Online Workshop | Analysis of Reverse Paintings on Glass

Posted in conferences (to attend), online learning by Editor on February 25, 2021

Possibilities and Limits of (Non-destructive) Analysis of Reverse Paintings on Glass
Online, Vitrocentre Romont, Switzerland, 12 March 2021
Organized by Sophie Wolf and Francesco Caruso

Registration due by 7 March 2021

As part of the SNSF research project on the travel and recipe book of Ulrich Daniel Metzger (1671), reverse glass paintings by the artist and by his close friend and master Gerhard Janssen are being examined. The investigation has two aims: first, a technical and material characterisation of the artworks and secondly, a comparison of the results with the recipes and painting instructions noted in the book. The analysis of materials and techniques, however, is associated with difficulties that are based on the technical specificity of the works, namely so-called ‘églomisé’. The paintings are backed with leaf metals and sometimes also protected by an additional cover of paper, which cannot always be easily removed. There is therefore no direct access to the painting layers. In this workshop, we would like to discuss the limits and possibilities of (non-destructive) analysis of reverse glass paintings and stained glass. Short presentations will give insights into the analytical practice of various research groups active in the field and provide the opportunity to discuss specific issues of analytical techniques and procedures.

The workshop is open to the public, but registration is required as the number of places is limited. If you are interested in participating as a listener, please register via email by 7 March 2021: sophie.wolf@vitrocentre.ch. The video-conference will start at 9.00am. Please start joining the meeting at 8.45am. We regret that latecomers cannot be admitted until a suitable break.

P R O G R A M M E

9.00 Sophie WOLF (Vitrocentre Romont), Welcome and introduction

9.15 Uta BERGMANN (Vitrocentre Romont), Das Reise- und Rezeptbuch Ulrich Daniel Metzgers

9.30 Francesco CARUSO (SIK-ISEA, Zürich) and Sophie WOLF (Vitrocentre Romont), Non-destructive study of early 18th-century reverse glass paintings

10.00 Simon STEGER (Staatliche Akademie der Künste, Stuttgart), Non-invasive spectroscopic investigation of cultural artefacts: shedding light on modern reverse glass paintings (1905–1955)

10.30 Break

11.00 Patrick DIETEMANN (Doerner Institut, München), Challenges and limits of (non-destructive) modern binding medium analysis

11.30 Katharina SCHMIDT-OTT (Swiss National Museum, Collection Centre, Affoltern a. Albis), Comparability of two XRF analyzers on sanguine in stained glass paintings by H. J. Güder (1630–1691)

12.00 Panel Discussion
• Patrick DIETEMANN (Doerner Institut, München)
• Susanne GREIFF (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Mainz)
• Maite MAGUREGUI HERNANDO (Universidad del País Vasco, Bilbao)
• Simon STEGER (Staatliche Akademie der Künste, Stuttgart)

Organisation
Sophie Wolf (Vitrocentre Romont), sophie.wolf@vitrocentre.ch
Francesco Caruso (Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaft SIK-ISEA), francesco.caruso@sik-isea.ch