Guenevere Souffreau obtained Master's degrees in both Archaeology and Art History from Ghent University. From 1999 to 2010, she worked as a research assistant and collection manager for various museums specialising in archaeology, history, and art history. Since 2010, she has been affiliated with Musea Brugge, where she was deputy curator of the Groeningemuseum from 2011 to 2020. Alongside digital collection management and curatorial tasks focusing on 17th-century painting, she immersed herself in scientific and material research and created and interpreted infrared reflectography images of paintings.
In 2018, she completed a training course as a goldsmith. Her interest in metal objects and historical scientific instruments led her to take up the position of curator of metal, glass, and numismatics at Musea Brugge in 2021. She specialises in the history of science, focusing on scientific instruments from fields such as astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry and medicine. She is a member of the Scientific Instrument Society, the Scientific Instrument Commission, the Astronomy Association, the Beisbroek Public Observatory, the Sundial Circle, the Clock Society, and the non-profit organisation Montanus.
Guenevere is currently participating in an ongoing research project on art and science (2025-...):
Depictions of scientific instruments in paintings, tapestries, prints, etc. are an interesting source of information for researching the history of science. In portraits of scientists, they can clarify the person's area of expertise, or even their achievements and discoveries. In historical or mythological scenes, the instruments may appear to be merely illustrative additions, but closer inspection can reveal surprising insights into the scientific knowledge of the time.
Decruyenaere, Astrid, Benoit Kervyn, Guenevere Souffreau, Kaat Swinnen en Nadia Vangampelaere. “Verborgen parels uit de OCMW-collectie.” Musea Brugge Magazine 44, nr. 4 (2024): 4-13.
Germonpré, Femke, Frederik Roelens, Guenevere Souffreau, en Katrien Van de Vijver. “Nieuw onderzoek naar de graven van Anselm Adornes en Margareta van der Banck.” In Een hemels Jeruzalem in Brugge. Het Adornesdomein en de Jeruzalemkapel. Onder redactie van Jan Dumolyn en Noël Geirnaert. Hannibal, 2024.
Souffreau, Guenevere, en Anne van Oosterwijk. “Alla Maniera”: Technical Art History and the Meaning of Style in 15th to 17th Century Painting: Papers Presented at the Twenty-Second Symposium for the Study of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting Held Online, 28-30 March 2022. Onder redactie van Anne Dubois. Peeters Publishers, 2024. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.124...;
Blontrock, Nico, Véronique de Limburg Stirum, Jelle Deltombe, Noël Geirnaert, Frederik Roelens, Luc Rossen, Guenevere Souffreau en Katrien Van de Vijver. Anselm Adornes & Margareta van der Banck. Het grafmonument – le monument funéraire – the funerary monument. Adornes, 2022.
Geysen, Inge, Guenevere Souffreau en Eva Tahon, reds. Brugge in 100 objecten. Ludion, 2020.
Souffreau, Guenevere. “Over de schouder van de schilder.” Musea Brugge Magazine 40, nr. 2 (2020): 12.
Souffreau, Guenevere. “Infraroodreflectografieonderzoek.” Musea Brugge Magazine 39, nr. 4 (2019): 14-17.
Souffreau, Guenevere. “Anonymous, Virgin and St John / Master FVB, Crucifixion” en “Anonymous (Southern Netherlandish), Dagger / Master WA, Thistle Ornament.” In Colard Mansion, Incunables, Prints and Manuscripts in Medieval Bruges. Onder redactie van Evelien Hauwaerts, Evelien de Wilde en Ludo Van Damme. Snoeck, 2018.
Souffreau, Guenevere. “Heiligen Bavo, Jacobus en Willibrordus. Pieter II Claeissens. 1574”, “Frans II Pourbus (1569-1622)", "Portret van Petrus Ricardus. Frans II Pourbus. Ca. 1592/93?" en "Portretten van de aartshertogen Albrecht en Isabella. Frans II Pourbus (kopie naar). 17e eeuw (?).” In Vergeten Meesters. Pieter Pourbus en de Brugse schilderkunst van 1525 tot 1625. Onder redactie van Anne van Oosterwijk. Snoeck, 2017.
Souffreau, Guenevere. Diverse bijdragen over collectiestukken geschilderd door Ambrosius Benson, Erasmus Quellinus II, Peter Lely en Frans van Cuyck de Myerhop, “Het zeventiende-eeuwse stilleven” en “Het zeventiende-eeuwse landschap.” In Groeningemuseum Brugge. Bezoekersgids. Onder redactie van Tine Van Poucke. Ludion, 2016.
Souffreau, Guenevere. “Jan Baptist Saive de Oude”, “Peter Schoubroeck” en “Adriaen van der Werff.” In Vorstelijk verzameld. Van Eyck. Gossaert. Bruegel. Meesterwerken uit het Kunsthistorisches Museum Wenen. Onder redactie van Sylvia Ferino-Pagden, Till-Holger Borchert en Manfred Sellink. Lannoo, 2011.
