Bode was one of the most important art connoisseurs of Dutch, Flemish, Italian and German art of his generation. Together with Dutch art historians Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (1863-1930) and Abraham Bredius (1855-1946) - who were his protégés** **- they were regarded as great connoisseurs of Dutch art, especially Rembrandt.

Bode had an extensive network of connections and influential relations with dealers, art agents, private collectors, and auction houses, all across Europe. This enabled him to act as an intermediary and networking agent between selling and purchasing parties. London based art dealer Joseph Duveen (1869-1939) had a close relationship with Bode.

Bode was an advisor to many art collectors, chief among them were August de Ridder (1837-1911) and Rodolphe Kann (1945-1905). He wrote a catalogue on the De Ridder collection in 1913 and one on Rodolphe Kann’s collection in 1900. Adolphe Schloss corresponded with Wilhelm von Bode. Two letters from Schloss to Bode, written in 1910, are preserved at the Staatliche Museen Berlin/ Zentralarchiv. The correspondence may be linked to Schloss’ acquisition of the painting Miroir entouré d'oiseaux by Jan Davidsz de Heem (Schloss German no. 86/ French no. 104) which the Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein sold in 1910 to help finance its purchase of another painting for the Kaiser Friedrich Museum.

Sources

Avery-Quash, Susanna and Barbara Pezzini (ed.). Old Masters Worldwide: Markets, Movements and Museums, 1789–1939. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020. pp. 157-158.

Gaehtgens, Thomas W., and Rachel Esner. “Wilhelm Bode and Dutch Painting.” Bulletin Van Het Rijksmuseum. vol. 49. no. 1, 2001. pp. 61–71. JSTOR. Accessed 22 June 2021.

www.jstor.org/stable/40383199.

Nachlaß Wilhelm von Bode, Zentralarchiv, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kultutbestiz.

Scallen, Catherine B. Rembrandt, Reputation, and the Practice of Connoisseurship. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2004. pp. 103-126.