Hugo van der Velden studied art history at the Universiteit Utrecht, where he also taught from 1992-2003. During this time, he was also a fellow at the Warburg Institute and a visiting lecturer at the Courtauld Institute. From 2003 to 2014, he served as a professor in the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. He currently teaches as the Rijksmuseum Chair of Art History of the Middle Ages at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.