Retrospectief

Retrospectief is a Dutch term used in arts and research with two related meanings. In the arts, it designates an exhibition or program that surveys the body of work of a particular artist, filmmaker, or musician over a span of years. Such retrospectives are curated to provide a chronological or thematic overview, often including rarely seen works, early pieces, or contextual materials alongside major works. In film and theatre, a retrospective program may screen a director’s or actor’s films or performances in a dedicated series.

In a different usage, retrospectief (or retrospective) refers to analysis that looks back at past events or data. In research and evaluation, retrospective studies examine existing records or recollections rather than collecting new data, and they are commonly used in epidemiology, social sciences, and program evaluation. They can reveal associations but are more susceptible to biases such as incomplete data or recall bias, compared with prospective approaches.

Etymology: the word is borrowed from French rétrospectif, from Latin roots retro- 'back' and spectare 'to look.' In Dutch, it functions both as a noun (a retrospective/retrospectief) and as an adjective (retrospectief) describing the approach or program.

Retrospectief continues to function as a key term in arts programming and research design.