Conservation Restoration Research

Jonghelinck was one of many Netherlandish artists of his generation that traveled to Italy. Originating from Antwerp, he worked in the Leoni workshop in 1552 and settled in Brussels on his return north, where he became a prominent court artist. His sculptural oeuvre is today scattered over the world and hasn’t received much technical attention. The tradition of bronze sculpture in the Netherlands leaps from the more ornamental brass works of Jan Aert van Tricht to the life size Renaissance figures of Jonghelinck, with very little in between (Leone Leoni and Conrad Meit were working in Brussels in this period, but little is known about their influence and the broader sculptural developments in that time). A comparison between the works of Jonghelinck and that of his northern predecessors might tell us something about the impact of Italian bronze sculpture on the techniques of Netherlandish workshops. As Jonghelincks early carrier forms a striking similarity to that of Giambologna, Adriaen de Vries and others, this paper might also contribute to a deeper understanding of the background of this particular group of sculptors.

When Constantijn Huygens collected a treatise on life-casting in 1629, this fascinating casting technique was already past its Renaissance heyday. Admired, and perhaps even practiced, by sovereigns, this technique used material from nature as a model to reproduce in metal. These very intricate and life-like castings were highly priced and could be found frequently in cabinets of curiosity.
Intriguing masterpieces in precious metal incorporating life-casts, usually from Southern German origin, survive in collections for example Wenzel Jamnitzer’s Merkel table ornament in the Rijksmuseum. Evidence for the existence of life-casts and the practice of life-casting in the Netherlands was not known until quite recently. Although references to gold and silver flowers can be found frequently in inventories in the Low Countries, they usually do not specify their method of manufacture.
Contemporary practical descriptions of the technique of life-casting are known in German, French and English but recently the first Dutch source was discovered amongst Constantijn Huygens’ papers detailing the procedure to cast small animals (beestjens) and flowers( blommen) from life. Through the use of contemporary inventories and treatises and reconstruction, this paper aims to shed light on the hitherto unknown occurrence of life-casts and the practice of life-casting in the Early Modern Low Countries.

Co-authors: Tonny Beentjes, Arie Pappot

--> http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3828/sj.2017.26.1.4
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Jacques Jonghelinck (1530-1606) was one of many Netherlandish artists of his generation that traveled to Italy. Originating from Antwerp, he worked in the Leoni workshop in 1552 and settled in Brussels on his return north, where he became a prominent court artist. Today, the sculptural oeuvre of Jonghelinck is scattered over the world, and has not received much technical attention. The tradition of bronze sculpture in the Netherlands leaps from the more ornamental brass works of Jan Aert van Tricht to the life size Renaissance figures of Jonghelinck, with very little in between (Leone Leoni and Conrad Meit were working in Brussels in this period, but little is known about their influence and the broader sculptural developments in that time). As Jonghelincks early career is strikingly similar to that of Giambologna, Adriaen de Vries and others, this paper might also contribute to a deeper understanding of the background of this particular group of sculptors. A comparison between his works and that of Leone and Pompeo Leoni (1509-1590 and 1533-1608) tells us more about the impact of Italian bronze sculpture on the techniques of Netherlandish workshops, and helps determine the characteristics of Jonghelinck's bronzes. In both workshop practice and his use of materials, Jonghelinck clearly followed his Milanese employer. Alas, not that many monumental sculptures left the artist's workshop, but the pieces that did demonstrate his artistic resourcefulness. In this paper, particular attention is paid to the Planet Series to support this statement. Additionally, we argue that the artist might have been trained by an Augsburg master, as a result of which he would have become the perfect Renaissance bronze sculptor with an outstanding background in goldsmithing.

This research was first presented at the Robert H. Smith Renaissance Sculpture Conference 'International connections: Renaissance sculptors and their impact abroad', Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2015.

In 2010, the Rijksmuseum began research on a group of tomb figures presumably made in central China between A.D. 7th and 9th century. During a previous treatment, an iron armature had been discovered inside one of the horses. The other figures were examined to find out if they also have a metal armature and to confirm the date of production. The main goal of this study was to investigate how the figures were produced. Based on research and observations on the objects, a hypothesis for the production process was formulated, and replica figures were modeled with an iron armature and fired. The combination of technical research with practical experimentation has resulted in a better understanding of how and when the figures were produced.
pp 149-158

A group of tomb figures in the Rijksmuseum’s collection consists of four horses and two camels made of grey terracotta. Two detachable saddles and four detachable riders with saddles are placed on the back of the animals, making it a twelve-piece set. The dating, analysis of the materials and the production process form the body of this richly illustrated article.