ProvEnhance - Collection Risk Assessment of Artworks Acquired by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, 1933-1960

As part of the 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 valorization and narrative in context”, the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium are examined as a case study to advance Belgian Nazi-era provenance research, aiming to progress it in alignment with the Washington Principles. Therefore, a preliminary risk assessment typically performed in the realm of Nazi-era provenance research, referred to as the “First Check” was conducted. The objective was to evaluate the necessity and priorities for additional research within the specified project corpus to aid in revealing possible historical injustices and to identify the rightful owners if needed. As a result, this dataset brings together the already available provenance information for the artworks included in the project corpus, offering a base for further exploration of object histories and the museum’s network involved in the acquisitions. Although the compiled data is not exhaustive to date, it provides a basis for future in depth-research. Publishing this dataset aims at rendering the histories of the objects, the biographies of former owners, and the underlying practices of the RMFAB accessible and transparent – all while situating them in their historical context. (2025-12-15)