Restoration of Paintings Mauritshuis
22 listeners (including five ladies) enjoyed a lecture on the above topic at the Cruquius Tea House.
Bob van Wingerden assisted with the renovation of the Mauritshuis from Shell. An RDS (Royal Dutch Shell) wing was added in the Sociëteit De Witte building. You enter the Mauritshuis via a tunnel. The renovation took place from 2012 to 2014. Paintings and Grisailles by Pellegrini in the Golden Hall were also restored. The Mauritshuis did the entire project in-house. Neatly on time and within budget. Shell helped financially and with technology (microscopy and so on). Also important was the good cooperation between art experts, restorers and technicians. Not outsourcing, but looking at technical results side by side.
The Mauritshuis was built for Maurits 'the Brazilian' Count/Vorst van Nassau-Siegen, a second cousin of William the Silent (grandson of William's brother Johan the Elder) from 1631 -37. This Maurice lived there for only two years, as he was governor of Brazil for eight years and later Stadtholder of Kleve. The house came into the hands of the Maes family, who leased it to the state as the Hotel of State. But it burned down completely in 1704. With the proceeds of a lottery and sponsorship from the States of Holland, it could be rebuilt in 1708. That rebuilding lasted until 1718. The reception room on the ground floor was decorated with gold leaf and brass and was therefore called the golden room. It was then that Pellegrini created the paintings for this golden hall. Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini was an Italian painter, who travelled around Europe to get commissions. In 1822, it became a Royal Cabinet of Paintings.
The golden hall has paintings on walls, ceilings and above the fireplace by Pellegrini. These have been removed from the wall and ceiling for restoration. After the first attempt to remove the layer of varnish, they turned out to be grey. And the paintings above the fireplaces turned white. Then the necessary research was done on the paint layers. In close cooperation between Shell and restorers, samples - taken very carefully - could be examined. This was done with electron microscopes, mass spectrometry and Fourier transforms [1], which allowed the chemical composition to be determined. Especially lead (Pb = white), sulphur (S), mercury sulphide (HgS) and all kinds of other metals were found. That sulphur got in by firing the house with coal and wood stoves. That sulphur binds with lead and mercury and other paint metals. That gives the grey or white veil. A special gel could then be developed to remove the grey veil and get the colours back. This was done with the cooperation of some universities.
It was also discovered, that the gilding on the flower tondos was done with brass (Zn & Cu) instead of gold. This corroded and became very dark. Unfortunately, this cannot be changed as it is the undercoat.
Beautiful result! The internet shows the gold hall before and after restoration and also a simulation of how it must have been. So with "gilded" tondos.
[1] Mass spectrometry is the determination of chemical elements by ionisation and detection with electric and magnetic fields. A frequency analysis is made with Fourier transform....
Description
With sponsorship from Shell, the Mauritshuis received a new RDS (Royal Dutch Shell) wing in 2012-14, in the building of Sociëteit De Witte. You enter the Mauritshuis via an underground reception area. In addition to sponsoring this project, a research collaboration (Partners in Science) was then launched. This involves researchers from Shell Technology Centre Amsterdam working together with Mauritshuis conservators on complex projects, such as an extensive study of paintings by Jan Steen. Bob van Wingerden has coordinated this collaboration from Shell since 2012.
The lecture will focus on the restoration of an ensemble of 15 paintings by Pellegrini in the Golden Hall. Besides the paintings on the walls (grisailles and tondos), there are also 3 large paintings on the ceiling and 2 above the fireplace, all of which were removed from room during the renovation. After the first attempt at removing the layer of varnish, the ceiling and fireplace paintings appeared to take on a grey haze. Then the necessary research was done on the paint layers. Very carefully taken samples were examined with electron microscopy, mass spectrometry and Fourier Transform Infra-Red techniques, which allowed the chemical composition to be determined. From there, a special gel could be developed to remove the grey veil and recover the colours. A great result!
Location
Cruquiusdijk 32, Cruquius
Organiser
Region North-Holland
Name and contact details for information
Guus van Ditzhuijzen