Horst Gerson (2 March 1907 – 10 June 1978) was a German-Dutch art historian.
Gerson was born in Berlin on 2 March 1907,[1] and after studying art history in Vienna, he became a pupil and assistant ofCornelis Hofstede de Groot and worked for de Groot's RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History) during the years 1934–1966, becoming aDutch citizen in 1940 and becoming director of the RKD on 1 January 1954.[2] He was the nephew ofKarl Lilienfeld, who had assisted de Groot before him. In 1966 he became professor of art history at theRijksuniversiteit Groningen, and during the years 1966–1975 he was head of theKunsthistorisch Instituut Groningen.[2] He is known for his publications, starting with his 'Ausbreitung und Nachwirkung der holländischen Malerei des 17. Jahrhunderts' published in 1942.[2]
He assistedAbraham Bredius with hisRembrandt catalogue raisonné, and later wrote hisown version in 1968 which reduced the number of attributed Rembrandt works from 639 to 420, and the next year published a revision of Bredius's catalogue that reduced the number even further.[3] TheRembrandt Research Project (RRP) under the direction ofErnst van de Wetering systematically went through the Gerson papers and re-attributed paintings to Rembrandt, most notably theself-portrait wearing a white feathered bonnet inBuckland Abbey.[4] The last installment of the RRP's 'Corpus of Rembrandt paintings' published in 2014 included 348 paintings, of which 295 were included in Gerson's 1968 catalog.[5]
Other books include, with E.H. ter Kuile covering architecture and sculpture, the chapters on painting inArt and Architecture in Belgium, 1600-1800 in thePelican History of Art (1960, Penguin Books).
Gerson was elected a member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1969.[1]
He died inGroningen on 10 June 1978.[1]
