Leseprobe

48 Capturing Nature’s Colors Tamar Davidowitz Capturing Nature’s Colors The Technical Examination and Conservation of Painted Finishes on Silver Life-Casts In recent years, conservators at the Rijksmuseum and at the University of Amsterdam, in collaboration with Columbia University, have been investigating the early-modern process of life-casting in silver. This research has focused on all aspects of the technique, from the preparation of the moulds to the surface finishes. The intention of life-casting was to pro- duce direct copies of actual plants and animals in extraordinary detail, including their nuanced color and texture. The paints and varnishes used to enhance the surfaces of life- casts not only served a decorative function, but also acted as a protective coating. Intact original finish layers are rare as they have often since degraded, been damaged, retouched, replaced, or removed entirely. An extensive study of contemporary sources and technical analyses were carried out in an effort to understand the methods and materials used to produce life-casts and how to best preserve them. Research into the finish layers focused largely on two objects from the Rijksmuseum collection containing life-casts: the Merkel Centerpiece (inv. no. BK-17040) completed by Wenzel Jamnitzer inNuremburg in 1549 (fig. 1), and the Diana Automaton (inv. no. BK-17010) produced by Jacob Miller in Augsburg in 1613 (fig. 2). The Merkel Centerpiece life-casts are still clearly decorated by partially intact paint and varnish layers, and analysis centered on determining their composition and authenticity. 1 In the case of the Diana Automaton, the life-casts no longer seemed to feature any visible decorative surface layers. However, as similar examples of this object in other collections do feature them, the aim was to identi- fy and analyze possible remnant paint layers not visible to the naked eye before performing any conservation treatment, ensuring no original material would be lost. Indeed, in this case, and potentially in many others, remnants of surface decoration were found (fig. 3). Contemporary sources were initially used to determine the possible composition of paints and varnishes originally used to decorate life-casts. One rare and remarkably detailed manuscript at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (inv. no. BnF. Ms. Fr. 640) provided sig- nificant insight, and was therefore the primary historical source used. While other sources describing this technique do exist, this manuscript contains the most extensive descriptions known of life-cast production, including the materials and methods used to prepare the animals and plants, the investment and casting processes, and the final finishing tech- niques.