Hans Brandhorst (Leiden, 1956) studied Art History and History at Leiden University, where he graduated in 1982. After graduation he worked on the theory and practice of systematic iconographic cataloguing in various fields, including medieval manuscripts, printer's devices and emblem books.
Ever since 1985 he has used the Iconclass system for the purpose of computer-assisted subject indexing, and from the late 1980s onwards he has been involved in the development of the computerized Iconclass system itself.
Those activities - computer-assisted cataloguing with a focus on subject access, and the development of online tools to do so - are still his main research topics.
With his colleague and technical partner Etienne Posthumus he develops, edits and maintains two websites: that of the classification system for cultural content 'Iconclass' (http://www.iconclass.org) and the aggregator website 'Arkyves' where objects are gathered that have been indexed with the help of Iconclass (http://www.arkyves.org)