Bob Haak

Bob Haak (born January 22, 1926 in Amsterdam ; † May 15, 2005 there ) was a Dutch art historian . He was director of the Amsterdam Historical Museum and an expert on Rembrandt .

Life

Bob Haak's parents were Jurrian Haak and Henrietta van Eek. From 1938 to 1944 he attended a Montessori school . In 1950 Haak married his wife Annette van Heek. Bob Haak worked for the Amsterdam art dealer DA Hoogendijk between 1950 and 1954. After this position, he began his career as a museum employee as an assistant in the painting department of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam until he was offered the position of chief curator of the Amsterdam Historical Museum in 1963. He accepted this position and became director of the museum in 1975.

In 1956, Bob Haak was involved in planning a Rembrandt van Rijn exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. He realized that the authenticity of some of his works was in doubt and subsequently worked in this field. That is why he was involved in founding the Rembrandt Research Project in 1968 . He worked with Jan van Gelder , Jan Emmens , Josua Bruyn , Simon Levie and Pieter van Thiel . Also in 1968 was Haak's important work on Rembrandt Rembrandt, zijn leven, zijn werk, zijn tijd ( Rembrandt; His life, his work, his death ). His 1984 book The Golden Age: Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century was named the best art history book of the year and won the Karel van Mander Prize in 1985. In 1992 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam . In 1993 Bob Haak left the Rembrandt Research Project together with Josua Bruyn, Simon Levie and Pieter van Thiel.

Web links

• Bob Haak on dictionaryofarthistorians.org