Fulbright – American Friends of the Mauritshuis Grant
By Ellen Nigro

When I learned I was awarded the American Friends of the Mauritshuis-Fulbright Grant, I couldn’t have been more excited.  The opportunity to live and study in The Netherlands while I finished the last year of my Master’s in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) was something I’d dreamed of for a long time. The conservators at the Mauritshuis do exceptional research and treatments, and I knew the chance to spend a year learning from them would be unique.

During my internship in the conservation studio, I have focused my time on the painting Fruit Still Life by Cornelis de Heem (inventory number 0050), which normally hangs in the Gallery Willem V.  It is a lovely painting featuring a stone plinth piled high with oranges, lemons, peaches, grapes, chestnuts, and medlars. The fruit is precariously balanced, ready to tumble out of the picture plane.

This painting was chosen for treatment because of the thick layers of yellow varnish that had been added to the surface over many decades, which left the colors out of balance and obscured many of the details that make this painting so special. During the treatment, the beautiful luminosity of the painting was restored, and the subtle brushwork and texture on the surface were freed from the surface coatings. With the varnish removed, I was able to see that the painting is in incredible condition with very few losses and abrasions. This painting is truly an exceptional example of de Heem’s work.

From a research perspective, this painting was especially engaging because Cornelis de Heem is an understudied artist and there were opportunities for discovery. Through my research, I identified the ground as one very similar to that in the Pellegrini cycle in the Golden Room of the Mauritshuis. This information tells us the painting was created in The Hague when the artist lived there in the late 1670s and the early 1680s, an important discovery for this undated painting. I was also able to study fourteen other paintings by de Heem in collections in Germany, Belgium, and England, which provided an amazing opportunity for comparison across his oeuvre.

In addition to the wonderful project I had in the Mauritshuis studio, I completed small treatments on two other paintings in the collection, participated in regular gallery checks, and did courier trips to various institutions in Holland.  My time outside of the museum was filled with opportunities travel, conferences, and following workshops with my peers in the University of Amsterdam/Stitchting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (UvA/SRAL) program in paintings conservation.

This year has been an incomparable experience full of learning and growth, which would not have been possible without the support of the American Friends of the Mauritshuis and the J. William Fulbright Foundation.  The backing of these institutions has helped me become a better conservator by providing an opportunity to work within a world-class museum under incredible mentorship, and I will fondly look back on my time at the Mauritshuis.

Beginning June 14, 2018, The Lamentation of Christ (c.1460-1464) by Rogier van der Weyden will be restored in a specially built studio in the exhibition space of the Mauritshuis.

The Lamentation is the oldest painting in the Mauritshuis and the only work by the Flemish master in a Dutch museum. Visitors will discover the technical and art historical research into the painting. A rare loan from the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence will also be on view. Not only will the treatment recover the magnificent colours with which the masterpiece was painted, but the Mauritshuis also expects to learn more about the artwork’s history.

Order your e-tickets here.

Public Restoration
The Lamentation of Christ needs to be restored, because the painting’s varnish has yellowed over the course of many years. As a result, the work’s bright colours no longer come into their own. The treatment will remove previous restorations (retouches), which have also discoloured over time. The restoration, which is expected to be completed at the end of 2018, will reveal the masterpiece’s original, radiant colours.

The project will be carried out in full public view by a team of specialists from the Mauritshuis; it will offer a rare glimpse behind the scenes of a conservation studio. Visitors will be eye-witnesses to the process of restoration and its results. The presentation will offer background about the many aspects of technical research, such as: infrared research (which offers information about, for example, the underdrawing); X-rays; and the analysis of paint samples. The display will also offer arthistorical background about the painting, answering questions such as: who was Rogier van der Weyden and for whom could he have painted this altarpiece?

The Mauritshuis has a venerable tradition of conducting restoration projects in public. Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and his View of Delft were both treated in a specially built studio in 1994. Carel Fabritius’s Goldfinch was researched and restored in public in 2004. Jan Steen’s Doctor’s Visit followed in 2011. The Mauritshuis presented the results of a long-term research and restoration project into Rembrandt’s Saul and David in the 2015 exhibition entitled Rembrandt? The Case of Saul and David. In the spring of 2018, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring underwent technical research in a temporary studio in the museum’s Golden Room. These projects aim to involve visitors to the Mauritshuis in a crucial, but often hidden, aspect of the museum’s core activities: the care and research of the collection.

Working hours conservators
The conservators are working in the studio every day from 1 – 3 p.m. On many days, they’re also present from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Every day from 3 – 3.30 p.m. there is a possibility to ask questions.

Two Altarpieces Reunited
The presentation includes a very special loan: Roger van der Weyden’s Entombment of Christ (1460-1464). This painting, from the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, will be on show for the first time in the Netherlands. The two altarpieces have only once before been on display together in an exhibition, and then briefly.

The painting technique of the Van der Weyden from the Uffizi is similar to that of the Mauritshuis Lamentation. This is also true for the preparatory drawing under the paint surface. There are also significant differences: the execution and detailing of the Uffizi painting are in some respects more refined. We also know more about the Italian patron of the Van der Weyden from Florence, whereas the donor on the Mauritshuis panel (the kneeling bishop) is still unknown. The comparison of the two works in the presentation will be revealing.

Flemish Master
Rogier van der Weyden (1399 – 1464) is considered the most important Flemish painter of his time after Jan van Eyck (1390-1441). Both masters were innovative, mainly due to the development of oil painting. By applying thin layers of transparent oil paint over each other on a light surface, they achieved an unprecedented intensity of colour. The technique also made it possible to paint with a smooth brush, which allowed the Flemish painters to work much more precisely than ever before. They located Biblical scenes in settings from their native countryside, which they depicted with an abundance of naturalistic details. Jan van Eyck was unparalleled in his ability to create his crystal clear images that seem entirely realistic. Rogier van der Weyden added an important element to that naturalism: he painted emotions. His characters are moved to tears, cover their eyes or wring their hands as an expression of grief. Such emotions are very present in the Mauritshuis’s Lamentation.

The Lamentation of Christ
Immediately after the death of Christ, he was taken down from the cross and mourned. At the heart of the image, Mary kneels down in tears with her dead son, supported by the apostle John and surrounded by Biblical figures who were traditionally thought to have been present at that moment. A bishop, who must have commissioned the painting, kneels at the feet of Christ. The Lamentation of Christ takes place in a green, hilly landscape with Jerusalem in the distance. The walled city and the other buildings in the background have little to do with the Holy Land; the gate buildings, the castle with stepped gables and the dovecote on the right look Flemish.

The Lamentation of Christ was purchased in 1827 for 3,000 guilders by order of King William I. It is the only painting by Van der Weyden in a Dutch museum. It was acquired as a work by Hans Memling, but was ultimately attributed to Rogier van der Weyden. As is often the case, the workshop had a large share in the execution of the painting.

Support
The exhibition Rogier van der Weyden Unveiled is made possible with the support of the estate Mr and Mrs Schoufour-Martin.

For more information, click here.

New AFMh Board Members

The American Friends of the Mauritshuis is pleased to announce the election of three new Board members. The new Board members—with their varied backgrounds—further extend the AFMh’s Board expertise across a range of disciplines including curating, collecting, arts management, non-profit and museum leadership, philanthropy, Dutch-American relations, business, finance and more. We are delighted to welcome the following new members:

Stein Berre, Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

To view Stein Berre’s profile, click here.

Freddy Boom, Head North America for Industrials, Services & Transportation, Global Banking at Standard Chartered Bank, based in New York

To view Freddy Boom’s profile, click here.

Adam Eaker, Assistant Curator of European Paintings, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

To view Adam Eaker’s profile, click here.

The AFMh thanks its Board members stepping down at the end of 2017:

Otto Naumann
Peter Sutton

Fay Hartog Levin Receives Royal Decoration

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Henne Schuwer presented AFMh Board member and former US Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin a royal decoration and inducted her as an officer into the Order of Orange Nassau for her longstanding commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship between the Netherlands and the United States.

To read more, click here.

2018/19 AFMh-Fulbright Fellow

The AFMh is pleased to announce its new Fulbright Fellow, Kathryn Harada.

Kathryn (Kat) Harada is thrilled to be the 2018-2019 American Friends of the Mauritshuis/Fulbright Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the Mauritshuis. Kat graduated from Smith College in 2008 with a BA in Art History and Italian, and earned an M.A. and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Art Conservation from SUNY Buffalo State College in 2017. She worked as a pre-program conservation intern at Shangri La, Doris Duke’s former residence in Honolulu before attending Buffalo. During her graduate training, she focused on the research and treatment of Old Master to 19th century painting and held internships at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Gallery of Art. Kat will be moving to Den Haag from Los Angeles, where she is currently completing a post graduate internship year at the J. Paul Getty Museum. There, she is working on two Italian panel paintings, a 14th century Taddeo Gaddi and a 17th century Giulio Cesare Procaccini. Additionally, she is studying a painting on cardboard by 19th century French artist, Henri de Toulous-Lautrec. Kat loves to work on challenging treatments, and is especially interested in artists’ materials, and the ethics and impact of historic restoration practice on Old Master paintings. Kat is very excited to work with and learn from the exceptional paintings conservators at the Mauritshuis and to collaborate with students and researchers at the University of Amsterdam during her Fellowship year in the Netherlands, and is very grateful to the American Friends of the Mauritshuis for their generous support of this opportunity.

For more information about the Fulbright-American Friends of the Mauritshuis award, please click here.

Jan Steen’s Histories

In the recently closed exhibition, Jan Steen’s Histories, at the Mauritshuis presented a selection of Jan Steen’s finest history paintings. This seventeenth-century Dutch artist is best known as a painter of chaotic and disorderly scenes of everyday life, which gave rise to the popular Dutch proverb ‘a Jan Steen household’. But he also painted very different subjects: stories from the Bible, classical mythology and antiquity. On view at the Mauritshuis from 15 February until 13 May 2018, this stellar exhibition was supported by the American Friends of the Mauritshuis. AFMh Board member Dr. Mariët Westermanncontributed to the catalogue.

To view the posting in the Apollo Magazine, click here.

For more information on the exhibition at the Mauritshuis, click here.

AFMh Launches New Website

The American Friends of the Mauritshuis are pleased to announce the launch of the new website, afmauritshuis.org. The website offers a cleaner, more contemporary look, as well as greater reliability. By enabling AFMh to directly update content of the site, and by including an event registration module the cost of operating the website will be reduced.

The new site accommodates on-line member donations at prescribed levels and online payments of any amount. The website was built by Jos and Martin Scheffelaar of Scheffelaar Consulting LLC of Boston, in coordination with the marketing department of the Mauritshuis in the Netherlands.

Former Mauritshuis interns attend 45th Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works in Chicago – From left: Megan Salazar Walsh (2013-14), Laura Hartman (2012-13), Ellen Nigro (2017-18), Julie Ribits (2015-16) and Dina Anchin (2011-12). Missing: Lauren Bradley (2010-11).