We are pleased to announce a new, online edition of the NICAS colloquium on Thursday 7 September 2023 from 12.00 to 13.00 hrs. The colloquium will take place online through Microsoft Teams. Throughout the year, NICAS organises a bi-weekly Colloquium consisting of two short research lectures. It provides researchers with the opportunity to present ideas for, updates on or results of their activities. The NICAS Colloquium allows people to stay informed on a regular basis about the latest developments and results of research and to exchange information and expertise.
Presenter: Marjolein Bol (Utrecht University)
Chair: Joen Hermans (University of Amsterdam)
The Varnish and the Glaze. Painting Splendor with Oil, 1100-1500
Panel painters in both the middle ages and the fifteenth century created works that evoke the luster of precious stones, the sheen of polished gold and silver, and the colorful radiance of stained glass. Yet their approaches to rendering these materials were markedly different. The Varnish and the Glaze explores some of the reasons behind this radical transformation by telling the history of the two oil painting techniques used to depict everything that glistens and glows—varnish and glaze.
Marjolijn Bol (UU) is Associate Professor in Technical Art History and PI of the ERC Starting Project Dynamics of the Durable (2020-2025). Trained as an art historian, her research intersects with historical studies of craft, technology, and knowledge, with a special focus on performative methods (reconstruction) and written sources on art technology. In 2014, she received a VENI grant for her research on the history of imitation materials in the arts. Her current ERC research project DURARE investigates the history of durability in art from the perspective of artisans and patrons. Marjolijn is a member of the Utrecht Young Academy and a member of De Jonge Akademie of the KNAW.