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Caroline Rae is an Associate Lecturer in History of Art. She received her Ph.D. in Technical Art History in the Department of Conservation of Technology at Courtauld Institute of Art in 2016 (jointly hosted by the National Portrait Gallery) after completing the PG Dip. in Conservation of Easel Paintings at the former institution. Her research centres on art produced in the Early Modern period in Northern Europe with a focus on the work of émigré Netherlandish artists working at the English and Scottish Jacobean courts, and at the Elizabethan court. Caroline has also researched and published on the materials and techniques or Henry Fuseli RA.
Caroline is also interested in the circulation of artists and materials in the Early Modern period and more widely in technical studies, material studies and the history of conservation/ restoration.
Before joining UCL, Caroline was Caroline Villers Research Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art/ National Galleries of Scotland (2016-2017), Lecturer in Technical Art History at the University of Glasgow, where she co-convened the Mlitt Technical Art History programme (2017-2020) and Associate Lecturer in History of Art at the Open University (2021-2022). Caroline has also been an Associate Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art (2015-2016), teaching a BA course on Rubens. Caroline is on the editorial team of The Picture Restorer journal (she was formerly Editor, 2020-2022).
Caroline has contributed technical research to several exhibitions, including Art and Analysis, at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which showcased results of her Caroline Villers Research Fellowship (2017 – current display) and at other institutions including Bolton Museum, the V & A and the Hunterian, University of Glasgow.
Contact Details
Office: 21 Gordon Square, Room 307
Office hours: Tuesdays 11:00am-12:00pm (in office), Fridays 11:00am-12:00pm GMT (on Zoom), email me to reserve a slot
Appointment
Associate Lecturer (Teaching) in History of Art
Dept of History of Art
Faculty of S&HS
Research Themes
Sixteenth and seventeenth century Northern European art (especially paintings produced in the Netherlands, England and Scotland), influence of émigré practice and circulation of artists in this period, court artists, court portraiture (especially art produced at the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts), Mary, Queen of Scots, Henry Fuseli RA, technical art history/ technical studies, material studies, conservation.
Research
Research Summary
As a technical art historian, Caroline combines traditional methods of art historical research with the scientific study of materials and techniques in order to gain a holistic understanding of paintings, their modes of production, and the artists, assistants and craftsmen and women who contributed to their making. This intersection also helps Caroline to fruitfully address questions of conservation, display, attribution and authentication.
Historically, Caroline specialises in the Early Modern period, with a focus on Netherlandish émigré artists working in Tudor/ Early Stuart England and Jacobean Scotland. She also looks at broader questions of mutual influence and cross-cultural dialogue between émigré and native artists in terms of technique, workshop practice and iconography. Caroline additionally has conducted research on Rubens and extensive research and publication on Henry Fuseli RA.
Caroline has this year completed two publications (articles/ chapter) related to her recent Caroline Villers Research Fellowship (funded by the Courtauld Institute of Art and jointly hosted by the National Galleries of Scotland). The first (written with curatorial contributions from Kate Anderson and David A.H.B Taylor) relates to a preliminary revision of the oeuvre of Adrian Vanson, a Netherlandish émigré artist who worked at the court of James VI in Scotland, in relation to technical examination of a selection of his works.
The second, written for a forthcoming Edinburgh University Press volume (2023) which will be one of the major outputs of an ongoing research project at the University of Glasgow (‘In the End is My Beginning’: The Memorialisation and Cultural Afterlife of Mary, Queen of Scots) is a revision of portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots believed to have been created during the time of her captivity in England. A focus in the latter chapter is the discovery of an underlying portrait of this sitter discovered in X-radiography during the Caroline Villers research project.
Selected Publications
Rae, C., “Henry Fuseli: Materials, Techniques and Drying Phenomena.” In Henry Fuseli: Drama and Theatre, edited by E. Reifert. Prestel and Kunstmuseum Basel: Munich, 2018.
Rae, C. and A. Burnstock. "Defining the Origins and Characteristics of Anglo-Netherlandish and Native Workshop Practices in Late Elizabethan/Early Jacobean England." In Painting Techniques, History, Materials and Studio Practice, Postprints of the International Symposium on Painting Techniques held at the Rijksmuseum, 18th -20th September 2013, edited by A. Wallert et al. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2016.
Rae, C. and L. Sheldon. “Lost Purples. Detection, Composition and Reconstruction: Re-discovering the Appearance and Contemporary Resonance of Purple Paint in Tudor and Stuart Portraits.” In Appearance and Reality: Examining Colour Change in Paintings, edited by A. Gent, H. Dowding and R. Clarricoates. London: Archetype, 2016.
Rae, C. “Marcus Gheeraerts, John de Critz, Robert Peake and William Larkin: A Comparative Study.” In Painting in Britain 1500-1630: Production, Influences and Patronage, edited by Tarnya Cooper, Aviva Burnstock, Maurice Howard, and Edward Town, 170-179, 187-189. Oxford: Oxford University Press and the British Academy, 2015.
Rae, C. “William Larkin.” In Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. Edited by A. Beyer, B. Savoy and W. Tegethoff, vol. 83, 207. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015.
Rae, C. “Edward Lutterell.” In Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. Edited by A. Beyer, B. Savoy and W. Tegethoff, vol. 86, 31. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015.
Rae, C. “Steven van der Meulen.” In Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Die Bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. Edited by A. Beyer, B. Savoy and W. Tegethoff, vol. 88, 247. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015.
Rae, C. and A. Burnstock. “Technical Study of Portraits of King James VI and I Attributed to John de Critz the Elder (d.1642); Artist, Workshop and Copies.” In European Paintings 15th - 18th Century: Copying, Replicating and Emulating, edited by E. Hermens, 58-66. London: Archetype in association with Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation, Statens Museum for Kunst (Denmark), 2014.
Rae, C. and C. Young, C. “A Technical Study of Three Paintings on a Shakespearian Theme by Henry Fuseli RA.” The Picture Restorer (Journal of the British Association of Paintings Conservator-Restorers), 39 (Autumn 2011): 12-15.
Forthcoming publications:
Rae, Caroline, “New perspectives on portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots produced between 1568-1618”. In (working title, tbc) The Enduring Appeal of Mary Queen of Scots, edited by Steven Reid. Edinburgh: EUP, 2023
Rae, Caroline (with curatorial contributions from Kate Anderson and David A. H. B. Taylor) “New thoughts on Adrian Vanson: findings through technical studies, including discussion of an interesting panel join,” The Picture Restorer (Journal of the British Association of Paintings Conservator-Restorers), 61 (Autumn 2022)
Rae, Caroline “A New Oeuvre for John de Critz the Elder I: The Rediscovery of a Lost Portrait of Robert Salisbury, 1st Earl of Salisbury,” draft in progress with British Art Studies (revising the text in relation to comments received during peer review)
Teaching
Caroline is currently teaching the second year BA course HART0134 Methodologies of Making, the third year BA course HART0164 The Social Lives of Artworks and the first year BA course HART0003 Art and Science