Investigation Workshop of Rode Altarpiece

20 to 23 October 2014, Tallinn and Tartu

Venue:

20.-21.10.2014

Niguliste museum (St Nicholas’ Church), Art Museum of Estonia, Tallinn

22.-23.10.2014

University of Tartu / Chair of Analytical Chemistry

Hosting institutions: Department of Conservation and Cultural Heritage, Estonian Academy of Arts; Chair of Analytical Chemistry, University of Tartu; Art Museum of Estonia; Graduate School of Culture Studies and Arts (GSCSA)

Target group:

Students (PhD and MA level) and professionals dealing with conservation, conservation science and (technical) art history

Programme directors:

Dr Signe Vahur (Tartu University, Chair of Analytical Chemistry)

Dr Hilkka Hiiop (Art Museum of Estonia / Estonian Academy of Arts)

Programme manager: Dr Anneli Randla (Estonian Academy of Arts)

Student coordinator: Ms Heili Sõrmus (Estonian Academy of Arts) heili.sormus@artun.ee

Guest lecturers: Dr Ulla Knuutinen (Dr. Docent at Helsinki University and at Jyväskylä University), Prof emer Anne van Grevenstein (University of Amsterdam), Prof Ivo Leito (Professor of Analytical Chemistry, University of Tartu)

Background

The retable of St Nicholas’ Church in Tallinn is one of the most magnificent and best preserved late medieval Northern German altarpieces in Europe. The artwork was commissioned from the workshop of the Lübeck master Hermen Rode and was completed between 1478 and 1481. More than forty saints and biblical figures are depicted in the retable and its dimensions place it among the largest retables from the 15th-century Hanseatic cities. The conservation of the high altar of St Nicholas’ Church took place from 1975 to 1992 and was led by Nikolai Bregman, the leading restorer then in Soviet Union from Moscow. Although majority of the restoration was accomplished, the elaborate sculptures of the retable have only partly been conserved by today.

The large-scale project initiated by the Art Museum of Estonia is focused on finalizing the conservation works of the altarpiece. The conservation project gives an excellent opportunity to carry out thorough technical research, to compare the results with other works attributed to Hermen Rode and to put the information in a wider context.

Workshop

The primary focus of the workshop is the investigation of the Rode altarpiece. Secondarily, the workshop sets an important goal of introducing different non-destructive and semi-destructive methods of instrumental analysis to the field of cultural heritage, weighing the effectiveness of each method and mapping the resources and methods available in Estonia in this field.

The first part of the workshop (two days) will take place in Niguliste Museum. Different methods of instrumental analysis based on the case studies will be introduced in the course of the two days by international specialists in the field. The second half of the workshop in Niguliste Museum will concentrate on the Rode altar – the object is surveyed, research questions are posed, methods of taking samples (including documentation) are introduced.

The second part of the workshop (two days) will take place in the laboratories of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry of the Institute of Chemistry and the Department of Geology of the University of Tartu. During the two days the samples taken from the altarpiece will be analysed, using the following instrumental methods – optical stereo microscope, the ATR-FT-IR spectrometer, the FT-IR microscope and the SEM-EDS device. Methods that cannot be applied in the course of the workshop will be introduced through reports by the participants.

PROGRAMME

20th of October

MORNING SESSION: lectures

9:00 registration and coffee

9.30-9.45 Tarmo Saaret (Director of Niguliste Museum) — brief introduction to the venue history

9.45–10.00 Dr Hilkka Hiiop (Project coordinator)– introduction to the conservation project Rode Altarpiece in Close-up

10.00–11.15

Dr Ulla Knuutinen, What is conservation / cultural heritage material research? How to select analysing methods?

11.30–13.00

Prof emer Anne van Grevenstein, The Ghent Altarpiece – scientific examination in 1950–51, the re-examination of the old cross sections, recent discoveries (Macro XRF), technical examination and documentation

AFTERNOON SESSION: practical workshop

14.00–16.30

Practical workshop, supervised by Dr Ulla Knuutinen and prof emer Anne van Grevenstein

Rode altarpiece in focus

How the science can contribute to conservation and technical research?

How to formulate the research question and who does it;
How to build up the investigation plan;
How to interpret the results and who does it.
21th of October

MORNING SESSION: lectures

9:00-9:30 coffee and intro

9.30–11.00

Dr Ulla Knuutinen, Spectroscopy applications for cultural heritage

11.30–12.30

Prof Ivo Leito, Conservation-related analytical chemistry at University of Tartu

AFTERNOON SESSION: practical workshop

14.00–16.30

Practical workshop, supervised by Dr Ulla Knuutinen

Rode altarpiece in focus

How to carry out the research:

How to take a sample;
How to document the samples;
How to select the investigation methodology.

22th-23th of October

In the following two days the investigation workshop will continue in the laboratories of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and the Department of Geology of the University of Tartu. Practical analysis of the paint samples will be performed: preparation of cross-sections and investigation of the paint layering, including paint composition analysis with different instrumental techniques.

Supervised by Dr. Signe Vahur, PhD student Päärn Paiste and MSc student Pilleriin Peets

22th of October

11.30 – 17.00

Practical analysis (preparation of cross-sections, analysis with optical microscopy and FT-IR instruments) in the laboratories of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry (labs 1082 and 1095)

23th of October

10.00 – 12.00

Practical analysis with SEM-EDS in the laboratory of the Department of Geology (lab 0024)

12.00 – 13.30

Excursion in the laboratories of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and the Department of Geology

14.30 – 16.30

Close up of the workshop, discussion about obtained results (room 3070)

Please find more detailed information about the event here

Preparatory reading:

If you wish to receive 1 ECTS, please read the following texts

1. web-page of van Eyck conservation project:

http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be

2.a. Tehniline kunstiajalugu – kunstiajaloo tehnikad? EST

2.b. Technical Art History – Technics of Art History? ENG

If you wish to receive 2 ECTS, please read additionally the following texts

3. Townsend, Boon, 2012

4. Wolbers, Buck, Olley, 2012

If you wish to receive 4 ECTS, please read additionally the following texts

5. Vahur, Sibul, Ehasalu, Sammelselg, Leito, 2009

6. Vahur, Teearu, Leito, 2009

7. Vahur, Knuutinen, Leito, 2009

8. Maguregui, Knuutinen, Arkarazo, Castro, Madariaga, 2011

9. Maguregui, Knuutinen, Arkarazo, Giakoumaki, Castro, Madariaga, 2012

10. Castro, Knuutinen, Vallejuelo, Irazola, Madariaga, 2013

11. Magurequi, Castro, Morillas, Trebolazabala, Knuutinen, Wiesinger, Schreiner, Madariaga, 2014

Please find the reading materials here

You will receive the password for the texts from Heili Sõrmus by e-mail.

Requirements for participation

Interested graduate students can apply for the investigation workshop by first registering here and thereafter sending the following information to Heili Sõrmus (heili.sormus@artun.ee) by October 6, 2014:

-a short letter of motivation

-if you are not a student of the Estonian Academy of Arts and wish to receive ECTS, please send your full name, ID-code and name of your university

-if you are a member of some other doctoral school other than GSCSA, please inform us about it!

-Students who are not members of GSCSA are required to add a short CV to specify their education and research interests.

Participation in the course is free of charge; accommodation and travel costs of the students of GSCSA will be reimbursed.

The language of the workshop is English and Estonian. Students are expected to do preparatory reading in order to participate in the investigation workshop.

Upon participation in all lectures and discussions (the morning sessions in Tallinn) graduate students will be awarded 1 ECT. The number of participants in the lectures is unlimited.

Upon participation in all lectures and practical workshops in Niguliste (the morning and afternoon sessions in Tallinn) the graduate students will be awarded 2 ECT. The number of participants in the workshops in Tallinn is unlimited.

Upon full participation in the programme – lectures and practical research workshops both in Tallinn and Tartu – graduate students will be awarded 4 ECTS. The number of participants in the practical workshop in Tartu is limited to 12.

The event is supported by the European Union through the European Social Fund (Estonian Graduate School of Culture Studies and Arts) and Art Museum of Estonia.