#conservationandrestoration

[pavel-nosok]

1,000 Years of Tree Rings Show Just How Hardcore the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Wave Was

In June and July 2021, an extreme heat wave swept across the historically temperate Pacific Northwest, killing hundreds of people and cooking over a billion sea creatures. Now, scientists have used information etched into tree rings to demonstrate that, yes, the heat wave was unlike anything the region had seen in a… Read more…

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[trudiedmunds]

WW1 Memorial - Conservation & Restoration project in progress... . . . #WW1centenary #WW1project #conservationandrestoration #restorationproject #BuryStEdmunds #suffolk #lovemyjob https://www.instagram.com/p/BpXwRdAn37T/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4gkie47dwq3w

[thetechnicalarthistorian]

Probably the closest I'll ever get to a golden handshake! 😂 One thing that you'll notice when you're gilding is that the gold leaf tends to stick to anything that is even the slightest bit greasy. This is nice when you want to pick it up with your brush to move it to where it's supposed to be, because you can use just the slighest bit of vaseline on the tip of your brush to easily move the gold from your gilder's cushion. The downside is that you'll encounter gold leaf stuck in the weirdest places for days afterwards! #technicalarthistory #gold #goldleaf #gilding #historicalreconstruction #watergilding #aesthetic #shiny #hand #decoration #conservationandrestoration #universityofamsterdam (bij Amsterdam, Netherlands)

[thetechnicalarthistorian]

Next step: finishing the underdrawings! 15th century artists often created elaborate underdrawings to assist in the modelling of the paint layers. Another advantage of underdrawings is that they help an artist to keep track of which colour should be applied where. My tracings in charcoal and chalk were easy to apply, but they have the disadvantage of not being wipe-resistant when the first paint layer is applied. Therefore, I needed to redo my underdrawings in a medium that would remain visible through my first paint layer. I experimented with three methods: an ink wash (left), a drawing with a lead-tin alloy metalpoint (middle) and a brush-drawing with undiluted East Indian ink. The ink wash was the hardest to apply, but already gave a painterly-like effect. The metalpoint was easy and gave a nice, subtle effect. I'd advice doing the metalpoint over the red chalk as the contrast allows you to see what you do. I liked the ink drawing the least, as the hatching distracts quite a lot when you're inexperienced in drawing. Nevertheless, the best way to see what works best for you is trying it out yourself. #technicalarthistory #arthistory #art #drapery #artist #artwork #painting #oilpainting #culture #15thcentury #panelpainting #drawing #underdrawing #inkdrawing #ink #artsy #reconstruction #brush #historicalreconstruction #metalpoint #paintingtechniques #drawingtechnique #kunstgeschiedenis #ondertekening #tekening #kunst #reconstructie #paintmodelling #conservationandrestoration #universityofamsterdam (bij Amsterdam, Netherlands)

[thetechnicalarthistorian]

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Awesome timelapse of me making paintouts with red lake pigment in different types of processed linseed oil! Made by @suzanne.bul #technicalarthistory #paint #painting #oilpaint #red #colour #color #colorful #colourful #pretty #brush #paintbrush #experiment #linseedoil #lakepigment #redpigment #artsy #timelapse #varnish #oil #panelpainting #painttest #pigment #pigments #impasto #paintproperties #conservationandrestoration #universityofamsterdam (bij Amsterdam, Netherlands)

[thetechnicalarthistorian]

So orange! Technically it's a day early for a kingsday special, but tomorrow I'll be occupied with partying. ;) In the pictures you see me working with minium, a lead tetroxide that is also known as red lead. The pigment is highly poisonous, so that's why I'm working in a fume cabinet with gloves on. Minium often has bright, happy orange hue, but it is prone to discolouration, which turns it brown. Van Gogh was a huge fan of minium, which is a conservation problem because of the discolouration issues. Fun fact: minium was extremely popular during the Middle Ages and it was often used for small decorative elements in manuscripts. The people who made these were called miniatores (= people who work with minium), and the practice was called miniare (= to apply minium). This is where our word for miniatures comes from! #technicalarthistory #art #arthistory #painter #paint #artsy #vangogh #museum #artconservation #painting #paintings #orange #bright #happy #colour #color #colours #colors #discoloration #koningsdag #kingsday #koningsdag2018 #2018 #medieval #medievalart #manuscript #illumination #etymology #conservationandrestoration #universityofamsterdam (bij Amsterdam, Netherlands)

[thetechnicalarthistorian]

From isinglass to denarii (part 5 of 6). Of course it would be a shame if I didn't share my final results with y'all! After a few more days of drying I was semi-successful in removing a glue impression from one of my coins. Sadly, it was damaged during removal, but my other attempts ended in completely deformed clumps of glue. So at least it's something! The glue impression I got is from a 1919 Dutch reproduction of a Roman denarius with a portrait of emperor Tiberius (below). The impression is of surprisingly high quality, with all the features of the original coin being clearly visible. Just like the recipe said! Although the impression could not be manipulated without damaging it, like the recipe said it could, the 461 year-old recipe is true to its word! There is still a lot of tacit knowledge in there, but it is very insightful for understanding what the people who wrote down these recipes perceived as 'common knowledge'. My reconstruction method needed some more finetuning, but I was nevertheless able to learn a lot from in-depth study of a single recipe. My final questions I was able to answer through more traditional literature study, about which I'll say a few things in my last post of this series. #technicalarthistory #arthistory #glue #fishglue #isinglass #history #sticky #reconstruction #recipe #manuscript #coin #coins #medal #medals #numismatics #art #artsy #culture #tacitknowledge #experiment #denarius #romanempire #romanemperor #tiberius #portrait #bookofsecrets #booksofsecrets #conservationandrestoration #universityofamsterdam (bij Amsterdam, Netherlands)

[thetechnicalarthistorian]

From isinglass to denarii (part 4 of 6). Failure is an important aspect of experimenting with historical recipes! While writing my research paper I came across info that I'll keep in mind for future reconstructions. My main problem was the concentration of my glue solution. Animal glues mainly consist of collagen, which keeps our skin firm and elastic! Collagen molecules are shaped like triple helices (left). They are packed closely, so that's why nothing happened when I poured cold tap water on my glue (picture 2). Collagen molecules can be unpacked through heating (middle), making them miscible with water, and upon cooling temperature-sensitive cross-links form, which is called gelling. Be careful with heating glue though, as it is prone to burning if you look away for a sec (picture 3). My glue solution did not contain enough water and was therefore too high in collagen content. It stayed in the gelling phase instead of drying properly, which explains my results in the previous post. But did I manage to produce something nice in the end? Stay tuned! #technicalarthistory #arthistory #history #glue #fishglue #isinglass #sticky #reconstruction #recipe #manuscript #coin #coins #medals #numismatics #art #artsy #candle #candles #candlewax #gel #culture #tacitknowledge #experiment #denarius #collagen #bookofsecrets #booksofsecrets #conservationandrestoration (bij Amsterdam, Netherlands)