The Rijksmuseum and Museo Nacional del Prado have announced a new research partnership focused on women in art and history, bringing together the two museums’ work on representation, collections and the shared histories of the Netherlands and Spain.
The collaboration will include an international fellowship programme for postdoctoral researchers, expert meetings and a major exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in 2029 exploring female leadership in the Habsburg Netherlands during the 16th century.
At the centre of the partnership is a new fellowship programme launching in September 2027, with recruitment beginning in October 2026. Research will focus on the role, governance and representation of women in the Habsburg Empire, particularly across Dutch and Spanish contexts.
The selected fellow will work with the collections of both the Prado and the Rijksmuseum and contribute to exhibition projects developed through the collaboration.
The partnership builds on existing work at both institutions.
At the Prado, El Prado en Femenino has developed from a research project into a permanent programme examining women as artists, patrons and significant historical figures within the museum’s collections. Its work spans exhibitions, publications, education, audiovisual projects, digital resources and international collaboration.
Previous projects have highlighted figures including Clara Peeters, Sofonisba Anguissola, Isabel Clara Eugenia, Christina of Sweden and Isabella Farnese. This autumn, the Prado will also open an exhibition devoted to Mariana of Austria, examining the creation and evolution of the queen’s public image throughout her life and reign.
The Rijksmuseum has meanwhile been developing its own programme around women in the collection since 2021.
Its interdisciplinary Women of the Rijksmuseum team has researched more than 450 objects, organised the Women in the Museum symposium series and developed exhibitions including Point of View: A Gender Perspective on the Collection.
The museum has also acquired works by artists including Gesina ter Borch, Maria van Oosterwijck and Marlow Moss, with the partnership with the Prado extending this work through international research and knowledge exchange.
A major exhibition resulting from the collaboration is planned for the Rijksmuseum in 2029.
It will focus on Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hungary and Margaret of Parma, examining their political power, public representation and relationship to art across almost 60 years of Habsburg governance in the Netherlands during the 16th century.
The partnership brings together two museum programmes that have already been working to reconsider how women appear within historic collections, while creating a longer-term framework for new research and future exhibitions.
