Janneke van Asperen

Janneke van Asperen
OccupationsArt historian, curator
EmployerMuseum De Lakenhal
Known forCuratorial work on early modern Dutch art

Janneke van Asperen is a Dutch art historian and museum curator.[1] She is curator of old masters at Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden.[2][3]

Career

Van Asperen studied art history at the University of Amsterdam, The New School in New York, and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She specialized in early modern visual art and worked in the art trade, at the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, and at the Rijksmuseum.[2]

She joined Museum De Lakenhal in 2020 as junior curator and became curator of old masters in 2021. In that role, she became responsible for the museum’s collection of old master paintings and sculpture.[2]

Van Asperen is a member of CODART.[3]

Curatorial work

Van Asperen served as curator of Rembrandts vier zintuigen – Zijn eerste schilderijen, a 2024 presentation at Museum De Lakenhal that brought together four of Rembrandt’s earliest known paintings in Leiden.[4] Interviews with her about the presentation discussed the missing fifth work in the series, associated with taste, and on the paintings—as evidence of Rembrandt’s early experimentation with broad brushwork and chiaroscuro.[5][6][7][8][9]

She has also been associated with collection research and acquisitions at Museum De Lakenhal. The local Leiden-based Leidsch Dagblad linked her to the museum’s 2021 acquisition of the painting known as Tweelingzussen, by Jan van Mieris.[10]

In 2025, Van Asperen was involved in the research project behind the exhibition Master I.S. – The Enigmatic Contemporary of Rembrandt, presented at Serlachius in collaboration with Museum De Lakenhal,[11] with Tomi Moisio and in collaboration with Volker Manuth, Marieke de Winkel, and David de Witt.[12][13]

In 2026, Van Asperen and Lea van der Vinde co-curated At Home with Jan Steen – 400 Years of Merrymaking, examining Jan Steen through his family, professional circle, and connections with Leiden.[14][15]

Publications

Van Asperen is co-editor of:

  • (with Tomi Moisio), Master I.S. – Enigmatic Contemporary of Rembrandt (2025)
  • David Bailly – Time, Death and Vanity with Christiaan Vogelaar and Rudi Ekkart.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Maartje Beekman; Rosalie van Gulick (2022). "Handing Over the Keys: Succession in Museum Curatorship – An interview with Christiaan Vogelaar and Janneke van Asperen". CODART. Retrieved 2026-03-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Janneke van Asperen benoemd tot conservator oude kunst". Museum De Lakenhal. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Janneke van Asperen". CODART. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  4. ↑ "Rembrandts vier zintuigen – Zijn eerste schilderijen". Museum De Lakenhal. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Rembrandt's hometown displays earliest known paintings". The Peninsula Qatar. AFP. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "Museum De Lakenhal viert dit jaar het 150-jarig bestaan". Sleutelstad. 21 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "Leids museum De Lakenhal toont vier vroegste schilderijen van Rembrandt, de vijfde is spoorloos". Het Parool. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "Rembrandts vier zintuigen herenigd in Leiden: hij was al jong eigenzinnig". De Telegraaf. 18 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Rembrandts zonder smaak. De vier zintuigen bij elkaar gebracht in jubilerend Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden". Leidsch Dagblad. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden slaat slag op Engelse kunstveiling: tweelingzussen keren terug in hun geboortestad". Leidsch Dagblad. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "Master I.S. – The Enigmatic Contemporary of Rembrandt". CODART. 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Who was the mysterious 17th-century artist Master I.S.?". Museum De Lakenhal. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Mysterie rond tijdgenoot Rembrandt: anonieme schilder verschool zich achter initialen". De Telegraaf. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "At Home with Jan Steen in Museum De Lakenhal". Museum De Lakenhal. 1 April 2026. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Het gesprek – Janneke van Asperen". NPO Klassiek (in Dutch). 31 March 2026. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
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