Anna Koopstra's Jean Bellegambe. Making, Meaning and Patronage of his Works was awarded with the 2023 Karel van Manderprijs of the Vereniging van Nederlandse Kunsthistorici (VNK).
"The book by Anna Koopstra about Jean Bellegambe adds an extremely careful, thorough, and beautifully produced study to the monographs on early Dutch painters. (...) More traditional art historical research—iconographic, stylistic, archival, and historiographic—is combined with modern technical research and a keen eye for drawings and graphics as visual sources for the artist. (…) Koopstra presents her research results in a sober and objective manner, confidently and yet somewhat modest but nevertheless resolute. In doing so, she makes the masterful hand of the somewhat isolated Jean Bellegambe visible, earning him his deserved place in the gallery of the last generation of Early Dutch painters. And more than that: the beautifully produced and clearly written book represents excellent and versatile art historical research that, through in-depth analysis of a small group of characteristic artworks, offers a new perspective on an important artist, his work and methods, as well as the impact of that distinctive body of work."
Drs. Lidewij de Koekkoek (VNK, Frans Hals Museum) - Jury President