Anna studied Art History at the University of Groningen (1998-2004), where she chose to focus on 15th- and 16th-century Southern Netherlandish painting and material-technical research of paintings. She obtained her PhD in 2016 at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London with research on Jean Bellegambe (c. 1470-1535/36).
Before joining Musea Brugge as curator of early Dutch painting at the end of 2023, Anna worked at the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum in Aachen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The National Gallery in London and Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, among others. She has received various fellowships and research grants, organised several exhibitions (including Lucas Gassel. Master of Landscape in 2020 at Museum Helmond), presented her research at conferences, and was the author and editor of various publications.
Anna's research interests primarily lie in the field of 15th- and 16th-century Southern Netherlandish painting and, within that, in approaching and understanding as closely as possible the circumstances and manner in which artworks and meanings are created. Her approach is characterised by an emphasis on primary sources, particularly the objects themselves.
Anna is currently working on research in preparation for an exhibition on Jan Provoost, which will take place in 2029, and she is collaborating on behalf of MB on the IOHANNES project of KIK-IRPA and UCLouvain (2024-29).
Memberships
- Member of CODART (Curators of Dutch and Flemish Art)
- Member of HNA (Historians of Netherlandish Art)
- Member of the national advisory committee for the third and final phase of the restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece
- Temporary member of the scientific committee of the Study Centre for Flemish Primitives (KIK-IRPA)
Publications
Books, exhibition catalogues, chapters and entries
- Koopstra, Anna.Hans Memling in Brugge. Hannibal, 2023.
- Koopstra, Anna, Christine Seidel and Joshua P. Waterman, eds., Tributes to Maryan W. Ainsworth. Collaborative Spirit: Essays on Northern European Art, 1350-1650 (Brepols/Harvey Miller, 2022).
- Koopstra, Anna. Jean Bellegambe (ca. 1470-1535/36). Making, Meaning and Patronage of his Works. Brepols, 2022. Winnaar Karel van Manderprijs 2023 (Vereniging van Nederlandse Kunsthistorici).
- Koopstra, Anna. “Visualizing the divine. New insights into Jean Bellegambe’s working methods.” In Proceedings of Imaging Utopia: New Perspectives on Northern Renaissance Art. Papers presented at the XXth Symposium for the Study of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting held in Mechelen and Leuven, 11-13 January 2017. Onder redactie van J. Beckers, A. Vogels, J. Van der Stock and L. Watteeuw, 74-85. Peeters, 2021.
- Koopstra, Anna. Lucas Gassel van Helmond. Meester van het landschap. Waanders & de Kunst, 2020. (Gepubliceerd naar aanleiding van de gelijknamige tentoonstelling in Museum Helmond.)
- Koopstra, Anna. “Goossen van der Weyden en zijn werkplaats.” In Zot van Dimpna. Onder redactie van Sven van Dorst, 250-61. Hannibal, 2020.
- Koopstra, Anna. “The Arnolfini Portrait in the Nineteenth Century. Reception and Reproduction.” In Reflections. Van Eyck and the Pre-Raphaelites. Onder redactie van Alison Smith, met bijdragen van Caroline Bugler, Susan Foister en Anna Koopstra, 15-23. National Gallery, 2017. (Gepubliceerd naar aanleiding van de gelijknamige tentoonstelling in National Gallery, Londen)
- Koopstra, Anna. Giovanni da Rimini’s Scenes from the Lives of the Virgin and other Saints. National Gallery, 2017. (Gepubliceerd naar aanleiding van de gelijknamige tentoonstelling in National Gallery, Londen)
- Koopstra, Anna, en Roxane Sperber. “A Saint Jerome after Palma il Giovane: artistic invention and the practice of painting on copper in the age of printmaking.” In Paintings on copper and other metal plates. Production, degradation and conservation issues. Onder redactie van Laura Fuster López et al., 103-09. Universitat Politécnica de València, 2017.
- Koopstra, Anna. Entries in Late Medieval Panel Paintings II: Materials, Methods, Meanings. Onder redactie van Susie Nash. Paul Holberton, 2015.
- Weidema, Sytske, en Anna Koopstra. Jan Gossart. The Documentary Evidence. Brepols 2012.
- Koopstra, Anna. Entries in Schattengalerie: die verlorenen Werke der Gemäldesammlung (Bestandskatalog der Gemäldegalerie). Onder redactie van Peter van den Brink. Hirmer, 2008.
- Koopstra, Anna, red. Seitenwechsel. Gemälderückseiten und ihre Geheimnisse. Suermonst-Ludwig-Museum, 2005. (Gepubliceerd naar aanleiding van de gelijknamige tentoonstelling in het Suermondt-Ludwig Museum, Aken)
Articles
- Cheung, Karwin C., en Anna Koopstra. “World War II-Era provenance research at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam.” Provenance #6. Verwacht.
- Koopstra, Anna, en Michael Carter. “A medallion of Abbess Jacqueline de Lalaing of Flines.” The Burlington Magazine 165 ( november 2023): 1173-1181.
- Koopstra, Anna en Thomas Fusenig (appendix). “New Insights into Hendrik van Steenwijck the Younger’s Working Methods and Milieu.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 11, nr. 1 (2019). DOI:10.5092/jhna.2019.11.1.3.
- Koopstra, Anna. “De Antwerpse 'witter ende paneelmaker' Melchior de Bout (werkzaam 1625/26-1658): leverancier van 'ready-made' panelen voor de Parijse markt.” Oud Holland 123, nr. 2 (2010): 108-124.
Other
