Symposium

New perspectives on Karel Appel’s use of materials and techniques

DEPOT Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, June 24, 2024

The conservation and restoration of artworks from the latter half of the 20th century is facing new challenges due to the increasing use of diverse techniques and complex industrial materials as well as its aesthetic significance within modern and contemporary art. They have led the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands to dedicate a research program to meet them. One of the projects pertaining to this program focuses on three major Dutch artists: Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Jan Schoonhoven (1914-1994) and Karel Appel (1921-2006), because all aspects of such challenges occur in the work of these three iconic artists. Following the symposium Mondrian and Schoonhoven: paint, surfaces and alteration, staged at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag on October 13th 2023, this event, a coproduction of the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and the Karel Appel Foundation, hosted by at DEPOT Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, addressed the diverse materials and techniques used by Karel Appel during his long career, their meaning within his artistic practice, and the problems they may pose for the conservation of his works.

The challenges

All museum collections for modern and contemporary art contain paintings that are made in a non-traditional way. These works are particularly vulnerable because the surface is often not varnished, and the artists have used techniques and materials that exhibit different degradation phenomena than the well-known ones. Discoloration, peeling of paint layers, dripping paint and white efflorescence affect the stability of the painting and its appearance. Contamination of the surface requires cleaning methods, while the works are sensitive to water, solvents and touch. Overpainting (sometimes by the artist himself) raises questions about the originality of the surface.

So far, knowledge about the best care for the heritage of the modern era has been scattered or insufficiently developed. For a good analysis of the most urgent questions and forecasts for the future, it is important to understand the past of the objects. Knowledge of historical materials and techniques, the influence of restoration interventions and environmental factors such as light, temperature, moisture and pollution is indispensable. The key is the artist: what materials did he use and why those and no others?

The Heritage of the 20th Century program has been structured into three themes

1. Material; Increasing knowledge and expertise with regard to production, application, and aging of materials
2. Tools for better conservation and preservation of the object or its materials
3. Value and use; promote social appreciation and therefore the best possible use

Through the projects falling within the first theme, the RCE investigates a number of specific paintings and reliefs by 20th-century artists in order to map out the risks for the management and preservation of similar works and to offer tools for this. For more information see: Heritage of the 20th-century | Cultural Heritage Agency.

One of those projects, specifically addressing ‘Painting surfaces by Mondrian, Appel and Schoonhoven’, provided the framework for the two symposia, the second of which is published here. It had an explicitly interdisciplinary set up in order to address issues of meaning in relation to the material used.

The speakers

These were the speakers on the symposium. Click on a speaker to view their full presentation.