Two of Europe's most visited art museums, Madrid's Museo del Prado and Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, have announced a pioneering alliance to address the systemic underrepresentation of women artists in their collections and programming. The collaboration, unveiled on Tuesday, seeks to move beyond token exhibitions and embed gender parity into the institutions' core research, acquisition, and display strategies.
A shared commitment to historical correction
The initiative, described by both museums as an "alliance against invisibility," will involve joint curatorial research, staff exchanges, and the co-development of digital tools to trace the careers of women artists who have been overlooked by traditional art history. The first tangible outcome will be a dual-site exhibition scheduled for 2028, which will explore the role of women as creators, patrons, and subjects in European art from the 16th to the 19th century.
Miguel Falomir, director of the Prado, said in a statement that the alliance is "a recognition that our collections are not neutral. They reflect centuries of exclusion, and it is our responsibility to question that legacy." Taco Dibbits, general director of the Rijksmuseum, echoed the sentiment, noting that "museums are not just repositories of objects; they are active shapers of historical memory. By working together, we can accelerate the change that the public increasingly demands."
The partnership comes at a time when European cultural institutions face growing scrutiny over their diversity records. A 2025 study by the European Museum Network found that women artists account for less than 15% of works on display in major national galleries across the EU, despite representing a significant share of active artists in their respective periods. The Prado and Rijksmuseum, both state-funded and with extensive royal and civic collections, have been singled out in the past for their low representation of female painters.
Beyond the canvas: structural changes
The alliance will also tackle the structural barriers that have kept women out of the art historical canon. This includes a joint fellowship programme for scholars specialising in women's artistic production, as well as a commitment to review acquisition policies to ensure that new purchases and donations actively seek works by women. Both museums have pledged to publish annual diversity reports, a move that goes beyond current legal requirements in Spain and the Netherlands.
Digital innovation will play a key role. The two institutions plan to create a shared open-access database that will document the provenance and exhibition history of works by women artists, making it easier for researchers and the public to track their visibility over time. This database will be integrated into the museums' existing online catalogues, which together attract millions of visitors each year.
The announcement has been welcomed by cultural commentators, though some caution that the real test will be in implementation. "It is easy to announce a partnership, but the challenge is to change the daily decisions that shape what hangs on the walls," said Dr. Elena Martín, an art historian at the University of Barcelona. "If this alliance leads to concrete acquisitions and permanent gallery reinstallations, it could set a new standard for European museums."
The Prado and Rijksmuseum are not alone in this effort. Across Europe, institutions from the Uffizi in Florence to the National Gallery in London have launched similar initiatives in recent years. However, the cross-border nature of this alliance is notable, as it creates a model for how national museums can pool resources and expertise to address a shared historical deficit.
For now, the two museums are planning a series of public lectures and online seminars to engage audiences in the conversation. The first event, scheduled for November, will bring together curators from both institutions to discuss the challenges of reinterpreting canonical works through a gender lens.
As the art world increasingly recognises that the canon is not fixed but constructed, this alliance represents a significant step toward a more inclusive European cultural heritage. Whether it will succeed in transforming the halls of two of the continent's most revered institutions remains to be seen, but the commitment is clear.
