The Crucifixion by the Master of the Lindau Lamentation
Museum Catharijne Convent
Utrecht, Netherlands
2021
Master of the Lindau Lamentation, Crucifixion, ca. 1425, Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht
The Gothic panel depicting the Crucifixion (ca. 1425) by the Master of the Lindau Lamentation was discovered in poor condition after having been kept in the Museum Catharijne Convent depot for decades. Whilst the work has been cleaned of dirt and yellowing varnish, past retouches and darkened overlays have resulted in an analysis of the panels' original colour. The background is thought to be an overpaint of blue azurite over an original gilt surface.
On the 8th and 9th July 2021, in collaboration with the Museum Catharijne Convent, Utrecht University, Leiden University and Technische Universiteit Delft, the Factum Foundation carried out a non-contact, high-resolution 3D and colour recording of the painting. The panel was recorded using the Lucida 3D Scanner and panoramic composite photography. The recording was the subject of an online symposium organised by the Catharijne Convent and TU Delft University to show the importance of high-resolution digitisation in heritage preservation and conservation.
The Crucifixion was scanned by Carlos Bayod (Lucida 3D Scanner) and Gabriel Scarpa (panoramic composite photography) of the Factum Foundation, with the assistance of Celestia Anstruther. The digital data obtained from the recording was processed at the Factum Foundation in Madrid to generate a multi-layered view of the painting as a starting point for an experimental process of non-contact digital restoration that will be carried out by teams of art historians, technicians, restorers.
In 2022, the project moved to its next phase, with the creation of two physical facsimiles of the Crucifixion painted in ca. 1425 by the Master of the Lindau Lamentation. A grant by the Netherlands Institute for Conservation+Art+Science allowed academics Liselore Tissen and Sanne Frequin to use Factum’s non-contact technology to re-think this painting using digital restoration. Experiencing the physical facsimiles in different settings (candlelight in a church or museum environment), supported by data from new eye-tracking technology, will inform final decisions about the physical restoration of the panel.
Detail of the surface of the panel © courtesy of Museum Catharijne Convent
Recording the colour using composite photography © Factum Foundation
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