Artikelen

• De Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg. Conservering, restauratie, onderzoek en restauratie-opleiding

  The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (Limburg Conservation Institute) in Maastricht is a provincial conservation studio founded in 1988 in the monastery of Rolduc in Kerkrade. From 1990 onwards, the main activities of the SRAL take place in Maastricht, after 1995 in the Wiebengahal. The SRAL is divided in two departments, the school of conservation and a conservation studio for paintings on panel and canvas, polychrome sculpture, historic interiors and work on paper.

  The foundation's clients are museums, other public collections and churches. Conservation and research activities performed for non-profit provincial institutions is partly subsidised by the provincial government. The studios in Kerkrade focus on treatments of canvas paintings of large dimensions especially in the context of conservation of historic interiors. The Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg (Netherlands Department for Conservation, RCE) and the Rijksgebouwendienst (Government Buildings Agency) initials most of these projects.

  Since 1990 SRAL provides for the post graduate ‘Training Programme in Conservation of Paintings and Painted Objects’. Every third year the SRAL selects new students. Candidates have finished a full academic education in art or architectural history or chemistry. The five-year course, divided in a three-year period in Maastricht and two years of internships in three different Dutch museums, focuses on three disciplines: ‘Easel Paintings’, ‘Modern Art’ and ‘Decorated Historic Interiors’.

  The foundations of the training programme are formed by: object orientated teaching by SRAL staff supported by a vast selection of specialist guest lecturers, a small number of students and direct interchange of ideas and expertise with the Dutch conservation and research community via professional working groups.

  The three curricula are integrated and are designed to examine and treat the works of art as a whole and in their cultural-historical context. This concept is followed right from the outset of the programme. The Maastricht conservation course is partly subsidised by the Department of Culture from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage in Amsterdam.

  The SRAL actively stimulates the exchange of students and teaching staff. The promotion of knowledge transfer and interdisciplinary discussion on themes concerning historic painting materials, techniques and conservation issues is accomplished through contacts with universities and research projects such as the NWO MOLART project. The international network is reinforced by collaboration with conservation schools abroad.

  The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (Limburg Conservation Institute) in Maastricht is a provincial conservation studio founded in 1988 in the monastery of Rolduc in Kerkrade. From 1990 onwards, the main activities of the SRAL take place in Maastricht, after 1995 in the Wiebengahal. The SRAL is divided in two departments, the school of conservation and a conservation studio for paintings on panel and canvas, polychrome sculpture, historic interiors and work on paper.

  The foundation's clients are museums, other public collections and churches. Conservation and research activities performed for non-profit provincial institutions is partly subsidised by the provincial government. The studios in Kerkrade focus on treatments of canvas paintings of large dimensions especially in the context of conservation of historic interiors. The Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg (Netherlands Department for Conservation, RCE) and the Rijksgebouwendienst (Government Buildings...

  The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (Limburg Conservation Institute) in Maastricht is a provincial conservation studio founded in 1988 in the monastery of Rolduc in Kerkrade. From 1990 onwards, the main activities of the SRAL take place in Maastricht, after 1995 in the Wiebengahal....

  René Hoppenbrouwers

  157-165

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• De verfdwarsdoorsnede bij het onderzoek van de historische binnenruimte. 'Persbrokaat’ op steen

  In order to examine the paint layers on architectural structures or decorations, tiny paint samples are prepared into paint cross sections for microscopic analysis. This technique has been developed within the field of conservation of paintings and polychromed sculpture. By studying paint cross sections under a stereomicroscope conclusions concerning the painting technique and painting materials can be drawn: the composition and build up of grounds, paint layers, metal leaf, glazes or varnish layers can be analysed.

  By using ultraviolet radiation some binding media has been recognized for some years now because of their characteristic fluorescence. Based on their specific colour and morphology many pigments can be determined. The meaning and importance of this microscopic technique for the examination of figurative paintings and historic paint schemes in buildings is recognised for some years now.

  In the Great or Our Ladies Church in Breda and the Pieters Church in Leiden remnants of imitation gold brocate or so-called 'press brocate' relief are found on the columns in the interior. The condition and technical composition of these decorations were investigated by the Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg.

  Only by examining cross sections it was possible to determine the original appearance of the fragmented decorations. Indeed the technique resembled that of press brocate, so often encountered on medieval sculptures and early panel paintings. Brocate patterns were engraved for instance in a lead plate. In this mould a thin leave of tin was pressed. The resulting relief was fixed by a wax coating on the back. The front could be gilded or painted with a golden glaze and subsequently with coloured glazes.

  In the early 16th century the columns in both churches must have been adorned with beautiful tapestries functioning as a background for statues of saints. Also in the Cellebroeders chapel in Maastricht, small black stars could be identified as decorations in a press brocate technique by the examination of cross sections. Originally, the stars must have looked like golden stars in the dark, brightly sparkling and reflecting the candlelight.

  In order to examine the paint layers on architectural structures or decorations, tiny paint samples are prepared into paint cross sections for microscopic analysis. This technique has been developed within the field of conservation of paintings and polychromed sculpture. By studying paint cross sections under a stereomicroscope conclusions concerning the painting technique and painting materials can be drawn: the composition and build up of grounds, paint layers, metal leaf, glazes or varnish layers can be analysed.

  By using ultraviolet radiation some binding media has been recognized for some years now because of their characteristic fluorescence. Based on their specific colour and morphology many pigments can be determined. The meaning and importance of this microscopic technique for the examination of figurative paintings and historic paint schemes in buildings is recognised for some years now.

  In the Great or Our Ladies Church in Breda and the Pieters Church...

  In order to examine the paint layers on architectural structures or decorations, tiny paint samples are prepared into paint cross sections for microscopic analysis. This technique has been developed within the field of conservation of paintings and polychromed sculpture. By studying paint...

  Angélique Friedrichs

  166-171

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• Samenhang in het interieur: de restauratie van de ontvangstkamer van de pastorie te Kockengen

  The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL) has taken care of the conservation of the reception room at Kockengen Roman Catholic vicarage. This front room is characterised by its painted wall-hangings. The wall-linings represent imaginative panoramic views of the typical Dutch polder landscape.

  Little is known about the history of the house and the successive inhabitants. Around 1800 a wealthy merchant, Martinus de Bruyn Jansz, owned the house. The front room was his formal drawing room. This merchant ordered the wall-linings from the Utrecht painter Henrick van Barneveld. The wall-linings are signed and dated 1802.

  SRAL undertook an architectural paint research in order to examine the paint layers on the panelling. Dark green vertical lines frame the wall-linings; therefore they were included in the architectural paint research. A small painted fragment was found on a wall post hidden behind the dado rail and was never repainted. It showed a fragment of the original decoration of the panelling: a greyish colour decorated with dark green vertical lines, and traces of yellow highlights. The dark green consisted of the same pigment compounds as the dark green lines on the wall-linings.

  After this thorough and structured survey SRAL handled the conservation of the wall-hangings. They were treated in situ because the examination pointed out they have never been removed. To remove them after two centuries only for this treatment was unnecessary, meaning that after treatment the wall hangings are still fixed with the early nineteenth century nails.

  SRAL also took care of the restoration of the chimneypiece, a neoclassical stucco relief representing merchant's attributes. The architectural paint research showed the chimneypiece had been decorated with a combination of two different layers of faux marble, hidden beneath a 20th century glossy white overpaint. This faux marble decoration was restored by removing the white overpaint.

  The project showed the advantages of a holistic approach. The wall linings were included by the architectural paint research and thus the decoration of the front room could be understood more completely, although it is not known how this decoration exactly looked like. The wall-linings are dominating the room and therefore it was accepted to reconstruct the grey colour on the panelling.

  Halfway the nineteenth century the house was turned into a Roman Catholic vicarage, which entailed inevitable alterations to the house and the front room. A new facade was erected and a third window was brought into the outer sidewall. These changes are to be respected. Looking at a room full of history with our 20th-century eyes, we will never be able to see the room in its 1802 appearance. Nevertheless, every action during the research and conservation was done with the unity the room once had in mind.

  The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL) has taken care of the conservation of the reception room at Kockengen Roman Catholic vicarage. This front room is characterised by its painted wall-hangings. The wall-linings represent imaginative panoramic views of the typical Dutch polder landscape.

  Little is known about the history of the house and the successive inhabitants. Around 1800 a wealthy merchant, Martinus de Bruyn Jansz, owned the house. The front room was his formal drawing room. This merchant ordered the wall-linings from the Utrecht painter Henrick van Barneveld. The wall-linings are signed and dated 1802.

  SRAL undertook an architectural paint research in order to examine the paint layers on the panelling. Dark green vertical lines frame the wall-linings; therefore they were included in the architectural paint research. A small painted fragment was found on a wall post hidden behind the dado rail and was never repainted. It showed a fragment of the...

  The Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL) has taken care of the conservation of the reception room at Kockengen Roman Catholic vicarage. This front room is characterised by its painted wall-hangings. The wall-linings represent imaginative panoramic views of the typical Dutch polder...

  Elsbeth Geldhof

  172-178

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• Oud-Amelisweerd, Doornroosje gerestaureerd

  The typically Dutch country estate Oud-Amelisweerd is situated on the river Kromme Rijn between Utrecht and Bunnik. This mansion was built in 1770 and has remained unchanged ever since. The house has an interior finishing with Chinese export wallpaper and painted linen wall linings.

  In 1993 the SRAL examined the condition of the wall coverings and also studied the historical finishing of the paintwork on the wainscotting. In 1997 the linen wall-linings in two rooms were treated in the studio of the SRAL, one room with Chinese wall paper was conserved in situ. When treating the painted linen wall coverings, the paintwork on the wainscotting was also tackled. The Fazanten room was restored to its original state with a historical linseed-oil paint. The 'Oudhollandse' room was reconstructed in the finishing phase that matches the wall paper and the painted ceiling.

  The article describes the historical sources for decoration painters and the material-technical aspects of linseed-oil paint. It also gives a detailed description of the restoration of the wall-linings and particularly the retouching and painting of large voids. The object of the restoration was a gradual and cautious method of restoration, from the starting point of regarding the interiors as ensembles. This implies that there is a relation between the components of the interior, which should not be disturbed by, for instance, cleaning just one component. In connection with this starting point, a comparison is made with the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty; just as the princess, the house will have to be revived. However, great caution is required here.

  The typically Dutch country estate Oud-Amelisweerd is situated on the river Kromme Rijn between Utrecht and Bunnik. This mansion was built in 1770 and has remained unchanged ever since. The house has an interior finishing with Chinese export wallpaper and painted linen wall linings.

  In 1993 the SRAL examined the condition of the wall coverings and also studied the historical finishing of the paintwork on the wainscotting. In 1997 the linen wall-linings in two rooms were treated in the studio of the SRAL, one room with Chinese wall paper was conserved in situ. When treating the painted linen wall coverings, the paintwork on the wainscotting was also tackled. The Fazanten room was restored to its original state with a historical linseed-oil paint. The 'Oudhollandse' room was reconstructed in the finishing phase that matches the wall paper and the painted ceiling.

  The article describes the historical sources for decoration painters and the material-technical aspects...

  The typically Dutch country estate Oud-Amelisweerd is situated on the river Kromme Rijn between Utrecht and Bunnik. This mansion was built in 1770 and has remained unchanged ever since. The house has an interior finishing with Chinese export wallpaper and painted linen wall linings.

  In...

  Nico van der Woude

  179-188

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• Het Hodshonhuis in Haarlem, onderzoek aan de achttiende-eeuwse Blauwe Zaal

  During the colour research of the Blue Room in the late eighteenth century Hodshon house in Haarlem it appeared that the colour combination found in 1996 does not match the original colour scheme. Through stratigraphical and sample research the original appearance in 1796 was mapped. Besides Prussian blue, used for the dark-blue stucco fields and overdoors, an unusual pigment was analysed for the light-blue colour on the other walls: ‘blue verditer’.

  The possibilities of conserving the interior were examined, as well as the options for making the colour scheme visible again either by clearing or by reconstruction. Clearing proved to be impossible because of the painting systems applied in the past. A reconstruction is technically possible when an intermediate layer of lime in an acrylic dispersion is first applied on the present package of repaintings. The colouring layer of lime with the pigment blue verditer can be applied on this intermediate layer. Thus not only the original layer package of the Blue Room is preserved, but the architectonic articulation is also reinforced by the renovated colour combination.

  The research was executed within the framework of the restoration course specializing in historical interior spaces. It forms part of the completion of the education at Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg in Maastricht and ICN Education division in Amsterdam.

  During the colour research of the Blue Room in the late eighteenth century Hodshon house in Haarlem it appeared that the colour combination found in 1996 does not match the original colour scheme. Through stratigraphical and sample research the original appearance in 1796 was mapped. Besides Prussian blue, used for the dark-blue stucco fields and overdoors, an unusual pigment was analysed for the light-blue colour on the other walls: ‘blue verditer’.

  The possibilities of conserving the interior were examined, as well as the options for making the colour scheme visible again either by clearing or by reconstruction. Clearing proved to be impossible because of the painting systems applied in the past. A reconstruction is technically possible when an intermediate layer of lime in an acrylic dispersion is first applied on the present package of repaintings. The colouring layer of lime with the pigment blue verditer can be applied on this intermediate layer. Thus not only...

  During the colour research of the Blue Room in the late eighteenth century Hodshon house in Haarlem it appeared that the colour combination found in 1996 does not match the original colour scheme. Through stratigraphical and sample research the original appearance in 1796 was mapped. Besides...

  Edwin F.B.M. Verweij

  189-198

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• Duikers kleur- en materiaalgebruik. Het kleurpalet van de Derde Ambachtschool vergeleken met Cineac, Zonnestraal en Gooiland

  Even in the case of recent 'historic buildings', the original use of colour can often be hidden beneath later finishes. When the Derde Ambachtsschool (The Hague, 1930, by architect Jan Duiker in collaboration with Bernard Bijvoet) was restored, a special investigation looked into the use of colour and materials, with surprising results.

  It is often unjustly assumed that buildings of the Modern Movement were white, black and grey. This is probably the consequence of so many black and white photographs. But in recent years is has been increasingly recognised that the Modern Movement was familiar with colour. This chapter deals with the colours of the Derde Ambachtsschool and compares them with a number of Duiker's other buildings of the 1930s. It is evident that his architecture used colours: the question is, which?

  Research on the colours of the Derde Ambachtsschool was undertaken using the techniques of materials science. An aluminium colour was found on the render of the external walls, but this seemed to be an insulating coat under a grey finish. Laboratory analysis showed that the aluminium coat had been scraped clean and that the grey layer was a modern paint, as one of the pigments in it was only much used after the Second World War (titanium dioxide in the anatase-form).

  On the basis of this documentation, a fresh study was made of the tenders, accounts and documentation for the building. In the event the school did turn out to have had an original finish of aluminium colour! Elements of steel like garage doors and fences were also coloured aluminium. The steel window frames, doors and sills were dark blue. The plinth was covered in a rough, granitic black-grey layer of cement, while the chimney was a dark colour, and clear glass and glass blocks completed the look of the elevations.

  Inside, the same blue was there to be discovered on the window frames, doors and stills, as well as on the balustrade of the staircase (with chromium-plated handrails) and cupboards. The walls and ceilings were in a chalk-white stucco. The classrooms had light-grey panelling, while the corridors were finished in white 'Fortoliet', a type of polished cement.

  In the administrative offices, the rooms were panelled with a flat, polished finish, as were the doors, to make it clear that students were not allowed there. Yellow-ochre and brown tiles in the corridors also defined the children's routes. The school's colour-range consisted of calm colours: aluminium, dark blue and black outside; white, light grey, dark blue, chrome and aluminium inside, combined with the warmth of brown, ochre and polished wood in a light tone.

  Similar ranges of colour and materials may be found in other buildings of the 1930s by Duiker: at the Zonnestraal complex and the Gooiland Hotel in Hilversum, and the Cineac in Amsterdam. So the use of colour appears typical for Duiker at this time. The tendency of Duiker's architecture to allude to a machine-architecture and to lightness and transparency of form can be recognised in the use of colours here.

  The architectural references to the aesthetic of liners in the Derde Ambachtsschool are reinforced by the metallic nature of the aluminium paint, which also gives the feeling of lightness and transparency. Like the architecture, the finishing was also technically adventurous for its time, when aluminium paint was only used for things like steel fencing. In the blue of the window frames Duiker lets a subtle hint at the colour of the Dutch sky enter in.

  Even in the case of recent 'historic buildings', the original use of colour can often be hidden beneath later finishes. When the Derde Ambachtsschool (The Hague, 1930, by architect Jan Duiker in collaboration with Bernard Bijvoet) was restored, a special investigation looked into the use of colour and materials, with surprising results.

  It is often unjustly assumed that buildings of the Modern Movement were white, black and grey. This is probably the consequence of so many black and white photographs. But in recent years is has been increasingly recognised that the Modern Movement was familiar with colour. This chapter deals with the colours of the Derde Ambachtsschool and compares them with a number of Duiker's other buildings of the 1930s. It is evident that his architecture used colours: the question is, which?

  Research on the colours of the Derde Ambachtsschool was undertaken using the techniques of materials science. An aluminium colour was found on the...

  Even in the case of recent 'historic buildings', the original use of colour can often be hidden beneath later finishes. When the Derde Ambachtsschool (The Hague, 1930, by architect Jan Duiker in collaboration with Bernard Bijvoet) was restored, a special investigation looked into the use of...

  Mariël G. Polman, Matthijs de Keijzer

  199-206

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