Media

media

NICAS COLLOQUIUM

NICAS COLLOQUIUM EXTRA+

NICAS COLLOQUIUM

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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

Marieke Kruithof is a contemporary art conservator in training. In this presentation, she talks about the conservation of time-based media art. Time-based media art is a fast-growing category of public art. All artworks in the open air are exposed to threats from weather, pollution and passers-by, but time-based media art in public spaces is particularly vulnerable due to its use of electronic equipment in this environment which must operate for many more hours than it would in a museum. Even with extensive testing, detailed documentation and elaborate discussions about conservation during the development process, technical equipment may fail unexpectedly. This research aims to illuminate the challenges that arise when caring for time-based media artworks in the public space. Several recommendations that help to ensure the long-term functionality of the work will be presented. These recommendations are the results of research into case studies, based on 12 in-depth interviews with the various artists, owners and stakeholders of five time-based media artworks in the city of Amsterdam.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

Francien Bossema is a PhD student at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) on the topic of Computational Imaging for Cultural Heritage. Her research is part of the NWO/NICAS funded Impact4Art project in a collaboration between CWI and the Rijksmuseum. During this presentation she presents the research on the Hugo de Groot book chest. In the ‘Historisch Bewijs’ series, the following question was asked: ‘Can we determine which of three candidate chests, if any, is the original in which Hugo de Groot escaped Castle Loevestein?’. The investigations led to a novel X-ray imaging method for dendrochronology of large wooden objects. Dendrochronology is an important tool to determine the date and provenance of historical wooden art objects, based on tree rings. These are not always accessible on the outside and thus X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been applied to visualise the tree rings non-invasively. For large objects it is often impossible to rotate fully within the scanner as is necessary for CT. The research team developed a line trajectory X-ray tomography technique, in which the object is moved only sideways. Using this easily implementable scanning trajectory, sharp reconstruction images of the tree rings can be obtained. This interdisciplinary project was recently awarded an NWO Team Science Award.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM EXTRA+

In September 2021, NICAS launched the international project ‘A Global Infrastructure for Heritage Science’, made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The initial phase will map out the common ground between different cultures of conservation and find ways that interdisciplinary and international collaboration can be better used to preserve the material integrity of the object, its layered cultural significance, and its historical context. The international and interdisciplinary team of six Research Associates will introduce ourselves and our goals, which include identifying the major global challenges faced by the field now and in the future, and the opportunities that exist for more fruitful collaboration. We invite attendees to join the conversation and share their experiences, insights, and ideas.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

In this NICAS-colloquium presentation, Sanne Berbers will share her PhD project which she started in September 2021. The research will focus on the relation between lipids and synthetic organic pigments (SOP’s). The combination of SOP’s and oil paint in 20th and 21st century oil paints has been shown to give problem of solubility of the paint, migration of SOP components, and colour fading. The lipid fraction and SOP’s of these paints have not yet been studied in relation to each other. This includes both chemical changes and interactions that occur at the start of the drying process and those that occur when the painting ages over time.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

Marya Albrecht is working at the Mauritshuis and as a freelance paintings conservator in The Hague, focusing on the research and treatment of old master paintings. In this presentation, she tells about the research about Jan Steen's eclectic use of green and blue pigments. Jan Steen, a prolific Dutch 17th-century artist, has been the focus of a research project at the Mauritshuis since 2012. The aim of the research project is to shed light on the chronology of his works based on the materials he used. Samples of green and blue areas on 37 paintings were analysed using optical microscopy, SEM–EDX and synchrotron μ-XRD. This showed that Steen used a large variety of blue and green pigments: smalt, ultramarine, blue verditer, azurite, indigo and green earth. Elemental analysis of the smalt used by Steen showed that it varies in composition in the different artistic centres Steen worked in. Ultramarine of different qualities was found in many paintings, even peasant scenes. His use of a brightly coloured type of green earth is remarkable, and this pigment was found in ten of the paintings analysed, dating from 1660 onwards.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

Video presentation for the 19th ICOM-CC Triennial Conference, 2021 Beijing, Working Group Preventive Conservation. It accompanies the published paper 'Loans to non-museum organisations: concepts for crossing boundaries'. The presentation illustrates the decision-making process and tools described in the paper with a case study of a loan of artworks from the Dutch state collection kept by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands to Story House Belvedere in Rotterdam. The decision-making process is founded on the principles of value management, weighing the possible gain of social-societal values against the possible loss of cultural-historical values. The tools assist in finding affordable solutions to make non-museum loans happen in a responsible manner. Experience shows that non-museum loans are often possible, are highly rewarding, and allow lender and borrower to make optimal use of the connecting power of heritage to bridge gaps in society.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

Esther van Duijn works as paintings conservator and researcher at the Rijksmuseum. She has specialized in the conservation history of the paintings collection of the Rijksmuseum and is currently part of the Operation Night Watch team. Between 1945 and 1947, Rembrandt’s iconic masterpiece The Night Watch (1642) was treated by C.H. Jenner (liner) and H.H. Mertens (restorer). As a result of the painting’s fame and changing attitudes towards restoration and technical research in the post-war Rijksmuseum, the 1945–47 treatment was exceptionally well documented for its time. This paper discusses the materials and methods used during this treatment and places them in a broader context by examining how they compare to later sources describing the materials and methods used by Mertens or under his supervision.
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NICAS COLLOQUIUM

Lambert van Eijck is assistant professor at the Applied Sciences faculty of TU Delft. He develops neutron methods for materials science and has been applying neutron computed tomography and neutron diffraction techniques to cultural heritage objects over the last few years. In this presentation, Lambert will show his latest research on the enigmatic 17th century microscopes of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the founder of 'microbiology'. His skills in microscope instrumentation were unsurpassed worldwide for more than 150 years, with his contemporaries being very eager to learn his tricks. During his life and up till recently, the exceptional optical performance of these microscopes was assigned to his lens-making skills, about which he was very secretive. With only a few Van Leeuwenhoek microscopes left in the world, Lambert embarked on a quest with Tiemen Cocquyt of Rijksmuseum Boerhaave to reveal the secret of the Van Leeuwenhoek microscopes. This presentation will address the long and winding road to revealing the secret, after 350 years.