We are very pleased to announce a new edition of the NICAS colloquium on Thursday 11 June 2020 from 12.00 to 13.00 hrs. The colloquium will take place online through Microsoft Teams.
The chair of this colloquium will be Sanne Berbers (RCE).
►Aafke Weller–A drawing’s résumé; the effect of conservation treatment and storage conditions in the Rijksmuseum
on the drawings by Rembrandt
Abstract:
A better understanding of the conservation history of a drawing can help conservators to make informed decisions about its future treatment. But, although one can learn a lot about the history of a drawing by studying the visible impact of past events, without documentation it is difficult to reconstruct when, where, and how these changes in appearance came about.
This talk will give you a sneak preview of the results of a research project that aims to piece together the conservation history of each of the drawings by Rembrandt and the Rembrandt School in the Rijksmuseum, from the moment it entered the collection until the present day. The research largely draws from the archives of the Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands Institute for Art History in the Hague, and Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam as well as interviews with former conservators and employees.
Aafke Weller graduated as a paper conservator in 2017 on the history of bleaching practices in the paper conservation studio of the Rijksmuseum. Her thesis has led her to her current research project on the conservation history of the drawings by Rembrandt and the Rembrandt School in the collection of the Rijksprentenkabinet. Aafke works as a junior paper conservator and researcher at the Rijksmuseum, as a research affiliate at Eye Filmmuseum, and as a paper conservator at Hoogduin Papierrestauratoren.
►Paolo d’Imporzano – Overview on lead isotopes in lead white
Abstract:
Lead isotope analysis has been widely used in archaeology and cultural heritage for the provenance of artefacts. This technique applied to lead white in paintings allows to: track the origin of the lead used in the pigment, distinguish between artists/paintings belonging to different periods and in some case can give important information for the identification/attribution of paintings. This study will present the last development in lead isotope analysis applied on lead white discussing: the use of a 10^13 Ω resistor amplifier on the MC-ICPMS to reduce the amount of sample needed, the heterogeneity of lead isotopes within paintings and investigating on time dependant lead isotopes variation of lead white in 17th century Dutch paintings.
Paolo D’ Imporzano, master degree in Analytical Chemistry at the Università di Pisa, PhD student at the VU Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum, studying lead isotopes of lead white in 17th century Dutch paintings.
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