Continue to content

Vote now and give heritage a future!

The Erfgoed Challenge Patrimoine invites you to play an active role in preserving Belgium's heritage.

Each year, we select works of art, monuments, or objects that deserve extra care and can be restored with your support.

Would you like to participate? Cast your vote at erfgoedchallenge.be (Dutch) or challengepatrimoine.be (French).

Preserving the past and shaping the future

The Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage is the federal institution that documents, studies and preserves Belgium's cultural and artistic heritage.

News from the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage

20220922 Bonka KIK Preview 09149

Celebrating Art and Science at BRAFA 2025

03.10.2024

The Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) is proud of its new collaboration with BRAFA on the 70th anniversary of the art fair. This year's Brussels Art Fair will take place from 26 January to 2 February 2025.

Read more
Foto3

Chancellor Rolin in 3.5 billion pixels. A masterpiece by Van Eyck as you've never seen it before

23.04.2024

The Louvre in Paris recently solicited the services of KIK-IRPA for the exhibition 'Revoir Van Eyck. La Vierge du Chancelier Rolin', which runs until June 17, 2024. The painting of The Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, freshly restored, was captured in images again by our teams. Moreover, it got its own section on the Closer to Van Eyck website.

Read more

Our services

Public institutions, but also owners of private collections in Belgium and abroad, can apply to our institution for the conservation, study and documentation of works of art and other heritage objects. You can contact us for:

  • Conservation of art works
  • Scientific analysis methods and dating techniques
  • Photography and scientific imaging
  • Art historical research

We share our knowledge and expertise

One of the core tasks of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage is collecting, archiving and disseminating the scientific research data from all disciplines covered by our experts. We also play a pioneering role in the field of Open Data in the arts and heritage sector. We want to share our knowledge and expertise with the heritage sector and the general public as much as possible.

  • Discover our exceptional range of documentation
  • Read more about our activities
  • Join our team as an employee or intern

The restauration of the Ghent Altarpiece

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432), created by the Van Eyck brothers and kept at Saint Bavo’s Cathedral (Ghent), is considered one of the most important masterpieces of Western European painting.

Since 2012, the painting has undergone research and restoration by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). The project is now in its third and final phase: the treatment of the upper panels of the interior of the polyptych (2023-2026).

  • Project

    Triptych of Dieric Bouts from Granada temporarily back in Belgium after more than 500 years

    KIK-IRPA will be hosting a new special guest in the coming few years. The Triptych of the Descent from the Cross, painted by Dieric Bouts between 1450 and 1458, will be analysed and restored at our Institute before it travels back to the Royal Chapel of Granada Cathedral in Spain in 2026.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    CHrisis: Protecting Heritage in Crisis Situations

    When, heavy flooding in July 2021 impacted more than 250 heritage sites, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), in close cooperation with the relevant regional organisations, has coordinated a cross-sectoral response. In follow-up, the Cultural Heritage in Crisis (CHrisis) project works on recovery actions as well as on improving risk preparedness and management for the affected sites.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    PHySICAL: sparking solutions for the cleaning of Asian lacquers

    In the PHySICAL project (Profound study of Hydrous and Solvent Interactions in Cleaning Asian Lacquer), RMAH-KMKG, UGent and the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage searched for the most effective way to clean lacquered surfaces. The result? A chemically and physically tested cleaning protocol to restore the magnificent collection of Asian lacquer items in the Art & History Museum to their full glory.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    Aero-Pedalo No. 9: a structural analysis of Panamarenko's parachutist

    Panamarenko's Aero-Pedalo No. 9 was at risk of collapsing and needed urgent restoration. But the inner structure of the work was a real mystery to the restorers. The Imagery Unit of the Institute was therefore commissioned to produce X-rays of the parachutist.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    The Adoration of the Magi, an exceptional altarpiece by Jan II Borman from Milan

    For a long time, the altarpiece of "The Adoration of the Magi" in the Basilica of San Nazaro Maggiore in Milan was attributed to a German craftsman. Following a study and restoration by KIK-IRPA, it has been revealed to be a masterpiece by a famous dynasty of Brussels sculptors: the Bormans. This momentous work has been restored to its former splendour, offering us a fascinating insight into 15th-century international exchanges within Europe.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    ArtGarden: Research Enclosed Gardens and preventive conservation of Mixed-Media objects

    How do you preserve items made of various materials, such as the Enclosed Gardens (Besloten Hofjes) in Mechelen? Within the ArtGarden project, an interdisciplinary research team determines the ideal preservation conditions for these kinds of historical mixed-media items. We make the results accessible to the broader heritage sector through an online tool.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    Antique glass at Musée L: restoration and typo-chronological research

    At the request of L Museum in Louvain-La-Neuve, KIK is restoring a unique collection of antique glass. Through a typo-chronological study and chemical analyses, the experts are also looking for the origin of some rare pieces. This task, entrusted to KIK, was recently extended to include the editing of a collection catalogue.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    Dull Gret discloses her true age

    The painting Dull Gret by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is the centrepiece of the Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp. The restoration of this masterpiece was entrusted to the specialists of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage. Together with Bruegel expert Christina Currie, they made several spectacular discoveries.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    VERONA (Van Eyck Research in OpeN Access)

    How close can you get to the creative genius of the Flemish master? The pioneering VERONA project has opened a whole new chapter in the study of the paintings of Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441). A permanent team of researchers and photographers from the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) went on site to study and document all the paintings of Jan van Eyck housed in renowned museums in Belgium and abroad, in high resolution and according to a standardised protocol. This comprehensive visual material is now available online on the Closer to Van Eyck website.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    Closer to Van Eyck in 100 billion pixels. The Mystic Lamb has never been so close

    Thanks to the Closer to Van Eyck website, since 2012 millions of people have been zooming in on the staggeringly beautiful details of one of the world's most acclaimed works of art: the Ghent Altarpiece. In 2020, more than a quarter of a million interested people worldwide already took a look, and in the COVID period the number of visitors even increased by 800%. This shows the enormous potential of modern digital technology to make works of art from all eras widely accessible. The website was recently renewed and contains high resolution images of the restored paintings, new videos and educational material.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    SHARE-ORG: how to get forgotten museum pieces out of the depot again?

    RE-ORG helps museums to manage their depot collections correctly. The SHARE-ORG competition looks for creative ways to display the pieces to the public.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    CRUMBEL: What can cremated bones reveal about the life of our ancestors?

    Within the CRUMBEL project (Cremations, Urns and Mobility - Ancient Population Dynamics in Belgium), researchers from UGent, ULB, VUB and the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) have been studying the cremated bones found on Belgian burial sites dating from the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages. Their goal is to better understand our ancestors' way of life. To that end, they are mapping the migrations and movements of the populations that populated our regions at that time.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    A focus on the Romanesque stained glass windows of the abbey of Stavelot

    In the early 1990s, AWaP archaeologists made an exceptional discovery in the soil of Stavelot Abbey: a remarkable collection of Romanesque stained glass windows dating from the 12th century. Shortly afterwards, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage experts were commissioned to treat these very damaged glass fragments. They developed a very original process for this purpose.

    Discover this project
  • Project

    The altarpiece of Saint George: a spectacular restoration

    After three years of research and restoration, Jan II Borman's Saint George Altarpiece (1493) hangs resplendent with beauty once again in the Museum of Art & History. The interdisciplinary study, carried out in collaboration with the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, has made unexpected discoveries and shed light on age-old mysteries. After almost two centuries, the beautifully carved statuettes have been returned to their original place in the monumental masterpiece, which has been restored. This project was made possible with the support of the King Baudouin Foundation (René and Karin Jonckheere Fund).

    Discover this project