ABOUT ME
My name is Emma van Benthem, and I am an independent (provenance) researcher specialising in art and cultural-historical objects. I am particularly fascinated by the stories behind artworks: where they come from, how they have travelled through history, and the social and historical contexts they reflect. These stories are at the heart of my work, which is why I focus on provenance research, especially for the period 1933–1945.
I hold a Master's degree in Curating Art and Cultures (specialising in Arts of the Netherlands) from the University of Amsterdam. For my master's thesis, I studied the archive of the little-known Domestic Department of the Netherlands Art Property Foundation, a project that earned me two awards: the Christie's Grant for Nazi-era Provenance Research 2024 and the Dutch VNK x PAN Thesis Prize 2025.
Alongside my academic background, I have hands-on professional experience. I have conducted research at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and the Van Gogh Museum, carrying out detailed investigations into objects, archives, literature, and collections to trace the provenance of artworks.
I am also actively involved in the professional community, contributing to scholarly exchange and dialogue. As coordinator of the research group Looted Art: Provenance Research and Restitution in the Netherlands, I organise and facilitate collaboration between researchers and professionals in the field. I have also delivered various lectures and publications on provenance research, including studies on the Mesdag Collection during the Second World War and the ownership history of a work by Lucas Cranach the Elder that was in Hermann Göring's possession during the war.
Through my research, I aim to deepen understanding of the complex histories of art objects and the stories they carry. Respect for the object, precision, and transparency are central to my approach.
Presentations and lectures
Presentation master's thesis "Nationaal belang of particulier verlies. Het naoorlogse kunstbeheer door de Afdeling Binnenland van de Stichting Nederlands Kunstbezit", PAN Podium, 8 November 2025.
Presentation master's thesis "National interest or private loss: The post-war art management by the Inland Division of the Netherlands Art Property Foundation", Van Gogh Museum, 3 October 2025.
Presentation "The Mesdag Collection during the Second World War", Working group Netherlands of the Arbeitskreis Provenienzforschung e.V., 2 July 2025.
Presentation master's thesis "Nationaal belang of particulier verlies. Het naoorlogse kunstbeheer door de Afdeling Binnenland van de Stichting Nederlands Kunstbezit", Research group Looted Art: Provenance Research and Restitution in the Netherlands, 23 May 2025.
Lecture "De Mesdag Collectie tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog", The Mesdag Collection, 2 May 2025.
Presentation "De Afdeling Binnenland en haar archief", Expert meeting Network of Museum Provenance Researchers World War II, 17 December 2024.
Presentation Bachelor's thesis "Van een prins, tot Herman Göring, tot het Mauritshuis. De herkomstgeschiedenis van Maria met kind van Lucas Cranach de Oude", Research group Looted Art: Provenance Research and Restitution in the Netherlands, 9 June 2022
Publications
"The Mesdag Collection during the Second World War", The Mesdag Collection, April 2025.
"Schimmige doeken, 4 schilderijen nader bekeken", Journal of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Tijdschrift van de Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed), August 2024.
"From a Prince, to Hermann Göring, to the Mauritshuis. The Provenance History of Virgin and Child by Lucas Cranach the Elder", transfer – Zeitschrift für Provenienzforschung und Sammlungsgeschichte | Journal for Provenance Research and the History of Collection, December 2023
"Gouden Vrouwen, van kunstenaars tot verzamelaars", WBOOKS, december 2020.