Thanks to the kind collaboration of SRAL we delivered our 3-days Training program in Maastricht, The Netherlands, Jan 24-26 2018. SRAL, Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg, is a leading institute specialized in the conservation and restoration of paintings, sculptures, modern and contemporary artworks and historic interiors.
During our Training programs, students practiced the equipment and learned how to produce and interpret all the set of output data. The first-day we presented our Technical Photography kit to realize a set of Technical Photography images. On the second day, we explored Infrared Reflectography, RTI and Reflectance spectroscopy using Gorgias, our Reflectance Spectrometer for Art examination. Eventually, the Third day is about Multispectral Imaging, using Antonello, the MSI system and for a final review and consolidation of all the methods.
1st Day. Technical Photography
The first day is all about Technical Photography. We practiced with Pigments Checker to understand what information we can get from these images to identify pigments.
2nd Day. Practising Technical Photography
Before getting into the other modules for the second day (infrared reflectography, reflectance spectroscopy and RTI) we reviewed technical Photography using one of the many mock-up paintings available at SRAL.
Training for Institutions
Interested to learn our practical methods for art examination? You can invite us to deliver a training program in your location and institution. We have been serving a large community of worldwide institutes (click to see the list).
Contact us for info and quote.
FAQ
Q. What kind of location would you need to host your classes?
A. We just have few requirements. We need a room that can be made dark. The darker the better. We need to practice photographic methods such as UVF and IRF which require a dark space. We need power, both 110 (such as the US) or 220 V (as in Europe). Our equipment is designed to work in any Country.
Q. Should we also consider other costs such as materials?
A. No, our quote will cover everything.
Q. Should we ask participants to bring additional equipment with them?
A. No, we provide the training with our own traveling equipment.
Q. We appreciate your work and our Institution would like to invite you over to learn your methods. We’ll pay travel and lodging. Are you interested?
A. We are sorry, but we cannot accept your offer. CHSOS is a non-governmental initiative and it is sustained only by the community of art professionals and institutions that request our services: the Technical examination of art, Training programs, and our Tools. Indeed, we receive a number of invitations from Universities and Institutions from many Countries which we would really like to visit, but we cannot provide our services without charging our fee.
Q. Should we prepare material (paintings, manuscripts, drawing) to be analyzed during the training program?
A. It is not necessary. We bring our set of test panels which are sufficient to illustrate the methods and practice. On the other hand, we strongly encourage the hosting institution to provide access to selected art or archaeology pieces to be tested during the training. We suggest choosing colored objects since they are the most interesting to be analyzed with our imaging and spectroscopy methods.
Q. We are an institution working mostly on manuscripts conservation and we are interested in your training. Which one is a more effective solution for us? Sending one of our staff to attend your training in Italy or request a training program in our place?
We recommend institutions to request a training program in their location rather than send one of their staff to our training program organized in Italy. Having CHSOS in your institution for the a training program will benefit all of your art professionals staff. Generally, we get contacted by conservation scientists who understand more these scientific techniques. On the other hand, our training programs are aimed at the large audience of art professionals without specific science education, such as conservators, art historians, curators, registrars. Consequently, while the training program is usually requested by the conservation scientists in the institution, the lectures are enjoyed by all the staff with different academic backgrounds.
This training is actually a valid means for the scientists to present and promote the adoption of these scientific methods among their colleagues. Conservators, art historians, curators, they all can see what these techniques can provide to benefit their respective research and conservation workflow. Another important point about requesting training directly in your institution is that we can actually visit your laboratory. We can suggest you specific tools for your particular workflow, we can indicate how to upgrade equipment that you already own, we can test and tune up your tools. The bottom line is that a training program in your institution has a much more assessable impact that just sending one of your staff in Italy to us.
