Symposium on polychrome sculpture

Symposium
Polychrome Sculpture: Tool Marks and Construction Techniques
Maastricht
24-25 October 2010

The symposium will have as a focal point the study of tool marks on
sculptures relating to the construction process. Work benches were
often constructed as temporary aids to help the artisan during the
carving process. Traces of clamps used to hold the sculpture in
position during carving are often found on both the top and bottom
of wooden sculptures. Traces of these clamps and those of tools used
to carve the sculpture can be often hidden by subsequent decorative
layers or misinterpreted. These marks, however, can give clues to
the construction process and have, in the past, lead to the
identification of a workshop or even master carver himself. Focus on
the identification and classification of these tool marks, through a
meticulous study and documentation, may provide more insight into
the carving process of sculptures leading to tentative attributions
to certain studios or workshops.

Furthermore, the symposium hopes to highlight wider issues in the
material-technical study of polychrome sculptures through the
discussion of a number of case studies. It is hoped that this may
contribute to a consensus in terminology that will cross borders
between the disciplines of art history, conservation and science.
Further information and registration forms are available at

    <URL:http://www.icom-cc.org>

Costs:
    ICOM-CC members: 75 euros
    Non members: 95 euros
    Students: 55 euros.

Programme:

  Sunday 24 October 2010

    13-00-14.00         Registration and Coffee

    14-00-14.45         Arnold Truyen
                        Head of Sculpture Conservation, Stichting
                        Restauratie Atelier Limburg, Maastricht
                        'Traces on the sculptures of Jan van
                        Steffenswert of work bench clamps'

    14-45-15.30         Agnes Le Gac
                        Assistant Professor and Sculpture
                        Conservator, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
                        Lisbon
                        'Wooden sculptures by the lay brother
                        Cipriano da Cruz (c. 1645-1650-1716): a
                        study of the carving tool marks to determine
                        authorship.'

    15-30-16.15         Peter Stiberc
                        Sculpture Conservator, Opificio delle Pietre
                        Dure, Florence
                        'Wood Crucifixes in Late 15th Century
                        Florence  - Innovations in the Construction
                        Techniques.'

    16-15-17.00         Emmanuelle Mercier
                        Sculpture Conservator, KIK-IRPA, Brussels
                        'Observations of wooden supports and their
                        use to augment questions of attribution:
                        Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century Mosan
                        sculptures as a case study.'

    19.00               Conference Dinner (optional)

  Monday 25 October 2010

    09-30-10.00         Registration and Coffee

    10-00-10.30         Judy Ozone
                        Senior Conservator, National Gallery of Art,
                        Washington
                        'Observations on the Construction of Saint
                        John of the Cross (1675),by Franciso Antonio
                        Gijon'.

    10-30-11.00         Ana Carrasson Lopez de Letona
                        Conservator, Instituto de Patrimonio
                        Cultural de Espana (IPCE), Madrid
                        'Construccion y Talla de los Retablos:
                        Marcas de Herramientas, Signos e
                        Inscripciones de Montaje'

                        (Presentation in English)

    11-00-11.30         Discussion and Coffee

    11-30-12.00         Michael Rief
                        Conservator, Suermondt-Ludwig Museum Aachen
                        'Going forensic. Art historical research of
                        Northern late Gothic and Renaissance wooden
                        sculptures based on the in-depth analysis of
                        traces of the carving process and
                        materials.'

    12-00-12.30         Poster presentations and discussion

    12-30-13.30         Lunch

    13-30-14.00         Marc Peez
                        Sculpture Conservator, LVR Amt for
                        Denkmalpflege in Rhineland, Brauweiler
                        'Tool marks from the work-bench  - some
                        examples on gothic sculptures of the
                        Rhineland'

    14-00-14.30         Regina Urbanek
                        Lecturer and Sculpture Conservator, CICS
                        Cologne
                        'Cologne Wooden Reliquary Busts between 1270
                        and 1360: technical developments in carving
                        and construction.'

    14-30-15.15         Discussion and Coffee

    15-15-15.45         Corinne Van Hauwermeiren
                        Sculpture Conservator, Museum of Liege
                        'The technical study of Romanesque and
                        Gothic Sedes Sapientae from the
                        Pyrenees-Orientales (France). A
                        methodological approach.'

    15-45-16.15         Arnold Truyen
                        Head of Sculpture Conservation, Stichting
                        Restauratie Atelier Limburg, Maastricht
                        'Construction techniques of nineteenth
                        century sculptures: observations and
                        discussions'

    16-15-17.00         Final discussion and summary

Kate Seymour MA
Head of Education
ICOM-CC Coordinator Working Group Sculpture, Polychromy, and
    Architectural Decorations
SRAL
Postbus 1679
6201 BR Maastricht
The Netherlands
+31 43 321 8444


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:17
               Distributed: Thursday, September 23, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-17-013
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