SMK - Research Projects
August 2007
- Department of Collections and Research
- Collection of Painting and Sculpture
- The Cast Collection and the collection of sculptures
- Collection of Prints and Drawings
- Centre for Advanced Studies in Master Drawings
- Department of Conservation
- Department of Education and Exhibitions
Department of Collections and Research
Samlings- og Forskningsafdelingen – SAFO
Chief Curator, Head of Collections, Kasper Monrad DPhil
Curator KMS 1985-2001, Chief Curator 2001 -
Studies in N.A. Abildgaard's Art
An analysis of Abildgaard's principal painting, The Wounded Philoctetes, seen in context with similar contemporary renderings of wounded heroes from Antiquity executed by the artists at the French Academy in Rome.
Duration of project: 2007-08
Financing: Three months' research outside normal working hours.
Presentation: The results are expected to be published in an article in the SMK Art Journal or the catalogue of the forthcoming Abildgaard exhibition, which is planned in collaboration with the Louvre, Paris, and Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Collection of Painting and Sculpture
Maleri- og skulptursamlingen – KMS
Head of Research, Senior Research Curator, Peter Nørgaard Larsen PhD
Curator 1995-2004, Head of Research 2004 -
Edvard Munch and Denmark
Munch’s relation to Danish artists and art circles in Denmark was particularly close in the decades around 1900. In contrast to Munch’s connections with Germany and France, Munch and Denmark has not been the subject of further investigations and exhibitions. The primary aim is to establish an overview of the possibilities in this field and to decide whether it can lead to a larger research- and exhibition project.
Duration of project: 2006 -
Other participants: None, at this early stage.
Financing: Within normal working hours.
Presentation: The early investigations were presented as a paper at a Munch conference in Oslo, April
13, 2007.
Senior Research Curator Eva de la Fuente Pedersen PhD
2003 -
Jacob Jordaens
A contextualising research project in conjunction with an ongoing restoration of Jordaens’ ‘The Ferry Boat to Antwerp’ from c. 1623 queries matters related to function, narrative and the genesis of the creative process.
Duration of project: 2007-2008
Other participants: The Department of Conservation
Financing: internal, 12 months (that means 3 months’ full-time research)
Presentation: A book and an exhibition
Dutch Painters
A critical catalogue of the museum’s holdings of Dutch paintings from 1600 to 1800. To be published in three volumes in alphabetical order. The collection counts 759 paintings attributed to 335 different painters.
Duration of project: 2007-?
Other participants: -
Financing: -
Presentation: 3 books
Research Curator Henrik Ole Holm PhD
August 2006 -
Danish Art and National Identity
This project is scheduled to qualify in dept and scope the discussions coming up as a result of the publication of a Canon of the Arts by the Danish government in 2005. A vital part of the research will focus on how the art from the Golden Age in Danish Art and the national romantic period helped shape ideas about creating a specific, national identity, asking questions like: how did the museums, the art historians and the critics set up exhibitions and write about art in the periods mentioned? The initial task is to get to know the literature and to keep track of the current developments of the discussions on nationalism and canonisation. A network including others than art historians is to be set up. An article entitled “Canon and Art for Art’s Sake” is dueto be published in the SMK Art Journal.
Duration of project: August 2006 - 2009.
Other participants: none.
Financing: Performance contract funding.
Requirement of time: 25 % of working hours.
Extended requirements: none.
Presentation: talks/lectures on canonisation, nationalism, and Danish Art, papers and presentations at international conferences, presentations at internal meetings on research, and articles in journals.
Senior Research Curator Dorthe Aagesen MA
Research Curator 1999-2002, Senior Research Curator 2003 -
Astrid Holm
A close examination of Astrid Holm’s artistic production and position in the art life of the day in order to shed light on her painting View of Collioure, 1913, which was acquired by the Museum in 2005.
Duration of the project: 2006-2007.
Other participants: None.
Financing: Internal.
Presentation: Tentative results were presented at the seminar ”Centre-Periphery. The Avant-Garde and the Other”, Tromsø, Norway, November 2006 and will be further developed with a view to
publication in the SMK Art Journal.
The Nordic Avant-Garde History
Participation in a cross-disciplinary editorial group, preparing a four-volume publication on the history of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic countries.
Duration of the project: 2006 –
Other participants: Tania Ørum, Marianne Ping Huang, Torben Jelsbak (Copenhagen University), Per
Stounbjerg (Århus University) Rikard Schönström (University of Lund) Benedikt Hjartarson (University of
Iceland), Irmeli Hautamäki (University of Helsinki), Annegret Heitmann (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
München), Hubert van den Berg (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
Financing: So far, the work has taken place in off-hours.
Presentation: The results of the research project will be published in the book mentioned above.
Wilhelm Freddie - retrospective
An in-depth examination of Wilhelm Freddie’s art. The examination will form the basis of a major retrospective exhibition on the artist, which will be shown on the occasion of the centenary of his birth
in 2009.
Duration of the project: 2007-2009
Other participants: Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg
Financing: Internal, supplemented by external funding to provide 4-6 months of intensified research.
Presentation: The results will be presented in the exhibition as well as the catalogue
The collection of French painting and sculpture from the 20th century
Gathering and processing of material related to the collection of modern French art. So far, the Johannes Rump Collection, which forms the core of the French collection in the Museum, has only been treated in connection with exhibitions and publications on individual artists or on Rump’s practice as a collector. The aim of this project is to give a survey of the French collection as a whole and the research, which is related to the works in the collection.
Duration of the project: 2008-
Other participants: None.
Financing: Internal.
Presentation: In the long term the project will lead to a publication on the collection.
Senior Research Curator Marianne Torp MA
Research Curator 1995-2007, Senior Research Curator October 2007 -
Reality Check. Contemporary Art from the Mid 90s to the Present
The research based exhibition will, from a thematic angle, suggest a coherent presentation of the generation of Danish and international artists who emerged in the 90s. From the early 90s until today one can detect a continuous interest in the complex concept of reality. Many artists have reconstructed or negotiated different realities in their works, created fictional or subjective realities, documented reality or investigated and uncovered the mechanisms and structures that determine our idea of it or which even reveals it as a construct. This expanded concept of reality will be the thematic approach of the investigation of the last decade of contemporary art.
Duration of project: 2005-2008
Other participants: Marianne Grymer Bargeman (education), Pernille Jensen (exhibition design).
Financing: within normal working hours, supplemented by 6 months of external funding (The Heritage
Agency of Denmark) to provide time for intensified research.
Presentation: Exhibition, catalogue, and educational materials.
The Cast Collection and the collection of sculptures
Afstøbningssamlingen og skulptursamlingen
Research Curator, Britta Tøndborg PhD
(2004 -, Acting Head of SAFO, September 2006 –May 2007)
As stipulated in the Museum Performance Contract 2006-2009 it was decided to focus on the Museum’s sculpture collection, regarding exhibitions and displays; and also to strengthen research on the Museum’s collection of both original sculpture and its cast collection. A new research position in sculpture was posted, joining the two collections under one. In June 2006 Britta Tøndborg was employed as sculpture curator on a three-year contract. Her former position as research curator of The Royal Cast Collection was terminated. The scope of the field of research concerning sculpture is vast. In this case, it includes topics specifically related to the cast collection, such as authenticity; it also comprehends the display of sculpture in museums in general and at Statens Museum for Kunst in particular. Research based on the Museum’s sculpture collection could address museological issues, reception history, or sculpture theory, with the expressed wish firstly to make topical the collections of sculpture at Statens Museum for Kunst and secondly to expand our understanding of the nature of sculpture.
Duration of project: June 2006 –2010 (Leave from September 2006 –May 2007, when Acting Head
of Department).
Other participants: None.
Financing: Performance Contract funds.
Presentation: Exhibitions, conference papers, texts for catalogues, articles in relevant research journals,
such as SMK Art Journal.
PhD project:
PhD student Birgitte Anderberg MA
2004 -
Danish art in the 1960’s and 1970’s in a gender perspective
With reference to recent gender theories the project will investigate works by male and female artists as well as art institutional (power) relations, with the purpose of providing a new understanding of central issues within the progressive art of the period as well as problematizing the modest part women artists play in existing art history writing.
The project is affiliated to Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen.
Supervisors: Tania Ørum, Associate Professor, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of
Copenhagen and Vibeke Knudsen, Curator, Statens Museum for Kunst
Duration of project: 1 February 2004 –31 May 2008 (including 7 months of leave)
Other participants: None
Financing: Statens Museum for Kunst and The Georg Brandes School. International PhD School for
Scandinavian Literature, Scandinavian Art and Scandinavian Linguistics. (Affiliated to the Department
of Scandinavian Studies and Linguistics, University of Copenhagen)
Presentation: The project will result in a PhD thesis. Parts of the project will be published in SMK Art
Journal.
Collection of Prints and Drawings
Kobberstiksamlingen - KKS
Senior Research Curator Vibeke Vibolt Knudsen MA
1980 -
Political art after 2000
Jakob Boeskov: Drawing as critical, mimetic strategy
Jakob Boeskov, a young Danish artist, has created quite a stir in Denmark as well as internationally through his activist undertakings. Among other things, he infiltrated a Chinese weapons fair in 2002 presenting a fake anti-riot weapon without being revealed. He works in the field of relational art, engaging the public outside the art institution thus making people participate in his interventions. However, he also investigates socio-political reality in other ways, using traditional media, such as drawings.
The present study concentrates on a series of drawings that Boeskov created in 2006 under the title “Monster Chrome Drawings” with individual works called “Denmark at War”, “Abu Mussab Al- Zarquawi”, “Postmodern Zombies” and “1968” to name a few of the drawings, which are formally based on a critical, mimetic strategy. The study aims at analysing form and content of the drawings in relation to the French sociologist, Gabriel Tarde, whose understanding of social formations is founded on imitation, repetition and invention - ideas that are well known in the field of aesthetics. The study is an attempt to view the drawings as a crossover between sociology and art.
Duration of project: 2006/07
Other participants: No other participants
Financing: Six months within normal working hours
Presentation: Article for the SMK Art Journal
Ongoing studies in Danish and international contemporary art in connection with exhibitions in the
Museum’s x-rum.
The exhibitions are based on research, published in the catalogues, but at present no exhibition has been decided, regarding my work in this field.
Senior Research Curator Thomas Lederballe MA
(Transferred from a position as research curator at the KMS to a position as senior research curator at
the KKS by April 2006)
N.A. Abildgaard: Paintings, drawings, and prints
An interpretive investigation into Abildgaard’s production in the light of recent research, and in the perspective of the international art of his time.
Duration of project: 2006-2008/9
Other participants: None
Financing: Time reserved for research within regular working hours, supplemented by 6 months of
external funding (Research Committee of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs) to provide time for intensified
research.
Presentation: The results will be published in the exhibition catalogues of the forthcoming exhibitions
of N.A. Abildgaard at the Louvre, Paris, at Hamburger Kunsthalle (2008-9), and at Statens Museum for
Kunst (2009).
Senior Research Curator Hanne Kolind Poulsen MA
Research Curator 1999-2002, Senior Research Curator 2006 -
Maarten van Heemskerck
With a point of departure in KKS’ large collection of drawings by Maarten van Heemskerck, and of graphic works after his design, I want to discuss the role that his works played in 16th century Netherlands. Particularly, the tense and confused situation of the visual arts at the time will be in focus.
Duration of project: 2007-2008
Other participants: none
Financing: within standard hours
Presentation: Article in the SMK Art Journal
Cranach’s Princely Portraits
The project will be a discussion of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s portraits of princes and other men and women of power, mainly from the collections of SMK. The project is part of the forthcoming exhibition at the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Portraits of Power from
Antiquity to the Present Day.
Duration of project: 2008
Other participants: none
Financing: within standard hours
Presentation: The results will be presented at an international seminar in connection with the exhibition, and subsequently published as an article in the exhibition catalogue.
Joris Hoefnagel and other emblematic artists
Research into KKS’ collection of 16th and 17th century art with an emblematic character.
Duration of project: 2008-2009
Other participants: none
Financing: within standard hours
Presentation: Article in an international research based journal
PhD Project
PhD Student David Burmeister Kaaring MA
The significances of drawing for the naturalistic landscape in The Dutch Republic, ca. 1600-1650. The project aims at a more detailed understanding of the way the art of drawing influenced the appearance and development of the rustic landscape in The Netherlands during the 17th century. The investigation centres on the period 1600-1650, especially the drawings of the tonal painters. The approx. 30 drawings of Jan van Goyen are pivotal to the project. The investigation of the different functions of the drawings as sketches, studies or autonomous works of art intended for the art market frames the investigation of the landscape drawing’s status and position in The Netherlands. This empirical investigation will be combined with a socio-historical probing into the early market for drawings, the art theoretical descriptions of landscape and drawing and the local perception of the same in an attempt to explain the particular role assigned to graphic expressions utilized in both printed and painted rustic landscapes.
Duration of project: September 2004 –2007
Other participants: None. The project was carried out in collaboration with the University of
Copenhagen and the Research School of Cultural Heritage. Tutors were Senior Research Curator Jan
Garff of The Collection of Prints and Drawings and senior lecturer Søren Kaspersen MA of the
University of Copenhagen.
Financing: Special funds from The Ministry of Culture, the so-called UMTS-funds
Presentation: The project resulted in the PhD thesis Tegnekunstens betydninger for den naturalistiske
landskabskunst i Den Nederlandske Republik, ca. 1600-1650 (The significances of drawing for the
naturalistic landscape in The Dutch Republic, ca. 1600-1650), University of Copenhagen (unpublished,
2007), which includes a summary catalogue of 100 drawings from The Collection of Prints and
Drawings. The thesis was defended October 1 2007.
Danish Art on the Web - Correspondences
Dansk Kunst på Nettet - Korrespondancer
Project researcher, Merete Sanderhoff MA and educator Annette Rosenvold Hvidt MA
June 2007 -
In 2005 the government chose to earmark another research grant from the so-called UMTS-resources.
The appropriation was primarily directed towards making research relevant material visible and accessible. The application from Statens Museum for Kunst was granted a triennial appropriation of 3 million DKK. By following the purpose of the UMTS-resources, it is the museum’s intention to increase acquaintance with Danish art in Denmark and abroad, partly by systematizing and generating new knowledge about Danish art, and partly by increasing the accessibility of the national cultural heritage of visual arts to researchers, educators, and audiences. Focusing on the most important Danish artists, the intention is to create a web-based resource containing knowledge about Danish art history from around 1750 until today.
The existing knowledge of Danish art in the collections of Statens Museum for Kunst is primarily allocated to The Royal Collections of Paintings and Sculptures and The Royal Collections of Prints and Drawings, and to the Conservation Department. With this project the museum wishes to establish a platform for a more systematic linking together of the accumulated knowledge. In order to organize and render visible the museum’s collections and the existing knowledge of the artworks, an extraordinary effort is needed. The granted UMTS-appropriation creates the foundation for this effort. The task of the actual research project is to investigate and render visible correspondences between artworks in The Royal Collections of Paintings and Sculptures and The Royal Collections of Prints and Drawings, and also to include knowledge of the artworks in question found in the Conservation Department’s technical art history, in the form of preservation reports, X-rays, infrared shots, investigations into materials etc. The project thus enables an interdisciplinary structuring of artworks and knowledge about artworks across different media.
In charge of the project are researcher Merete Sanderhoff and educator Annette Rosenvold Hvidt both of whom were appointed by the museum in June 2007 for a period of three years. It is necessary to increase the granted appropriation with further financial resources in order to guarantee the development of a satisfactory web-educating interface and the digitalisation of the necessary pictorial and archival material. The museum will therefore apply relevant funds for resources in order to enable increased digitalisation and web-development.
Duration of project: June 2007 –May 2010
Other participants: Web editor Anne T.S. Nielsen
Financing: UMTS-resources
Presentation: The project will be accessible on the web and its results will be highlighted in articles in
relevant periodicals.
Centre for Advanced Studies in Master Drawings
Forskningscenter for Tegnekunst
Head of Centre, Senior Research Curator, Chris Fischer MA
Chief Curator KKS 1991-2002; Centre 2002 -
Watermarks in Fra Bartolommeo's drawings
A catalogue and scrutiny of the watermarks in the papers with drawings by Fra Bartolommeo and reproductions of x-ray images of all the watermarks. The catalogue is planned to come out as the first volume of a series of books on watermarks edited by the Netherlandish Institute of Art History in Florence. The x-rays have been made by Harry van Hugten, Amsterdam and the catalogue is being typed into a database by a student of the Institute. The preliminary investigations were presented as a paper at a meeting at the Istituto Olandese di Storia dell'Arte in Florence in June 2002.
Duration of Project: 1.1. 2002 -?
Other participants: Harry van Hugten, Amsterdam and Bert Meijer, dir. Istituto Interuniversitario
Olandese di Storia dell'Arte, Florence.
Financing: Istituto Interuniversitario Olandese di Storia dell'Arte, Florence.
Presentation: External publication
Venetian Drawings
Catalogue Raisonné of the Venetian drawings c. 1490-1800 in the KKS following the same principles
as the former catalogues in the same series. The catalogue will contain approx. 350-375 entries.
Duration of Project: Dec. 2006 - end of 2009 or end of 2010 (according to developments in the
hopeless library situation)
Financing: Performance Contract
Presentation: Catalogue Raisonné
Contribution to a book on the Picture Gallery at Nivaagaard
Two essays of approx. 4-5 ms. pages each on Lorenzo Lotto, Portrait of a Man and Sofonisba
Anguissola, Portrait of Her Family
Duration of Project c 1½ months
Financing: Nivaagaard Picture Gallery
Other Participants: Nils Ohrt, among others
Presentation: Book
Thorvaldsen and Raphael
Duration of Project: 2 months
Financing: None
Presentation: Article in Meddelelser fra Thorvaldsens Museum 2007
Guide to Italy
On the track of Piero della Francesca. A volume in a coming series of guidebooks for the cultured tourist in the Mediterranean area edited by Maria Fabricius Hansen. Ms. 65 p.
Duration of Project: Probably 3 months
Other participants: Maria Fabricius Hansen and others
Financing: Private funds
Presentation: Book
Research-based teaching at Copenhagen University:
Venetian Drawings
A reading of selected examples of Venetian drawings in Danish and British Collections with special attention to connoisseurship and a scrutiny of provenances for students at MA level. The teaching takes place in the print room at the SMK, the BM, the V&A, the Courtauld Institute, The Ashmolean Museum and Windsor Castle.
The semester consists of 12 x 2 -3 hours and a four-day visit to London.
Duration of project: 72 hours’ preparation and a varying number of hours for correction and reading
of written papers.
Financing: Copenhagen University
Guest Curator Dr Ursula Verena Fischer Pace
Roman Drawings
Catalogue Raisonné of the Roman drawings c 1530-1800 in the KKS following the same principles as the former catalogues in the same series. The catalogue will contain c 300 entries.
Duration of Project: 2003 - end of 2008 (according to developments in the hopeless library situation)
Other Participants: Jens Heinet Knudsen (provenances); Jette Kjærboe (editor); Chris Fischer (editor).
Financing: Velux Foundation
Presentation: Catalogue Raisonné
Guest Curator Dr. David Bindman
British Drawings
Catalogue Raisonné of the British drawings in the KKS following the same principles as the former
catalogues in the same series. The catalogue will contain c 125 entries.
Duration of Project: 2007 - end of 2008 (according to developments in the hopeless library situation)
Other Participants: Jens Heinet Knudsen (provenances); Jette Kjærboe (editor); Chris Fischer (editor).
Financing: Velux Foundation
Presentation: Catalogue Raisonné
Department of Conservation
Bevaringsafdelingen - BVA
Keeper of Conservation Jørgen Wadum BA, MSc
2005 –
Underdrawings in paintings from the Danish Golden Age
Infrared imaging of paintings from the so-called Danish Golden Age in the early 19th century reveals that the artists generally produced underdrawings prior to applying the paint. The underdrawings often differ in certain details from the initial drawing on site and on paper –and also from the final painted image – thus offering us a unique insight into the artistic deliberations during the creative process. This research aims at investigating to what extent the artists followed the initial drawing in the final work or due to aesthetical considerations added or manipulated objects or views in the final image compared to the initial drawing.
Duration of project: 2006-09.
Other participants: Kasper Monrad and Mikkel Scharff, School of Conservation.
Financing/time consumption: Approximately 1 month within normal working hours. Over the years we
expect to spend c 4 months within normal working hours.
Presentation: The first part of this investigation was presented at the Colloquium XVI for the Study of
Underdrawing and Technology in Painting “The Quest for the Original”, Bruges, 21-23 September
2006. Further the research results will be published internationally as “The multiple views of Italy:
Reality or manipulation by the Danish Golden Age artists”, in Colloquium XVI for the Study of
Underdrawing and Technology in Painting “The Quest for the Original”, Bruges, 21-23 September,
2006 (forthcoming); and in SMK Art Journal 2006.
Improved Protection of Paintings during Exhibition, Storage and Transit (PROPAINT)
SIXTH EU FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME PRIORITY 8.1 Policy-oriented research SSP-5A
The PROPAINT project will undertake research on the protective effect of varnishes applied to paintings generally and specifically inside microclimate frames. Measurements of the state of microenvironments in microclimate frames and the potential deteriorating effects on paintings will be made both in the laboratory and in the field by using, simultaneously for the first time, several dosimeters developed in previous EC projects. The project will contribute with improved comparative knowledge about microclimate effects on varnishes applied to paintings as remediation surface treatments. The project results will also contribute to preventive conservation measures and standards for microclimate control of paintings.
Duration of project: 38 months.
Other participants: The project will be co-ordinated by the Norwegian institute for Air Research (NILU).
Partners are apart from SMK the School of Conservation, Denmark; Norwegian Institute for Air
Research, Norway; Birkbeck College, University of London, England; SIT –International Transporters,
Spain; Fraunhofer Institut für Silicatforschung, Germany. National Museum in Krakow, Poland.
Financing: From the EU €30,000 to SMK for the entire project period.
Presentation: An initial seminar for all participants and invited end-users took place at SMK February
2007. Presentation as an accepted poster abstract “Improved protection of paintings during
exhibition, storage and transit – PROPAINT (EU project FP6, 044254)” by T. Grøntoft, E. Dahlin, M.
Odlyha, M. Scharff, G. Andrade, P. Mottner, J. Czop, P. Colombini, S. Hackney, J. Wadum, in Postprints
“Museum microclimates", Copenhagen, 19 - 23 November 2007 (forthcoming).
Project website: propaint.nilu.no
Troels Filtenborg MSc, Conservator
1994 -
An investigation of the painting technique and materials of “Christ as the Suffering Redeemer” by Andrea Mantegna
In connection with a restoration, a detailed study of the technique and materials of the painting will be carried out, examining its build-up, underdrawing technique and the pigments, colorants and binding media used in its creation. Mantegna is one of the artists whose easel painting technique has been fairly well explored and documented, which means that a substantial international reference material exists. However, this is less extensive for later works on panel like Christ as the Suffering Redeemer.
Technical analyses will include X-radiography, Infrared reflectography, cross section analysis (combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis), pigment and binding media analysis.
Duration of project: 2007-08
Other participants: The Scientific Department at the National Gallery, London, will be carrying out
pigment and binding media analysis. Mikkel Scharff, The School of Conservation, Copenhagen, will
carry out infrared reflectography recording for the examination of the underdrawing technique.
Financing: The work of the various participants is funded through their normal salaries.
Presentation: An article in the SMK Art Journal.
An investigation of the painting technique and materials of N.A. Abildgaard
A number of paintings by N.A. Abildgaard from various periods of his oeuvre will be subjected to
technical investigation.
The aim is to examine his technical practice throughout his work, and throw light on possible developments as well as putting his methods into the context of contemporary academic painting in Denmark, France and Italy.
Little is known about Abildgaard’s painting methods and materials. Being a student of the painter Johan Mandelberg, who in turn had spent years in Francois Boucher’s studio, it is not unlikely that his technique is wholly, or in part, a continuation of French 18th century practice. However, given the changes that his style underwent during his career, it is possible that a technical development in his painting took place as well.
Duration of project: 2007-08
Other participants: as yet undecided, but possibly Mikkel Scharff from the School of Conservation,
Copenhagen for examination by Infrared reflectography.
Financing: The research will be funded within the salaries of the participants.
Presentation: An essay in SMK Art Journal and / or individual entries in the catalogue texts for the
coming Abildgaard exhibition at the SMK in 2009.
Niels Borring MSc, Conservator
2003 -
Transfer methods in master drawings –a tool in the artistic process, an under-drawing, a copy or just another kind of drawing?
Not all drawings are drawings in the sense that we usually know them. From medieval times, over the Renaissance to the Baroque, different ways of multiplying, copying, reversing, minimizing or enlarging figures and compositions were used.
Tracing a motif leaves tracing marks on the original, and often a transfer monotype or copy-drawing that tends to be a little stiff in the drawing line. But often the function of a transfer monotype is that of an under-drawing, which the artist elaborates further on. So it is necessary to search for the characteristics of under-drawing through a microscope, in order to determine if it is an original or a transfer.
Research into classical drawing techniques leaves us with valuable information about the drawing, qualifying the artistic use. But minute research of drawings is also necessary, because a conservation treatment may remove the tiny little bits that still remain after long practical use in the artist workshops, wear and tear in art collections and museums and after earlier aqueous conservation treatments.
Therefore the Conservation Department has taken up the examination of drawings in the Prints and Drawings Department, starting with our Italian master drawings, thus supporting the efforts in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Master Drawings to catalogue this part of the collection.
Duration of project: 2004 - 2007
Other participants: School of Conservation, Grethe Jørgensen; Center for Advanced Studies in Master
Drawings, Chris Fischer
Financing: The participants’ salaries are included in their ordinary institutional salaries; a sum of 10,000
DKK is for technical research
Presentation: article in SMK Art Journal; poster at ICOMCC in Delhi, India September 2008
Identification of cooperation actions regarding the treatment and the evaluation of storage condition
on irongall-ink (IGI) objects.
In the SMK collection we have a large amount of drawings, the oldest dating from the 15th century and the latest from the 19th century. A considerable part of the drawings from the so-called Danish Golden Age are irongall-ink (IGI) drawings on paper - all in danger of disappearing at a very rapid rate due to the aggressive deterioration products induced by the ink.
The aim of this project is to examine the currently used conservation treatments for corroded IGI, in order to identify the cooperating actions regarding the treatment and evaluation of storage condition on IGI-objects. Thus it should be possible to develop a conservation treatment for highly deteriorated objects – as well as to acquire preventive conservation measures for less deteriorated objects. Parallel to the examination of conservation treatments, the conservation department has had a focus on works with IGI the last couple of years in order to examine not only how many drawings containing IGI we have in the collection, but also the deterioration state of the drawings. This is a considerable task and only part of the collection has been looked through minutely, and the work is not yet completed. But when finished it should allow us to make a strategy for the treatment of the IGI drawings in Prints and Drawings at SMK.
Duration of project: start 2006; end ?
Other participants: Véronique Rouchon, Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents
Graphiques (CRCDG), Paris and Birgit Hansen, The Royal Library, Copenhagen.
Financing: within the participant’s ordinary salary
Presentation: an international conservation magazine
Pauline Lehmann Banke BSc
Whitening Retouchings: A research into the phenomenon of retouchings turning white, observed on paintings in the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst and relevant comparative material. The research will start from previous studies of the problem, publications, and work experience and aims to describe the phenomenon and its causes. Whitening or “chalking” can occur within a few years apparently affected by high levels of humidity and light. Observations have been made though, that whitening or “chalking” of retouchings does not always occur in paintings hanging side by side with others which do exhibit the phenomenon and this will be the field of focus.
The research will consist of a mapping of the occurrence of whitening retouching in the paintings collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst and studies of materials and methods in the Gallery’s archives as well as visual examination, documentation, the taking of test samples, cross section analysis with light microscopy, IR-spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy SEM/EDX and X-ray diffraction XRD as agreed with supervisors and advisor.
The research will be part of my work at the conservation department at Statens Museum for Kunst and a master thesis from The School of Conservation, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Duration of project: 2006 –2010.
Other participants: Advisor: Mads Christian Christensen cand. scient., National Museum.
Supervisors: Paintings conservator, senior lecturer Beate Knuth Federspiel and Paintings Conservator
and senior lecturer Mikkel Scharff, The School of Conservation, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Financing: In house.
Presentation: 2-4 articles in national and international journals.
Karen Esser BSc
Consolidation of Loose Pigments on Paper Artworks.
Artworks with loose pigment layers, such as chalk, charcoal and pastel, can be very fragile because the pigments in these media do not bind to the ground layer with a binder (as is the case with most paints) but are only nominally attached according to the pressure used during application. The pigments are therefore effectively loose-lying on the paper’s surface and can easily become detached during any sort of routine handling. This characteristic high vulnerability to touch or disturbance can jeopardise the integrity of the artwork and increase the difficulty and expense of any kind of ongoing treatment, including restoration, mounting, transportation, packing, exhibition etc.
In some cases the chalk, charcoal or pastel layer may have been stabilised during original application using a sort of fixative, but this in itself can adversely affect the artwork causing changes in colourimpression, discolorations and faster degradation of the drawing.
Following a detailed examination of the drawing collection at Statens Museum for Kunst, it will then be possible to document the scale of this widely recognised but less well understood problem. It will also then be possible to analyse and determine the specific impact of a variety of consolidation products and processes.
In the light of this examination and experiences from earlier research in this field, different consolidation methods and products will be tried out on a range of test materials. The aim is to examine the effects and influence of the fixation and thereby be able to pinpoint and recommend the most appropriate consolidation treatment(s) for artworks with fragile media on paper.
During a series of experiments the test materials will be artificially ‘aged’before undergoing detailed visual and microscopic analysis. They will be examined and measured against a variety of observable phenomena, such as colour-change (CIE-lab), friability and penetration-ability of the fixative by e.g. cross-section observation. The key criteria of an appropriate and desirable consolidation treatment are that, post-treatment, the pigment layer has undergone minimum changes in colour, intensity and
textural effect.
Duration of project: Sept. 2006 –Sept. 2009
Other participants: Coaching by Ingelise Nielsen, School of Conservation, Copenhagen
Financing: Own financing (and a given amount of 3,000 DKK from The School of Conservation)
Presentation: Final candidature thesis (Cand. Scient. Cons.)
PhD student, Clara Morales Muñoz MSc
Understanding plastic surfaces: evaluating methods for cleaning art objects comprised of or containing
new or degraded plastics.
In order to promote the synergy between the cultural heritage field, and the natural sciences and engineering, the European Community's Marie Curie program (Early Stage Training) is sponsoring the project EPISCON - European PhD in Science for Conservation. The goal of EPISCON is to develop the first generation of "true" conservation scientists in Europe. Sixteen three-year fellowships (2006-2009) are being offered by ten participating host institutions within the European Community. These fellowships include funding of an intensive six-month curriculum at the University of Bologna-Ravenna in all aspects of the conservation of cultural heritage, and the financing of a two and a half year research project at one of ten host institutions leading to a PhD degree.
As one of these candidates, Clara Morales Muñoz will carry out her research program in Copenhagen hosted by the School of Conservation in close co-operation with Statens Museum for Kunst. Research for this project will be carried out on art objects found within the collection of SMK, while scientific research will be carried out at SoC. The results of the material testing will be applied to real art objects. This is an important part of the proposed project, as the practical applications of the research results will give the project substance and value within the conservation community.
Duration of project: 2006-09.
Financing: The Marie Curie program Early Stage Research Training.
Presentation: PhD thesis and articles in relevant journals.
Department of Conservation (with dep. of Collections and dep. of Education)
Open Workshop
Research, conservation and restoration of Jacob Jordaens' The Tribute Money. Peter Finding the Silver Coin in the Mouth of the Fish, also called The Ferry-Boat to Antwerp is from about 1623.
The aim is to restore the painting (279.5 x 467.0 cm) in order to ensure that the work of art presents itself most advantageously to the public. Simultaneously with the conservators' work, the museum is also carrying out an art-historical research into Jordaens’ use of material and matters related to function, narrative and the genesis of the creative process.
An international commitee with members from Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, USA and Denmark will follow the project, and advise on matters concerning the restoration and the research. Duration of project: September 2007- summer 2008.
Financing: Conservation treatment and research is supported in part by the Getty Foundation.
The project is also partly supported by Leica Microsystems A/S, Bang & Olufsen, Nederman Danmark and FORCE Technology. Other costs are covered by internal funds and research is carried out within working hours.
Presentation: The audience will be able to follow the process in room 272. On the museum homepage
there will be updates on the progress and what the conservators discover about the painting. The
results of both the restoration and the art historical research will be presented in a publication.
Department of Education and Exhibitions
Formidlingsafdelingen - FORM
Research is not a specific part of the job of the educators working in the Department, but a certain amount of research projects are essential in order to keep up with developments in the field. However, the workload is heavy and resources are limited, and research projects are difficult to combine with the day-to-day work. Therefore we intend to apply for research grants from the new education fund set up by the Ministry of Culture to relieve some staff members from their ordinary tasks in the year to come.
During the next year the research in FORM will be concentrated on two fields:
Research on adult art education
We are constantly trying to develop our exhibition practice. For instance we have looked to film theories for ways to present the narrative in the L.A. Ring exhibition. This area will be further explored in minor surveys to be published in articles. These research projects can also be seen as closely related to the PhD project on visitor experiences in the permanent collections, which started 1 October 2006. Research on art education of children and young people
In April 2007 Statens Museum for Kunst opened the Egmont Knowledge Centre with the purpose of introducing children and young people to the world of art and to develop their interest in and knowledge of art. The activities will be suited to the various age groups, and studies will be carried out to establish the effect of the different educational initiatives. Do we get the desired results? How can we do things better? An obvious idea would be to further develop our co-operation with the Danish School of Education.
PhD Project
PhD Student, Mette Houlberg MA
Museum Dialogues: An investigation of visitor experiences in the permanent collections of Statens
Museum for Kunst (working title)
Statens Museum for Kunst is the main museum of art in Denmark and its collections form an important part of the Danish national heritage. The collections are the starting point for the various activities which take place in the museum. This is also the case for art interpretation, which the museum understands very broadly: hanging, installation/ scenography, signs, posters, catalogues, guidebooks, tours and the web site. Art interpretation is a fairly new discipline in Denmark, and a research-based investigation of this large topic is needed. What are the intentions with art interpretation and how are the desired results achieved?
The museum has as an aim to make knowledge about art available for the audience, but in addition make room for personal art experiences. But the question is: how is this done most appropriately? There is a pronounced need for investigating the connected factors thoroughly, including issues such as relevant educational theories, the art experience and the expectations of the audience to the same. The PhD project focuses on what adults experience in the permanent collections at Statens Museum for Kunst and how they make meaning when engaging with the artworks. On the background of a larger qualitative visitor survey as well as theoretical discussions about Danish and international learning theory and museology, the project aims at creating a foundation on which discussions about communication and interpretation of art in Danish art museums can take place.
Duration of project: 1 October 2006 –1 September 2009
Other participants: The project is connected to The Danish Research School of Cultural Heritage and
Leicester University with Dr. Vivian Golding as main supervisor
Financing: Co-financed with the Danish Ministry of Culture
Presentation: Articles in relevant periodicals and journals and testing of interpretative strategies in
specific exhibitions.
