We are pleased to announce a new, online edition of the NICAS colloquium on Thursday 6 May 2021 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.
The chair of this colloquium will be Marjolein Koek (Rijksmuseum)
The presenters are:
► Siavash Maraghechi – In depths of paper: A microscale experimental story
Abstract:
Speaking of conservation of articles in museums and collections there is no question about the importance of better understanding of how paper degrades. Loss of mechanical properties, due to degradation through the ages, dramatically influences the accessibility of books, artworks and documents. The change in these properties starts from atomic levels and travels across scales to result in tangible changes in the scale of the sheets of paper. Advanced measurement techniques make it possible to dive into the depths of these processes in smaller scales than before with impressively high accuracies. In this presentation I will introduce the experimental methodology to study the mechanical behaviour of single cellulose fibres, the building block of paper. An optical profilometer, a micro-tensile stage and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique come together to result in a deeper understanding of the mechanics of each fibre. Such detailed assessment of cellulose fibres’ properties can be applied to naturally aged paper samples, or combined with accelerated aging experiments to shed valuable light on the degradation of paper, and provide better guidance for conservators.
Bio:
Siavash Maraghechi is a post-doctoral researcher in the Chair of Applied Mechanics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He obtained his PhD in the mechanical engineering department in TU/e where he focused on microscopy techniques and full field methods for deformation measurements in complex materials. His research interest is in the field of multiscale experimental mechanics, that he is currently applying to study degradation of historical paper as a part of ColletionCare project, that aims to develop an innovative preventive conservation decision support system for museums and collections.
► Femke Coevert & Dafne Diamante – Cyclorama Reichardt
Abstract:
Please join us on a journey to discover more about the Cyclorama Reichardt, and find out how the analysis played a key role in the identification and description of this exceptional, hand painted, 23 meter long work of art on paper.
In 2018, a set of six paper rolls came to light from the depths of Rijksmuseum storage rooms. Besides the lack of a clear provenance or clues as to who created these rolls, their historical function was puzzling. In preparation for the exhibition XXL Paper (summer 2022), a team of paper conservators conserved the larger piece of the set and conducted a study on it, aiming at unlocking some of the many secrets this mysterious object brings with it. Through archival research, we found out that it was probably made in Germany and most likely used as a cyclorama in the middle of the nineteenth century. This presentation will focus on the technical description of the panorama and its past use and will give insights on scientific research done up till now.
Bio:
Femke Coevert is paper & book conservator at Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. In 2013 she conserved 650 of the artists’ sketchbooks and co-developed the ‘Book Cradle Plus’ to enable photography of fragile books, without doing harm to the construction or the media. Since 2015 she has led the conservation team within ‘Printroom Online’, preparing the vast paper-based collections for digitisation. Last year she was project leader for Cyclorama Reichardt’s research and treatment.
Dafne Diamante is working at the Rijksmuseum in the Paper Conservation team for the ‘Print Room Online’ project. She studied conservation of paper, book and photographic materials at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brea in Milan, Italy. In March 2020 she took part as Junior Conservator in the team in charge of the conservation treatment of a 23 meters long Cyclorama Reichardt, in preparation for Rijksmuseum’s exhibition ‘XXL Paper’.