The Research Centre
The "Research Centre for Provenance Research, Art and Cultural Property Law" was founded in 2018. It combines the activities of three professorships: the two Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Endowed Professorships for Modern and Contemporary Art History with a focus on Provenance Research / History of Collecting (Christoph Zuschlag) and for Civil Law, Art and Cultural Property Law (Matthias Weller) and the Junior Professorship for Art Historical Provenance Research (Lucy Wasensteiner). These three professorships aim to anchor the areas of provenance research and art and cultural property law in research and teaching at the University of Bonn through an interdisciplinary cooperation.
Master's Degree Program "Provenance Research and the History of Collecting"
Nazi-looted art, cultural assets from colonial contexts, expropriations in the former East Germany– provenance research is today more important than ever. Provenance research examines the physical and ownership histories of cultural assets in various historical contexts. The master's program "Provenance Research and History of Collecting" at the University of Bonn has set itself the goal of qualifying students for this dynamic field of research. Provenance research is understood here as cross-epochal, interdisciplinary contextual research that shows the complexity of the values attributed to art and cultural assets by different individuals, societies and social constellations. Closely linked to this is the history of private and institutional collecting, which is another focus of the degree programme. The courses focus on different eras and European as well as non-European regions.
You can find more information in our flyer on the Master's program (German only).
Modules in Art History and Law
The compulsory area of the degree programme includes four modules in the field of art history and two modules in the field of law, which impart basic knowledge of provenance research and civil law as well as specialist knowledge of the translocation of art and cultural assets, the history of collecting and the art market, and legal issues relating to the art trade and the protection of cultural property. In addition to the compulsory modules, the degree programme also includes an elective area, within which students can choose a thematic focus, for example "Museum Studies" or "Postcolonialism".
Transdisciplinary, practice-oriented, international: unique in Germany
The Master's degree program in Bonn is strongly transdisciplinary thanks to the close cooperation with the law departments and inclusion of the elective areas. The Master’s lays a particular focus on practical work, which includes practical seminars, excursions and mandatory internships with leading partner institutions. Our international team is in close contact with universities and research institutions in Germany and abroad, including the Coordination Office for Provenance Research in North Rhine-Westphalia (KPF.NRW), the German Lost Art Foundation, the University of Cambridge and Tel Aviv University.
Studying in Bonn
The University of Bonn is one of the largest and most renowned teaching and research institutions in Germany. The Art History Department emerged from the world's first official chair of art history and houses the largest art history library of any German university. Since the summer of 2019, we have been named as one of eleven German Excellence Universities and – with six so-called "Excellence Clusters" – we are the most successful German Excellence University. In the Master’s program, our students benefit from the close cooperation with, among others, the newly founded Global Heritage Lab and the Bonn Center for Digital Humanities.
How to apply for the Master’s Program
The application process takes place online via the application portal.
The program starts every year in the winter semester (October). The application period for the Master's degree program "Provenance Research and History of Collecting" usually runs from mid-May to early September. Information for the current year can be found here.
Detailed information on the admission requirements can be found here.
Do you have any questions? Contact us in the Art History Department!
Online-Workshop in der Bibliotheca Hertziana Rom, 26-27 September 2024
Restatement jetzt online verfügbar
Livestream für Studierende des Masterstudienganges Provenienzforschung
Kooperationsprojekt mit der University of Cambridge
Journal and Series
Open Access Online Journal
"transfer – Journal for Provenance Research and Collection History" is a double-blind peer-review publication for scientific articles on provenance research and collection history as well as related research areas such as art market research, reception history, cultural sociology or legal history. The journal is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and realised together with the Heidelberg University Library and the MdbK Leipzig. The contributions are regularly published via arthistoricum.net in Diamond Open Access.
Contact and Questions: Dr. Florian Schönfuß
Our Series
In 2018, the "Publication Series of the Research Centre for Provenance Research, Art and Cultural Property Law" was founded in the De Gruyter publishing house. The series publishes anthologies and monographs resulting from academic events and projects of the Research Centre, as well as legal and art-historical PhD dissertations.
Doctoral Study at the Research Centre
Doctorate in Provenance Research: The tpp and the Promotion of Early Career Researchers
The research centre in Bonn was one of the founding members of the "Transdisciplinary Doctoral Network for Provenance Research" (tpp). The tpp is an interdisciplinary, international association of doctoral students who conduct research on topics of provenance research, the collection of art and cultural assets and their global translocations, cultural heritage, the art market, and museum and institutional history. Currently, the tpp consists of around 65 members from 17 universities in Germany and abroad. The members of the tpp support each other on their way to a doctorate and as they start their careers.
Contact and Questions:
Franziska Helmenstein
Our partners in the Law Department
The Research Centre for Provenance Research, Art and Cultural Property Law is a cooperation between the Art History Department and the Law Department. Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Matthias Weller (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Professorship for Civil Law, Art and Cultural Property Law), this team conducts various research projects and events in the field of art and cultural property law.
Franziska Helmenstein
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner
Dr. Anne-Kathrin Hinz
Anna Gürteler