University of Copenhagen, University of Oxford, Humboldt University of Berlin, and Un

iversity of Geneva. She is a member of CODART, the Association for Art History, the Association of Art Historians in Poland.