The procedures of sheet production have undergone testing after selected fabrics were prepared by Gangolf Ulbricht, Berlin, to achieve a pulp quality appropriate for our research.
Top row: moist pulp weighted, dispersing a pulp sample, checking the pulp dispersion; bottom row: sheet formation, water drainage, couching; right: first set of paper samples
The freshly gelatin-sized sheets were hung up for drying.
We tested the selected 3 colorants for dilution and details of the application process noting the qualities of repeat applications.
Berlin, February 2022: Above on view the current exhibition: Hell’s Black and Starlight. Dante’s Divine Comedy in Modern and Contemporary Art, 12.02.2022 to 08.05.2022.
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, June through October 2022: On view the exhibition „Holzschnitt
1400 bis heute”, 03.06.2022–11.09.2022,
June 2022: The team in Stuttgart evaluates the sample set after a first accelerated aging step. After one week of moist-heat aging the differences between aged samples (in the picture, they can be distinguished because they are resting on white papers) and non-aged references are still small, as desired at this stage.
Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, November 2022. Current exhibition: Hannah-Höch-Preis 2022. Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt. Wie eine Spinne im Netz. 02.11.2022 until 05.02.2023
Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, November 2022: A paper sample set (see left) on view in the current exhibition.
The sample sets undergo different testing regimes at our three partner institutions: At the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin, three sets are exposed to museum and gallery-style lighting situations. Two sets undergo accelerated climate and light aging at the Stuttgart Academy. Color changes in the Berlin and Stuttgart sets are recorded colorimetrically. Stuttgart sets also undergo MFT using an instrument with LED source. The Rathgen-Forschungslabor in Berlin and the Technische Universität Dresden work with a Xenon-source MFT on sample sets.
At Stuttgart, Marie Kern is preparing paper samples for accelerated aging.
Febrruary–March 2023: At the Kupferstichkabintt, the sets of exhibited samples were unframed and colorimetrically measured. Stuttgart paper conservation student Janine Nedela was in charge of these measurements, supported by the Kupferstichkabinett conservation department staff.
Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, March 2023. Current exhibition: “Muse oder Macherin? Frauen in der italienischen Kunstwelt 1400 – 1800“. 08.03.2023 until 04.06.2023
March 4–5, 2024: Impressions from the two-day workshop “Microfading Testing und Kunstwerke auf Papier”. The workshop was hosted at the Kupferstichkabinett Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and the Rathgen Forschungslabor, both at the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. We presented our research to a group of conservators responsible for preservation in large collections where light-budgeting is a constant preservation theme with works on paper. Top left to right: Talks presented at the Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; Giulia Vannucci demonstrates the xenon-MFT instrument; Marie Kern demonstrates the LED-MFT instrument; center right: participants during coffee break; bottom row, discussion groups: on light budgeting policy (left), on color changes of artworks (center), and the potential of MFT use in collection preservation.
Die gerettete Moderne – Meisterwerke von Kirchner bis Picasso
02.02.2024 bis 21.04.2024
In 1937, numerous works of classical modern art were removed also from the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett as part of the National Socialist “Degenerate Art” campaign. The curator at the time, Willy Kurth, bravely saved hundreds of prints from imminent loss. Based on the 2023 publication “Die Aktion ‘Entartete Kunst’ 1937 im Berliner Kupferstichkabinett”, the exhibition showed selected works to show what escaped confiscation at the time.
March 30, 2024: Official end of the three-year DFG project. The two Ph.D. candidates Giulia Vannucci and Marie Kern will continue completing their dissertations. The other team members will prepare manuscripts of the completed research for open access publication
May 28, 2024: Thomas Prestel presents his research and results of the project at the conservation colloquium at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Dresden.
June 12, 2024: The peer-reviewed journal Heritage Science has launched the Collection „Predicting the light-induced color change of white paper with MFT„. This is where we will submit the results of our collaborative research project.