The artist Nicholas Pope is interviewed in his studio to learn more about his art making process and his ideas about the aging of his work, in particular in relation to his painted wooden sculpture The Church, The Village and Myself, from the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum. The interview was prompted by research project POPE: Resin Bleed, about the nature and conservation possibilities of the resin bleed seen on the sculpture. The artist’s ideas about the work’s condition should inform decision-making about a conservation treatment. In general, the artist states that he is not alarmed by material inherent changes to his work if they are conversant with the work’s age. ‘Honesty’ is a word that comes up. After seeing detailed photographs showing the amount of black drippings on the white surface, he finally indicates that this is simply too much. However, do note the follow-up interview on 5 July 2023, in which he revises these remarks, returning to his initial statements about letting the material live, in reaction to having seen an overview of the sculpture on film and photographs (archived at the Kröller-Müller Museum). Aside from the conservation problem, his new clay sculpture in his studio, The Whole Family, is discussed, on which he works with assistance from Thomas Lyons.Audio recording continues when leaving the studio, and similar work in the store is inspected for signs of resinosis, and Pope’s Champagne Perry operations become clear. From his garden, Pope points out the village with the church, and the location of Hellens Manor, origin of the tree for eight of his sculptures.

Metal soap formation is one of the most wide-spread degradation mechanisms observed in historical oil paintings, affecting works of art from museum collections worldwide. Metal soaps develop from a chemical reaction between metal ions present in the pigments and saturated fatty acids, which are released by the oil binder. The presence of large metal soap crystals inside paint layers or at the paint surface can be detrimental for the visual appearance of artworks. Moreover, metal soaps can possibly trigger mechanical damage, ultimately resulting in flaking of the paint. This paper departs from a recently proposed computational model to predict chemo-mechanical degradation in historical oil paintings, as presented in Eumelen et al. (J Mech Phys Solids 132:103683, 2019). The model describes metal soap formation and growth, which are phenomena that are driven by the diffusion of saturated fatty acids and proceed by a nucleation process from a crystalline nucleus of small size. This results into a chemically-induced strain in the paint, which may promote crack nucleation and propagation. The proposed model is here used to investigate the effects of saturated fatty acid concentration and initial nucleus geometry on the amount of chemo-mechanical damage generated. Numerical simulations show that both factors have a marginal influence on the growth rate of the metal soap crystal, but play a significant role on the extent of fracture induced in the paint.

Metal soap formation is one of the most wide-spread degradation mechanisms observed in historical oil paintings, affecting works of art from museum collections worldwide. Metal soaps develop from a chemical reaction between metal ions present in the pigments and saturated fatty acids, which are released by the oil binder. The presence of large metal soap crystals inside paint layers or at the paint surface can be detrimental for the visual appearance of artworks. Moreover, metal soaps can possibly trigger mechanical damage, ultimately resulting in flaking of the paint. This paper departs from a recently proposed computational model to predict chemo-mechanical degradation in historical oil paintings, as presented in Eumelen et al. (J Mech Phys Solids 132:103683, 2019). The model describes metal soap formation and growth, which are phenomena that are driven by the diffusion of saturated fatty acids and proceed by a nucleation process from a crystalline nucleus of small size. This results into a chemically-induced strain in the paint, which may promote crack nucleation and propagation. The proposed model is here used to investigate the effects of saturated fatty acid concentration and initial nucleus geometry on the amount of chemo-mechanical damage generated. Numerical simulations show that both factors have a marginal influence on the growth rate of the metal soap crystal, but play a significant role on the extent of fracture induced in the paint.

<p>This interview with conservator of paintings, polychrome sculpture and historical interiors Anne van Grevenstein was initially conducted for the FAIC Oral History program (USA) founded by Joyce Hill Stoner. Anne van Grevenstein was already interviewed for the FAIC Oral History program in 2009 by Muriel Verbeeck. The 2009 interview focused more on the training of Van Grevenstein. The 2017 interview can be seen as a follow up and covers her work at the Jan van Eyck Academy (Maastricht), the Central Laboratory (Amsterdam), the Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), the SRAL (Maastricht), of which she was director, and her professorship in Nijmegen and Amsterdam. Projects like the Oranjezaal and MolArt are also discussed.</p>

<p>Interview met schilderijenrestaurator Martin Bijl, voormalig hoofd schilderijenrestauratie, gehouden ten behoeve van Operation Night Watch. Belangrijke onderwerpen in het gesprek zijn: de volledige restauratie door Kuiper en Hesterman in 1975/76, het vernissen van de Nachtwacht in 1981, de zuuraanval in 1990. Andere aspecten uit de loopbaan van MB komen ook aan bod, zoals zijn expertise op de het gebied van panelen.</p>