Restoration Campaign Research Articles

Removal of Canvas Patterns in Digital Acquisitions of Paintings.

We address the removal of canvas artifacts from high-resolution digital photographs and X-ray images of paintings on canvas. Both imaging modalities are common investigative tools in art history and art conservation. Canvas artifacts manifest themselves very differently according to the acquisition modality; they can hamper the visual reading of the painting by art experts, for instance, in preparing a restoration campaign. Computer-aided canvas removal is desirable for restorers when the painting on canvas they are preparing to restore has acquired over the years a much more salient texture. We propose a new algorithm that combines a cartoon-texture decomposition method with adaptive multiscale thresholding in the frequency domain to isolate and suppress the canvas components. To illustrate the strength of the proposed method, we provide various examples, for acquisitions in both imaging modalities, for paintings with different types of canvas and from different periods. The proposed algorithm outperforms previous methods proposed for visual photographs such as morphological component analysis and Wiener filtering and it also works for the digital removal of canvas artifacts in X-ray images.

Restoring Victory: Naval Heritage, Identity, and Memory in Interwar Britain.

In the decade following 1918, HMS Victory was restored as a memorial to the nation, empire, the Navy, and all the sailors who had lost their lives in the Great War. This piece of Britain's naval heritage became a focal point for Great War memory and a resource for narrating the Navy's place in post-war Britain. This article analyses the restoration campaign, focusing on its appeal work and the materials it produced, discourses surrounding the restoration and the use of Victory's oak to recover this ship's importance at the intersection between Britain and its Navy in the aftermath of the Great War, and the function that the Navy played in the construction of post-war memory and identity.

Protecting the Stone Artworks of the Seventeenth Century Portico of the House of Pieter Paul Rubens in Antwerp (Belgium) from Wind Driven Rain

Abstract The forthcoming restoration campaign of the former house of the Flemish Baroque painter Pieter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) in Antwerp includes the design and construction of a new glass canopy. It is to replace the actual non-transparent roof structure, which was erected in the 1990s to protect the portico, separating the inner court yard of the house from the gardens, and especially its sculptural artworks from further material loss. The design parameters of the new glass canopy were evaluated based on the distribution probability of the rain on the portico as a function of rain intensity and wind velocity, while the rain distribution was determined based on the raindrop trajectories combining the vertical raindrop velocity and the horizontal drag from the wind. A minimum wind velocity of 40 km/h is required before rain can reach the feet of the sculptured artworks during intense rain showers. Statistical analysis of the hourly wind velocity and rain shower duration and intensity reveals a return period of approximately 4.2 years when the portico is protected by a glass canopy with identical dimensions of the actual provisory roof structure. Although the influence of intermittent wind gusts and squalls, which will more frequently drag along rainwater to the critical areas, and increase the amount of rainwater attaining the artworks during storms, could so far not be studied more in detail. The above risks are however considered acceptable to prevent future damage accumulation.

Rehabilitation of farmhouses and barns: limits of salt content

The rehabilitation of historic buildings is a practice that aims to turn a historic property into a state of contemporary comfort for private or commercial use, while preserving its historic, architectural and cultural value, respecting items of authenticity, compatibility and sustainability. What once was a modest use of locally fired brick and mortar has become the subject of ambitious rehabilitation campaigns conforming to the rules of comfort and hygiene of the twenty-first century. A pre-investigation concerning the diagnosis of damage phenomena and the risk assessment of interventions is a crucial aspect for the success of a restoration campaign. The question of “How to optimally preserve a monument within its current conditions” is replaced by “How can a monument optimally perform in the conditions suited to the assigned rehabilitation project”. Today historic farms and their surroundings, after being abandoned for several decades, are the subject of different types of private or commercial rehabilitation projects. An example of such a project is the farm “Hof De Pleyne” in Loppem (West-Flanders, Belgium). The project intended to integrate a restaurant kitchen into the former animal barn. The limits of salt content with respect to the desired rehabilitation facilities while respecting safety regulations are presented.

Non-destructive and micro-invasive testing techniques for characterizing materials, structures and restoration problems in mural paintings

In this paper, chemical and structural studies of medieval wall paintings in Ocre (L’Aquila, Italy) are presented. During the latest restoration campaign, non-destructive (Near-Infrared Reflectography and Infrared Thermography) and micro-invasive (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, μ-Raman, Scanning Electron Microscopy with X-ray Microanalysis, X-Ray Diffraction, X-Ray Fluorescence, Optical Microscopy, Mass Spectrometry, Thermogravimetry) analyses were performed in order to determine the detachments of wall surfaces and the characterization of original and restoration materials. Data integration allowed to reconstruct the conservative history, the execution techniques and the conservation problems of the artefact, as well as to assess the effectiveness of restoration activities adopted. The combined use of physical and micro-chemical techniques proved to be effective for an in-depth study of materials stratification of paintings.

Thermo-Mechanical Compatibility of Viscoelastic Mortars for Stone Repair.

The magnitude of the thermal stresses that originate in an acrylic-based repair material used for the reprofiling of natural sandstone is analyzed. This kind of artificial stone was developed in the late 1970s for its peculiar property of reversibility in an organic solvent. However, it displays a high thermal expansion coefficient, which can be a matter of concern for the durability either of the repair or of the underlying original stone. To evaluate this risk we propose an analytical solution that considers the viscoelasticity of the repair layer. The temperature profile used in the numerical evaluation has been measured in a church where artificial stone has been used in a recent restoration campaign. The viscoelasticity of the artificial stone has been characterized by stress relaxation experiments. The numerical analysis shows that the relaxation time of the repair mortar, originating from a low , allows relief of most of the thermal stresses. It explains the good durability of this particular repair material, as observed by the practitioners, and provides a solid scientific basis for considering that the problem of thermal expansion mismatch is not an issue for this type of stone under any possible conditions of natural exposure.

Image Processing for Art Investigation

Recent advances in digital image acquisition methods and the wide range of imaging modalities currently available have triggered museums to digitize their painting collections. Not only is this crucial for archival or dissemination purposes but it also enabled the digital analysis of the painting through its digital image counterpart. It also set in motion a cross-disciplinary collaboration between image analysis specialists, mathematicians, statisticians and art historians that have the common goal to develop algorithms and build a digital toolbox in support of art scholarship. Computer processing of digital images of paintings has become a fast growing and challenging field of research during the last few years. Our contribution to this research domain consists of a set of tools that are based on dimensionality reduction methods, sparse representations and dictionary learning techniques. These tools are used to assist in art related matters such as restoration, conservation, art history, material and structure characterization, authentication, dating and even style analysis. Since paintings are complex structures the analysis of all pictorial layers and the support requires a multimodal set of high-resolution image acquisitions. The presented research can broadly be subdivided into three main fields. The first one is the digital enhancement of painting acquisitions in order to assist the art specialist in his professional assessment of the painting. The second main field of research is the automated detection of cracks within the Ghent Altarpiece, which is meant to help in the delicate matter of the conservation of this exceptional masterpiece but also as guidance during its current campaign of restoration. The last field consists of a set of methods that can be deployed in art forensics. These methods consist of the characterization of canvas, the analysis of multispectral imagery of a painting and even the objective quantification of the style of a particular artist.

Editorial

Editorial

Renovation and Restructuring the Cité de Refuge by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. Preserving the Dual Functional and Architectural Identity of the Masterpiece

The Cité de Refuge, for the Salvation Army, was built in Paris by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, in 1933. For Le Corbusier, it represented a formal, technical and mainly social architectural manifesto, as part of his idea of new society published in La Ville Radieuse, in 1935. Seventy years after, the building is deeply transformed because the everyday use is inadequate for the contemporary community standards for the reception of homeless and current climate standards. The challenge of the last restoration campaign (2007–2015) was to reconcile the current demanding standards while maintaining and upgrading the architectural qualities of the building.

The Couvent de La Tourette from 1960 to the present day. Future Discernibility of Past Interventions

The La Tourette Convent, built by Le Corbusier in Eveux (1953–1960) was subjected to interventions very soon after its inauguration. The article presents a critical analysis of these interventions: those overseen by Fernand Gardien (until 1964) right after completion; those undertaken before the complex was listed and for which limited documentation is available (1964–1979); the restoration campaign led by the Architecte en Chef des Monuments Historiques (ACMH) Mortamet, who followed an approach based on the completion of Le Corbusier’s work; lastly the most recent campaign, overseen by the ACMH Repellin, who succeeded in devising intelligent alternative compliance measures thanks to the fire safety officials. The complex was returned to its original appearance, following an approach that has yet to come to terms with the aging of modern architectural works, but is nevertheless still widely used today in the conservation of 20th century architecture.

The Politics of Multiplication in a Failed Soviet Irrigation Project, Or, How Sasyk Has Been Kept from the Sea

ABSTRACTBetween 1976 and 1980, a Soviet agro-industrial project turned the Sasyk estuary in southern Ukraine into a freshwater irrigation reservoir. While the project failed to produce irrigable water, it had many negative environmental consequences. Despite two decades of activism, this water body persists in its freshwater state. To understand how this situation persists, resources need to be conceived as materialities emergent in and distributed across assemblages of human and nonhuman elements rather than pre-existing substances. This move helps reveal a politics of multiplication that has enabled officials to sustain the resource potential of Danube–Dnister Irrigation System waters. As recognition of Sasyk as polluted and valueless increased, officials mobilized linkages that consolidated Sasyk as a fish reservoir, and its main canal as irrigable and drinking water, thereby stymieing activists' restoration campaign.

Recent research on the Maitreya Monastery in Inner Mongolia (China)

Abstract This review article evaluates recent Chinese publications (5 books and 30 articles) on Mayidari Juu (Maitreya Monastery, Ch. Meidaizhao 美岱召), in Inner Mongolia, China) – a remarkable fortified Tibetan Buddhist monastery that has preserved sixteenth- to nineteenth-century mural paintings and architecture. Its study is not only important for the history of the Tümed Mongols, but also for the history of Mongol monasteries, art, architecture, religion, society, economy, and funerary practices. The recent books reviewed here, correspond to a new campaign of restoration of the monastery, and reflect the modern revalorisation of Inner Mongol tangible heritage. Besides introducing recently discovered archives, they provide excellent quality photographs of the murals and framework décor, as well as new hypotheses on the dating and function of buildings, and on the dating, iconography and authors of mural paintings. By synthesizing the main debates on history, architecture and painting of Mayidari Juu, the present review essay aims at helping global scholarship on this major part of the Mongol heritage move on to a new stage.

Sustainable Infrastructure and Conservation Ideas on Homestay Modification; Owners’ Motivation and Tourists’ Satisfaction in Amphawa, Thailand

In 2001 the conservation and restoration campaign along the Amphawa Canal begans. Many development projects launched by the public and private sectors bring a large number of tourists. However this can have a negative impact on many traditional sites. According to the campaign, people in the community revive traditional water-based tourism by stimulating the use of traditional buildings along the canal and modifying them into commercial and tourist accommodation. This paper mainly focuses on how private individuals modify historical structures, the users' and tourists' (guests') points of view on modification of traditional houses to homestays in Amphawa. Motivational factors in user scales from the community (village) and identification and satisfaction from tourists' (guests) in accordance with sustainable tourism concepts are presented through the ideas of cultural conservation of traditional building design, cultural activities, traditional celebrations, and the local way of life along the Amphawa Canal.

Drinking from the River Lethe: Case del Fascio and the Legacy of Fascism in Postwar Italy

The endurance of a remarkable quantity of buildings constructed during Fascist rule, a consequence in part of Mussolini’s comprehensive public works projects as well as the state’s willingness to fund their completion during the postwar period, has attracted significant attention among historians and preservationists. Many of these buildings are leading examples of Italian modernism, and recent restoration campaigns have fueled new debates about how best to confront the material remains of the nation’s interwar history as well as the preservation of modern architecture in Italy more generally. Fascist Party headquarters—the buildings most intimately identified with Fascism and often designed by young architects influenced by avant-garde modernism—are largely absent from this literature, perhaps in part because of their relative modesty but also because of their continued associations with political power. The relationship between these buildings and the political ambitions of the regime, their use as centers for political activity in the immediate aftermath of Fascism’s collapse, and their transformation in the following decades into military and police headquarters raise questions about how and to what extent the representations of political authority cultivated under Fascism have persisted in the postwar period, and what consequences this has for the study and preservation of modern Italian architecture.

A re-united pair: The conservation, technical study, and ethical decisions involved in exhibiting two terracotta orante statues from Canosa

The collection of the Worcester Art Museum includes two rare Magna Graecia terracotta funerary statues from Canosa, Italy dating to the third century BCE. Each depicts a female figure in prayer or lament known as an orante. The orantes were purchased by the museum in 1927, but shortly thereafter were separated. One was left in storage for nearly seven decades and the other was sold, and ultimately entered a private collection halfway around the world. The orantes were recently reunited under serendipitous circumstances and, after more than 80 years, will finally be placed on display at the Museum. As part of a comprehensive treatment, a technical study was carried out to identify the materials and methods used in their manufacture and in previous restoration campaigns. Materials were characterized by cross-section analysis, spot tests, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), neutron activation analysis (NAA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermoluminescence (TL) dating, and reflectance transformation imaging (RTI). The analytical findings helped inform the conservation treatments, which included structural work, surface cleaning using a Nd:YAG laser, and esthetic reintegration.

Une campagne de restauration de peintures du Moyen Âge et de la Renaissance du musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon

La rénovation du musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon a donné lieu à de multiples campagnes de restauration depuis 2006 sur ses collections médiévales et de la Renaissance : ce sont ainsi près de 80 peintures qui ont été traitées, de façon fondamentale, dans les ateliers du C2RMF et qui ont donné lieu à d’intéressantes découvertes ou redécouvertes.

PAINTINGS FOR DOMINICAN NUNS: A NEW LOOK AT THE IMAGES OF SAINTS, SCENES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT AND APOCRYPHA, AND EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA IN THE MEDIEVAL APSE OF SAN SISTO VECCHIO IN ROME

Fragments of frescoes were found in the late nineteenth century on the medieval apse wall, hidden behind the fifteenth-century chancel, of the Dominican nunnery church of San Sisto Vecchio, Rome. They were painted in two phases, one in the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century, the other approximately a century later. When they were restored in 1990–2, two new scenes came to light. This paper reconsiders the murals of both phases, including the images uncovered during the restoration campaigns. Historical evidence shines new light on the medieval patrons of the nunnery, who were relatives of individual nuns, and reveals the social context in which buildings and paintings were provided for the convent. It is argued that the frescoes were designed for the Dominican nuns, whose religious ideals are reflected in their iconography. Up until now studies of these murals have not paid much attention to their socio-historical importance, nor the Dominican significance of the images, even in two scenes from the life of Saint Catherine of Siena. Accordingly, this study contributes to the discussion of the frescoes by placing them in a ‘Dominican’ framework, attempting to show what they may have meant to the medieval nuns in the convent.

Metal sarcophagi of the Habsburg Imperial Crypt, Church of the Capuchin Friars, in Vienna, Austria: Analysis of surface coatings

The Imperial Crypt below the Capuchin church in Vienna (the Kapuzinergruft) has been the principal burial site for the Habsburg dynasty since 1633. Today it holds a world-famous ensemble of sarcophagi and is one of the most important sites in Austria. Due to unfavourable climatic conditions in the crypt, until recently the tin-alloy cast-metal sarcophagi were affected by serious corrosion processes. Several restoration campaigns were undertaken between 1964 and 2002, when many of the sarcophagi were treated with various protective coatings. However, after these interventions a new problem arose: ensuing damage occurred in areas where the protective coatings were applied. Information about the chemical composition of the multi-layered coating systems and their influence on the metal surfaces thus became a crucial area for research. This paper presents the latest results of the technical examination of the surface coatings from three tin-alloy sarcophagi.

An Interactive 3-Dimensional Database Applied to the Conservation of a Painted Chapel

Matteo Giovannetti's frescoes (1355–1356) which decorate the Innocent VI chapel of La Chartreuse du Val des Bénédictins (Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, France) are very sensitive to the alteration. They need a new restoration campaign. Because of the geometrical complexity of the place, the environment and the involved degradation mechanisms, a good conservation management of these murals is essential. Therefore, an interactive 3- dimensional spatial database, including dated data was developped. Architectural measurements, digital scientific documentation were gathered. A historical documentation including restoration acts, used restoration products has been collected. Last, the paintings degradations, up-to-date deterioration patterns description and conservation state diagnosis of these wall paintings including a deterioration mapping are monitored. Results of the physical and chemical analyses of painting, restoration techniques and deterioration products are also integrated. The entire collected and interactive database will be available for conservation managers and researchers within the next three years.

Prevailing negative soil biota effect and no evidence for local adaptation in a widespread Eurasian grass.

BackgroundSoil biota effects are increasingly accepted as an important driver of the abundance and distribution of plants. While biogeographical studies on alien invasive plant species have indicated coevolution with soil biota in their native distribution range, it is unknown whether adaptation to soil biota varies among populations within the native distribution range. The question of local adaptation between plants and their soil biota has important implications for conservation of biodiversity and may justify the use of seed material from local provenances in restoration campaigns.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe studied soil biota effects in ten populations of the steppe grass Stipa capillata from two distinct regions, Europe and Asia. We tested for local adaptation at two different scales, both within (ca. 10–80 km) and between (ca. 3300 km) regions, using a reciprocal inoculation experiment in the greenhouse for nine months. Generally, negative soil biota effects were consistent. However, we did not find evidence for local adaptation: both within and between regions, growth of plants in their ‘home soil’ was not significantly larger relative to that in soil from other, more distant, populations.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study suggests that negative soil biota effects can prevail in different parts of a plant species' range. Absence of local adaptation points to the possibility of similar rhizosphere biota composition across populations and regions, sufficient gene flow to prevent coevolution, selection in favor of plasticity, or functional redundancy among different soil biota. From the point of view of plant - soil biota interactions, our findings indicate that the current practice of using seeds exclusively from local provenances in ecosystem restoration campaigns may not be justified.