The Infill. The original Infill, that is.

Roy G. Biv

Whilst we doubt that any of you have forgotten (and, on the contrary, are celebrating on a regular basis), it’s nonetheless perhaps worth a reminder that 2015 is the UNESCO International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies. And what represents light more than colour? As part of the festivities, COLOURS2015: Bridging Art with Science will explore the subject of colour and art. We’re particularly looking forward to see what is presented in the ‘Colour deterioration: case studies in conservation and restoration’ topic.

Not coloured at all is a newly discovered (behind a bedroom door, no less) pencil and chalk study for that Pre-Raphaelite gem, Sir Frederic Leighton’s Flaming June. But we couldn’t resist mentioning it here, because WOW, talk about colour in the final painting: flaming hot orange, indeed!

And whilst we’re talking ‘WOW’, have you seen Anita Chowdry’s visually stunning post on Preparing Shell Gold, and the eye-popping eye candy slides in Daisy Todd’s The Non-Conservation of a Reverse Glass Print? Of course you have – The Gathering is the absolute highlight of your week!

You may have noticed that we’re talking about colour. You may also have recently been pondering that age-old question: what exactly is the optimal ratio determination of binders and pigments in oil paint production? Well they’ve been pondering it in Slovenia too and it looks like they’ve come up with an answer. Now, Van Gogh might possibly have neither pondered the question nor known its answer, but he sure as hell knew how to use oil paint. In the spirit of the colour explosion that is spring, we share with you some of his sumptuous irises and roses. And they’re so visually delectable we’re treating you to an irises and roses video as well.

We’re so dizzy with colour we just can’t stop: we’ve got restored stained glass windows in Paris. We’ve got books with coloured plates (some monstrous books with coloured plates!). But we’ve also got teeny tiny illuminated Renaissance manuscripts in rich jewel tones (free virtual lecture included). Finally, although perhaps not quite suitable for your next paper repair project but an optical treat nonetheless: tosa washi, in all the colours of the rainbow!

Conservation and ‘restoration’: the good, the bad and the ugly

Il buono

• Laser cleaning of the New York Peace Monument located, slightly unexpectedly, in the state of Tennessee – but only for those not afraid of heights
• ‘Restoring’ Iraqi art, and we’re not using those inverted commas to mock – this is clever, inspiring and encouraging stuff!
• Painting revealed as genuine Titian. We love a good ‘conservation hero’ story like this.

Il cattivo

• Ancient mosaics in Turkey damaged during restoration: even professionals make mistakes, but when it comes to preserving cultural heritage the only ethical thing to do is be up-front about it.

Il brutto

• We can’t actually confirm that any of these ugly Renaissance babies have been either conserved or ‘restored’, but we’re guessing that statistically it must have happened to at least one.

Why, no, Officer, I just thought this was the way to the loo

Nice try. Luckily, clever officials from the Israeli Antiquities Authority weren’t quite so gullible during their encounter with a pair of feckless attempted grave robbers at an ancient Roman archaeological site in Galilee. Love the ‘caught in the act’ photo.

And in other art-theft news, we were happy to read that some ‘Monuments Men’ artwork has been returned to its rightful owners in Germany: three historic paintings won, believe it or not, in a poker game. Good to see the paintings’ dignity has been restored (no pun intended).

Internet cats are so last month

In the last Infill, we introduced you to the frighteningly web-handed Medieval Manuscript Yoda. This week on Facebook, we shared with you a scary yet slightly amusing War of the Worlds alien drawing from 1906. But the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremburg has really upped the ante with an entire exhibition on terrifying creatures, including ‘terrifying monsters, hellish demons, child-eaters and vampires’. We’re sleeping with the lights on tonight!

Your video treat of the week:

is actually just an audio clip (frustratingly – this is begging for some video). But if you believe in magic, then then maybe you can conjure up the images on your own.

The final word…

… or should we say ‘final diatribe’, goes to Hikane, long-suffering first-century mother of ne’er-do-well Isidoros, proving that neglecting to Skype your mother on a regular basis is not just a modern phenomenon!

For those of you in the UK, enjoy your bank holiday weekend. For our US readers, Happy Memorial Day! And for everyone else, we’ll be thinking of you during our BBQ on Monday. Cheers, The Infillers 

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