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International Conference: Looted Art and the Art Market: Nazi Art Theft in Belgium, Europe, and Its Aftermath (Brussels, 11–12 June 2026)
On 11-12 June 2026, the Royal Museums of Fine Art of Belgium will host an international conference entitled Looted Art and the Art Market: Nazi Art Theft in Belgium, Europe, and Its Aftermath.
Bringing together provenance research, art market studies, and data science, this conference aims to advance an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing the movements of cultural objects and their connections to actors, institutions and power structures shaped by the Nationalist Socialist era and its aftermath.
The conference is organized in the context of the Belgian federal research project ProvEnhance (Enhancing the provenance data of the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) since 1933. Scientific study, digital valorisation and narrative in context). Anchored in a dual research approach, the ProvEnhance project simultaneously examines the trajectories of a selected group of artworks from the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium and the roles of key actors within the Belgian art market between 1933 and 1960, situating both within the broader dynamics of cultural dispossession and the post-war approach.
The first day of the conference will present case studies related to Belgium, shedding light on Belgian and German actors – both private as institutional - as well as on transnational transaction networks during the war.
The second day will focus on post-war restitution efforts, new archival insights, recent digital tools and methodologies, and ongoing research projects. Together, these contributions underscores the value of a transnational research perspective.
Programme and registration
The conference will take place on 11-12 June 2026 in Brussels, at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. The conference language is English. Please note that no live streaming or recording of the conference will be provided.
The full conference programme may be consulted here.
Participants are kindly requested to register before 1 June 2026 using the form available here.
Participation is free of charge, but prior registration is mandatory. Lunch is available for a fee on registration.