Projects of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Thuringia, represented by the State Chancellery of Thuringia, Department of Culture and the Arts.
Conservation, restoration and art technology
About the department
The conservators who work in the department of conservation, restoration and art technology are responsible for more than managing and preserving the historical cultural objects from the collections of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. They take a leading role in complex processes related to scientific research, conservation, presentation and mediation of the exhibited objects. Their tasks range from the organization of (inter-)national loan transactions to the development of conservation-restoration concepts that contribute to the preservation of the unique cultural heritage.
Through the careful investigation oder examination of material and production techniques, conservators can clarify questions about the authenticity, condition and aging of the objects, as well as determine their date of origin. The academic training required for professional conservators enables interdisciplinary collaboration with other departments in related disciplines, e.g. the humanities, engineering and natural sciences, as the basis for preserving the extensive holdings. They also present their research findings for academic publications, press conferences and public events.
Specialist conservation Studios
At the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, seven specialist specialist conservation studios including Paintings, Prints and Graphic works, Decorative Arts, Furniture, Textiles and Leather and Preventive Conservation are supervised by corresponding specialist conservators and project-related employees. Storage administration is also part of the department and is ensured by three Storage supervisor. In addition, trainees and interns are trained and further educated in these diverse fields of activity as part of the promotion of young talent.
Paintings Conservation
The Klassik Stiftung Weimar is home to around 5,500 paintings dating between the 16th Century and the present. The term “painting” can be broadly defined in terms of materials and techniques, but generally refers to oil-based paintings on a variety of image carriers. These are predominantly textile fabrics, wooden panels and sculptures, but also metal, paper and ivory for miniature paintings. In addition to the classical paintings dating back 500 years, the the art collection also include medieval, sacred objects and a collection of icons. Only a small amount of these works of art are on permanent display in the approximately 20 properties owned and managed by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. Around two thirds of the collcetion are stored in the storage facilities.
In the lead-up to their transferral to the new central museum storage facility in 2015, the paintings were inspected to confirm their transportability and were subsequently secured and prepared. Conservators seized this opportunity to examine the objects systematically, document the painting technique and the condition. At the same time all the information gained has been digitised. Since then, the same procedure has been successively applied to all the paintings and extended as needed. Research on some paintings was carried out more intensively in connection to specific projects. In such cases, conservators usually collaborate with other institutions outside the Klassik Stiftung Weimar in a cross- and interdisciplinary manner, e.g. with the Academy of fine arts Dresden (HfBK) for infrared and x-ray scanning. The knowledge gained about their technological structure, history of damage, and any prior conservation and restoration treatments carried out on them is documented in digital and analogue form to ensure accessibility for future generations.
Conservation of Textiles and Leather Objects
The textile conservation studio is responsible for preserving a widely diverse and multifaceted collection of objects dating from the early modern era to the present with a particular emphasis on Weimar Classicism and the Bauhaus years. These items include rugs, tapestries, clothing, accessories and decorative arts exhibits comprised of or with textile and leatherparts, such as upholstery or covers of furnitureand objects from Goethe’s natural scientific collection. This specialist unit bears the conservatorial responsibility for the entire collection of carriages and historical vehicles.
When working with these objects, the condition assessment, art technological and scientific analysis serve as the basis for all further steps – from drafting a conservation and restoration concept to implementing treatment to preserve the objects and increase their comprehensibility and interpretability. Complex requirements in the analysis and development of new methods of conservation and restoration treatments and their implementation demand a high degree of specialisation with expertise regarding materiality and manufacturing processes. The conservation-restoration of three-dimensional objects can be especially challenging as they often consist of multiple layers. Textiles and leather are very fragile materials and preserving them is particularly complicated as these components are often among the most severely damaged parts of an object. Consequently, it is especially important to collaborate with the Preventive Conservation unit, which is currently being co-supervised by the conservator for textiles and objects made of leather. As numerous biocides were used in the past to protect museum objects, this aspect of health and safety while working is also an important task of this unit.
Furniture Conservation
The specialist unit for conservation-restoration of furniture and wooden objects is currently responsible for preserving a total inventory of approximately 4,700 objects dating from the early modern era to the present. About a half of these are on permanent display. In addition to the residences of the poets and the ducal estate, this unit also manages the Ducal Vault, historical keyboard instruments, and objects from Goethe’s natural scientific collection. Complex combinations of various materials with wooden elements in decorative arts objects, as well as textiles and leather in furniture, require interdisciplinary collaboration with the expert conservators in the areas of arts and crafts and textiles/leather.
In addition to the main workplace of conservation in the storage facilities, which was occupied between 2014-2018, and the numerous remote exhibition locations, one of the main tasks is the intensive examination of the furniture collection. The unit also conducts condition surveys and art-technological analyses as the basis for developing conservation and restoration concepts, and conservation work on (inter-)national loan traffic objects as further core tasks. As a rule, scientifically supported object analyses serve as the basis for investigation and condition recording, supplemented by comparisons with written source materials and external expertise if necessary.
In cooperation with an external conservator of musical instruments, this unit oversees the conservation management of the collection of historical keyboard instruments, which includes ongoing condition monitoring and further investigation. The challenge of maintaining the Ducal Vault is particularly complex. The conservation tasks must be carried out with consideration to ethical matters related to burial sites and the complicated climatic conditions within the vault.
Prints and Drawings Conservation
More information will be posted here shortly.
Conservation of Decorative Arts and Modern Materials
This unit is responsible for conserving and restoring the entire collection of decorative arts objects as well as objects of modern materials. Using image-rendering techniques and scientific methods, some 45,000 artistic and cultural works are analysed to detect possible traces of work, materials and causes of damage.
The decorative arts collections contain exquisite treasures dating from the Middle Ages through Weimar Classicism to early modernism around 1900. The objects consist of a wide variety of materials and combinations thereof, including glass, ceramics, porcelain, various metals, enamel, wax, amber, ivory, precious stones, marble and plastics. As a result, the conservators in this field must possess a high level of expertise on a wide variety of materials.
Working with decorative arts objects involves creating conservation and restoration concepts, developing appropriate methods and materials. The work focuses on conservation and cleaning, the removal of older restoration measures, fixing loose fragments consolidations, additions of missing parts, colour retouching and documenting the work carried out.
Preventive Conservation
This conservation studio for Preventive Conservation is responsible for planning suitable measures for safeguarding cultural assets. In order to ensure the long-term preservation of the numerous objects in the collections maintained by the Directorate of Museums, , the focus lays on slowing down the natural, material-specific ageing processes.
In the first place, it is necessary to identify causes of damage and their corresponding damage potential. The conservators examine the collections or historic room furnishings in terms of their environmental conditions and assess the factors which could inflict damage. This includes monitoring and optimising the climate and lighting conditions, checking for pest infestation and taking measures against it if necessary, avoiding pollutants and reducing contaminants. The conservators regularly monitor the efficacy of these measures and ensure their continuous implementation. They are also involved in developing safety concepts and emergency plans.
A fundamental characteristic of preventative conservation is the interdisciplinary cooperation between experts in various fields of conservation-restoration and those who work to preserve culturalheritage. Consequently, conservators need a special degree of communication skills and scientific and technical know-how.
Storage administration
Three storage supervisor and their colleagues are responsible for managing and digitalising around 250,000objects. The place where it all happens is the central museum storage facility which opened in 2015 with an integrated conservation-restoration centre.Basically all of the movable art and cultural items are being stored here.The storage administration staff is also responsible for managing the other storage facilities in the Bauhaus Museum, the Museum Neues Weimar, the deep storage of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek and two interim storage facilities.
Key tasks of storage administration include information and data management. This entails systematically cataloguing the collection in the museum database and managing the location administration using a QR-code system to facilitate digital object management. Photographing the objects and adding relevant object information to the museum database are fundamental aspects of database management. These methods significantly contribute to the digital access of the collection.
Furthermore, conducting audits and periodic checks of the collection is an essential part of the day-to-day work in storage administration. This includes continuous monitoring of the environmental conditions inside the storage areas and managing the controlled atmosphere chamber. In addition to monitoring occupational safety and participating in emergency management, the storage supervisors are extensively involved in loan transactions for special and permanent exhibitions.
Behind the scenes
Take a look behind the scenes and learn more about our current conservation-restoration and research projects in the Department of Conservation, Restoration and Art technology.