4.6 Conclusion
These brief sketches provide some examples of what a Belgian artist’s life in Rome could look like, and how his relationships with fellow artists and customers were not only part of a national network, but also of a broader, international artistic community. Thereby this essay argues the time has come to (re-)insert research on Belgian and Dutch artists in a truly international perspective on Rome as ‘capital of arts’. This applies not only to the topic of our work, but also to ourselves as researchers. It is time to leave aside our national lens, to envisage 'our' artists as something more than mere 'Belgians' and see and study them as the true protagonists of a European and global cultural history of Rome in the 19th century.