ESNA’s aim is to provide a forum to promote the exchange of ideas in the field of nineteenth-century art in the broadest sense
European Society for Nineteenth-century Art
ESNA’s aim is to provide a forum to promote the exchange of ideas in the field of nineteenth-century art in the broadest sense, to support and encourage graduate research, and to enhance networking opportunities for participants. ESNA seeks to contribute to, and foster debate on, nineteenth-century art through the organization of an annual symposium, w
23/04/2026
Can we trust what we think we know about artists’ lives?
Join us for Unreliable Lives, a one-day international conference exploring how artists’ biographies were constructed in the nineteenth century, and how they continue to shape the way artists are understood, judged, and remembered.
12 June 2026
Singer Laren
Keynote lecture by Julie Codell
Tickets via link in bio.
11/03/2026
Win two tickets to TEFAF Maastricht 🎟️
SALON is giving away two tickets to TEFAF Maastricht, in collaboration with TEFAF.
Often described as the world’s leading fair for art, antiques, and design, TEFAF Maastricht brings together 7,000 years of art history under one roof. Each March, more than 260 top dealers from around the world present exceptional works ranging from ancient art and Old Masters to modern and contemporary pieces, design, jewellery, and works on paper. With a rigorous vetting process carried out by around 200 experts, TEFAF is known for the quality and authenticity of the works on display.
The fair takes place at MECC Maastricht (Forum 100) and runs 14–19 March, daily from 11:00 to 19:00. The tickets we’re giving away are valid on any of these days.
How to win?
Name a nineteenth-century artwork that has been acquired at TEFAF in the past five years. Send your answer to [email protected].
It’s first come, first served — the first correct answer wins. The giveaway is open to students only, but the tickets themselves are not restricted to student entry.
Good luck — and see you in Maastricht.
🖼️Jules Bastien-Lepage, The Grape Harvest 1880, , acquired at TEFAF in 2016
📷TEFAF 2025
02/01/2026
✨ Happy New Year ✨
We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers for the SALON Conference 2026.
📍 12 June 2026
🏛️
Unreliable Lives: Rethinking the Artist’s Biography in the Nineteenth Century
This international conference invites critical reflection on the nineteenth century as a formative moment in the construction of artists’ biographies and their enduring influence on art history, museums, and public discourse.
We welcome papers engaging with one or more of the following thematic strands:
1️⃣ Biographical Construction: Text vs. Objects
Ego-documents and autobiography; strategic self-fashioning; narrativization; the influence of the nineteenth-century novel; the role of art criticism; works of art as biographical evidence.
2️⃣ Problematic Figures and Ethical Reckonings
Artists whose lives challenge contemporary ethical norms; curatorial strategies for contested biographies; the entanglement of life and work in public discourse.
3️⃣ Crisis, Vulnerability, and the Artist
Narratives of suffering, failure, illness, addiction, and su***de; the romanticization of struggle; the afterlives of biographical tragedy.
4️⃣ Ideology, Identity, and the Nineteenth-Century Life
Nationalism and artistic “schools”; race, gender, class, and sexuality in biographical writing; colonial frameworks and transnational circulations.
5️⃣ The Uses and Limits of Biography Today
Biography as interpretive tool or disciplinary obstacle; alternatives to biographical models; historiographical lacunae and missing lives.
📝 Abstract deadline: 1 February 2026
📬 Submissions to: [email protected]
& [email protected]
👉 The full Call for Papers, including submission guidelines, is available via the link in bio.
🖼️Gustave Caillebotte, Man at his Bath, 1884,
14/11/2025
The Van Gogh Museum is looking for an intern! 🎓✨
Are you a Master’s student with a passion for art history, cultural history or visual culture? The Van Gogh Museum’s Collection & Research Department is offering a unique internship where you’ll work closely with the Curator of Paintings on a major research and exhibition project about adolescence around 1900 — leading to a large exhibition in spring 2028.
What you’ll do:
• Dive into art-historical research
• Help build a database of artworks
• Explore youth culture in 1875–1914
• Support loan preparations
• Option to pursue your own research topic
What you bring:
• Enrolled in an MA (preferably Research MA)
• Strong research skills & curiosity
• Excellent Dutch and English
• Bonus: French/German
What you get:
• €550 internship allowance (36 hrs/week)
• Laptop & iPhone
• Hybrid working options
• A chance to work inside one of the world’s leading museums
📅 Apply before 12 December 2025
👉 Via the link in our bio / on the Van Gogh Museum website
🖼️Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), The Girl Li and I from The Dreaming Boys (1907-08), illustrated poem with eight colour lithographs
13/11/2025
Last week marked a new beginning for SALON — and what a start it was.
With the launch of our renewed identity, we opened a new chapter for the study of the long nineteenth century. Even more importantly, we did so together with a room full of people who care deeply about this era: from long-standing ESNA members and former board colleagues to students who only just discovered their passion for the period.
Our very first Salon d’Automne could not have begun more promisingly. Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Sebastian Smee captivated the audience with a talk on his latest book Paris in Ruins: Love, War and the Birth of Impressionism — guiding us through a Paris shaken by war, political upheaval and artistic reinvention. His conversation with (.nl) was a highlight in itself: a sharp, generous exchange about the art historian’s and the journalist’s urge to tell stories, the freedom (and limits) of interpretation, and the perennial question raised by the audience… Can we speak of love between Morisot and Manet if the sources don’t say so?
We were also treated to a tantalising glimpse of the future: a potential Courbet/Manet exhibition — an idea dropped during the Q&A with . Kunstmuseum Den Haag as the first venue? We can dream.
A heartfelt thank-you to all who joined us, to our speakers, and especially to the Kunstmuseum Den Haag for their warm hospitality.
The Salon d’Automne will return — and we would love to hear from you. Do you have suggestions for future speakers? Would you like to organise an excursion, a close-looking session, or another event that brings the nineteenth century to life?
Let us know. The new SALON is built together.
08/11/2025
Introducing SALON – Society for the Arts of the Long Nineteenth Century
We’re thrilled to announce that ESNA is evolving into SALON – a new name for a new era.
Rooted in the Netherlands and Belgium yet open to the world, SALON brings together researchers, museum professionals, students, and enthusiasts to explore the visual and applied arts of c. 1789–1914.
Inspired by the spirit of nineteenth-century salons, we foster exchange, critique, and collaboration across generations, disciplines, and borders. Through symposia, lectures, workshops, and digital initiatives, we aim to cultivate a dynamic, inclusive community where new ideas can flourish.
Our new name reflects our commitment to reimagining the nineteenth century for today’s world — beyond national and European boundaries, and with attention to its global, diverse, and interconnected histories.
✨ We also have a new logo and new website — check it out at salonsociety.art!
Our new email address will follow soon. Everyone already registered with ESNA will automatically receive our upcoming newsletter with all the latest updates — no need to re-subscribe.
Follow us as we continue this conversation — now as SALON.
24/10/2025
Tijdens de Salon d’Automne op vrijdag 7 november signeren .smee en hun recente boeken, Verscheurd Parijs (Paris in Ruins) en Nieuw Parijs: Van Monet tot Morisot.
Beide publicaties tonen hoe de nasleep van oorlog, verlies en vernieuwing de kunst van de negentiende eeuw vormde — thema’s die ook tijdens de middag centraal staan.
De boekwinkel van het .nl heeft voor deze gelegenheid een speciale tafel ingericht, met extra exemplaren in samenwerking met .
📍 Kunstmuseum Den Haag
📅 Vrijdag 7 november 2025, 13.45–17.30 uur
🎟 Tickets €20 / studenten €10 → link in bio
21/10/2025
De negentiende-eeuwse kunst is een gepassioneerd pleitbezorger verloren. Ons heeft het verdrietige nieuws bereikt van het plotselinge overlijden van Chris Stolwijk.
Chris was een toonaangevend lid van een generatie van kunsthistorici die vanaf de jaren 1990 de negentiende eeuw in Nederland op de kaart hebben gezet. Zijn proefschrift, Uit de schilderswereld: Nederlandse kunstschilders in de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw (1997), liet aan de hand van een destijds vernieuwende sociaal-economische benadering, met oog voor ‘vergeten’ bronnen zoals kunsttijdschriften, zien dat het laatnegentiende-eeuwse Nederland een bloeiend, veelzijdig en dynamisch kunstleven kende, dat meer was dan een verondersteld dor achterland van kunstmetropool Parijs.
In het daaropvolgende decennium bleef Chris als conservator en Hoofd Collecties, Presentatie en Onderzoek in het zijn fascinatie voor de negentiende eeuw met verve uitgedragen. Met talloze onderzoeksprojecten, tentoonstellingen en publicaties – in het bijzonder over zijn geliefde Van Gogh – hielp hij niet alleen de wetenschap vooruit, maar maakte hij ook een breder publiek en nieuwe generaties kunsthistorici enthousiast over de kunst uit deze periode.
Ook in zijn latere posities als directeur van het en hoogleraar aan is Chris de negentiende eeuw altijd een warm hart blijven toedragen. Daarvan getuigen niet in de laatste plaats de welwillendheid en hulp waar ESNA vanaf haar oprichting in 2013 altijd op heeft kunnen rekenen. Onder zijn leiding bood het RKD ruimte en ondersteuning voor talloze ESNA seminars en symposia, waar Chris niet zelden zelf aan deelnam.
Onze gedachten gaan uit naar zijn naasten, familie en vrienden.
📷Enith van Tongeren
📔Chris Stolwijk, Uit de schilderswereld, Nederlandse kunstschilders in de tweede helft van de negentiende eeuw, 1998
📔Chris Stolwijk, Richard Thomson en Sjraar van Heugten, Theo van Gogh: kunsthandelaar, verzamelaar en broer van Vincent, 1999
15/10/2025
🖋️ Pulitzer Prize winner Sebastian Smee on art, chaos and renewal
Sebastian Smee is one of today’s most celebrated art critics. He writes for The Washington Post, won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, and is the author of The Art of Rivalry — a book that explores how friendship and rivalry shaped the work of modern masters.
On Friday 7 November, he visits the Kunstmuseum Den Haag for the first Salon d’Automne, marking the launch of ESNA’s new direction.
In his lecture, Smee will discuss his latest book Paris in Ruins: Love, War and the Birth of Impressionism (2024), showing how the horrors of the Siege of Paris and the Commune gave rise to a new artistic vision. Artists such as Manet, Morisot, and Degas transformed despair into innovation — and, in doing so, changed art forever.
After the lecture, Smee will be joined in conversation by Frouke van Dijke, curator at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, whose recent exhibition New Paris: From Monet to Morisot explores similar themes of modernity and resilience in nineteenth-century art.
📍 Kunstmuseum Den Haag
📅 Friday 7 November 2025, 13.45–17.30 hrs
🎟 Tickets €20 / students €10 → link in bio
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06/10/2025
Vacature: Secretaris ESNA (European Society for Nineteenth-Century Art)
Heb jij een passie voor de lange negentiende eeuw en ben je communicatief en organisatorisch sterk?
→ Sluit je aan bij ons internationale netwerk!
Wat je doet: mailbeheer, vergaderingen voorbereiden en notuleren, website bijhouden, samenwerken aan socials en helpen bij evenementen (ca. 8 uur p/maand). Ook denk je inhoudelijk mee en breng je eigen ideeën in.
Wat jij meebrengt:
• (Bijna) afgeronde BA/MA kunstgeschiedenis of aanverwant
• Goede beheersing van Nederlands en Engels
• Woonachtig in Nederland of België
Wij bieden: gratis toegang tot ESNA-activiteiten, een groot (inter)nationaal netwerk en een betrokken bestuur.
Let op: dit is een vrijwilligersfunctie (onbezoldigd); uitzonderlijke kosten kunnen worden vergoed.
👉 Solliciteer uiterlijk 3 november met een korte motivatie (±200 woorden, NL of EN) en cv via [email protected]
t.a.v. Renske Cohen Tervaert (voorzitter) & Lotte Kremer (secretaris).
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🇬🇧 Vacancy: Secretary ESNA (European Society for Nineteenth-Century Art)
Passionate about the long nineteenth century and skilled in communication and organisation?
→ Join our international network!
Your role: manage the inbox, prepare and minute meetings, update the website, support socials and events (~8 hrs/month). You’ll also contribute ideas and content.
You bring:
• (Near) completed BA/MA in Art History or related field
• Excellent Dutch & English
• Based in NL or BE
We offer: free access to ESNA events, a broad (inter)national network and an engaged board.
Note: volunteer position (unpaid); exceptional expenses may be reimbursed.
👉 Apply by 3 November: send a short motivation (±200 words, NL or EN) + CV to [email protected]
🖼️Georges Victor-Hugo, Schrijvende vrouw, 1895
