From Objects to the Art Market. A data model for provenance research at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, 1933–1960

This presentation introduces the data model developed within ProvEnhance , a research project (2023–2027) at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) that investigates the provenance of collection objects from 1933 onward, with a focus on the National Socialist era and its aftermath. This project bridges provenance and art market research, two fields with distinct yet overlapping scopes, by employing a shared data structure as a key mechanism.

Our data model adheres to FAIR principles, uses Linked Open Data, and closely aligns with the CIDOC-CRM and the linked.art framework. While event-based modeling supports the documentation of provenance chains, we address a common limitation: the difficulty to model relationships between actors. It is precisely these relationships that prove to be critical for tracing the paths that artworks from the collection of the RMFAB followed as well as to understand the involvement of the participants from the Belgian art market between 1933 to 1960. 

This presentation will provide an overview of the current state of the ProvEnhance data model, from its conceptual part to its physical implementation. We will discuss the rationale behind specific design choices and how it was developed in tandem with the project researchers. We will exemplify the model with findings from their ongoing research covering paintings from the museum collection as well as art market actors in Brussels and Antwerp.

This presentation aspires to open a broader discussion on how data models can support a dual approach – integrating both provenance and art market knowledge – to better capture the complexities of object histories.

All three contributors are part of the ProvEnhance project – Enhancing the provenance data of the collections of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (RMFAB) since 1933: Scientific study, digital valorization and narrative in context – funded by BELSPO under the BRAIN program.

This presentation was given as part of the conference ‘Digital Turn. Collections – Provenances – Markets’, which took place on 27 and 28 November 2025 at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.