Brill-Nuncius Seminar: Histories of Conservation Science and Scientific Conservation after World War II, October 20th 2023.
Location: Belle van Zuylen Room, Academiegebouw (Utrecht University), Dom Square, Utrecht

Organisation: Sven Dupré and Esther van Dujin

This seminar focuses on the disciplinary formation of conservation science and scientific conservation in the post-World War II period. The seminar considers the post-World War II – period up to the 1970s when some conservation theorists, confronted with the processual and intangible aspects of contemporary art, questioned the dominance of conservation science and the principles of scientific conservation. The focus of the seminar is on diverse actors, including scientists and science policymakers, collectors and conservators, museum professionals and administrators, and the institutional contexts in which these actors operated (e.g. museums, universities, laboratories, conservation studios).

PROGRAMME

09:00-09:30: Registration
09:30- 09:35: Welcome by Sven Dupré and Esther van Duijn

09:35-10:20: Thierry Ford (National Museum of Art): "A Scandinavian Awakening: the Emergence of Science in Conservation at the National Gallery in Oslo (1956-1974)", Commentator: Ella Hendriks, University of Amsterdam

10:20-11:05: Ana Gonzalez Mozo (Prado Museum): "The Role of the Trustees and the Direction of the Museo del Prado in Guiding Restorations and Scientific Studies between 1940 and 1970", Commentator: Eveline Deneer, Utrecht University

11:05-11:30: Coffee/tea Break

11:30:12:15: Angela Cerasuolo (Capodimonte Museum): "The Founding of the Capodimonte Museum in 1957 and the Creation of its Conservation Laboratory: Scientific Conservation and Restoration in Naples in the Context of Post-war Italy", Commentator: Giulia de Vivo, Rijksmuseum

12:15-13:00: Leib Celnik (John Hopkins University), "The Smithsonian Institution and the Rise of the American Conservation Laboratory After World War II", Commentator: Ernst Homburg, Maastricht University

13:00-14:00: Lunch break (on location for speakers and organizers)

14:00-14:45: Hero Lotti (independent researcher): "The Foundation of the International Institute for the Conservation of Museum Objects (IIC) and the Fight for Scientific Conservation", Commentator: Geert Somsen, Maastricht University, VU University of Amsterdam

14:45-15:30: Marco Cardinali (researcher ar Emmebi Diagnostica Artistica-Roma and visiting lecturer at University of Valencia and Stockholm University): "X-ray Imaging Techniques and the Quest for Reliable Insight into Paintings", Commentator: Ron Spronk, Radboud University, Queen’s University

15:30-16:00: Coffee/tea Break

16:00-16:45: Noémie Étienne (University of Vienna): "Global Conservation: Missing Histories of Care", Commentator: Julie Deschepper, Utrecht University

16:45-17:30: Aga Wielocha (Bern Academy of the Arts): "Art in Flux: Towards the Future of Conservation", Commentator: Vivian van Saaze, Maastricht University, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands

17:30-17:40: Closing remarks

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This seminar is funded by the Descartes Centre (Utrecht University), Brill Publishers and NICAS.

Registration and further information:
If you want to participate in the seminar, please register via https://forms.gle/vu79dedWttmnF69u7.
Please note that seats are limited to 60 participants: as such, we ask you to only register if you definitely intend to come, and to contact us if you are no longer able to make it.
For any questions or other info, e-mail us at: brillnunciusseminar2023gmail.com.