THE HAND OF THE MASTER

Materials and Techniques of Pieter Bruegel the Elder

6 - 8 December 2018

Programme  

The Hand of the Master

Materials and Techniques of Pieter Bruegel the Elder

 

In conjunction with the exhibition:

Bruegel - The Hand of the Master

October 2, 2018-January 13, 2019

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Curated by Elke Oberthaler, Sabine Pénot, Manfred Sellink and Ron Spronk,
with Alice Hoppe-Harnoncourt

 

This symposium is part of an important exhibition and research project on the creative processes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and is organized by Elke Oberthaler (Head of Paintings Conservation, Kunsthistorisches Museum), Sabine Pénot (Curator for Netherlandish and Dutch Painting, Kunsthistorisches Museum), Manfred Sellink (Director, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp and Professor of Art History, Ghent University) and Ron Spronk (Professor of Art History, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and Radboud University, Nijmegen), with Alice Hoppe-Harnoncourt (Kunsthistorisches Museum). The exhibition presents the findings of this study, including technical investigations and art historical and provenance research, to the public. Showcasing his paintings, drawings and prints, this seminal, first-ever major monographic exhibition on Pieter Bruegel the Elder opens on October 2, 2018.

The symposium will bring together renowned Bruegel scholars, conservators, and scientists who will offer new insights into Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s paintings, drawings and prints. We will focus at material and technical aspects. The symposium offers a unique opportunity for discussion and exchange, and to see Bruegel‘s original works that have been assembled for the exhibition. All papers presented at the symposium will be included in autumn 2019 in an essay volume published by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in collaboration with Hannibal Publishing.

Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Bassano Hall

Registration is closed.
 

Registered participants are asked to sign in at the Symposium Desk at the entrance hall of the KHM. All necessary information will be provided there.

The Desk will be open Thursday, 6 Dec. from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Later arrivals will be served at the KHM-Information desk.

Programme

Thursday, 6 Dec.

2 - 4.30 p.m. // Opening and Afternoon Session
2-2.30 p.m.

Greetings
Sabine Haag (Director General, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), Stefan Weppelmann (Director of the Picture Gallery, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) and David Maenaut (Delegate of Flanders in Central Europe)

2.30-3 p.m.

Pieter Bruegel. Draughtsman and Painter in Antwerp Exploring His Origins and Friends (Episode 1)
Jan Van der Stock (Illuminare - University of Leuven, Belgium)

3-3.30 p.m.

Bruegel’s Paintings in the Early Years of the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Alice Hoppe-Harnoncourt (Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna)

3.30-4 p.m.

Bruegel Scholarship in Vienna
Sabine Pénot (Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna)

4-4.30 p.m.

Developments in Bruegel Scholarship
Manfred Sellink (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp)

Friday, 7 Dec.

8-10 a.m.

Discussion in the Gallery – Joint Visit to the Bruegel Exhibition

10-10.30 a.m.

Coffee

10.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. // Morning Session
10.30-11 a.m.

The Function of Drawings in the Oeuvre of Bruegel. Study of his Working Methods, Materials and Techniques
Joris Van Grieken (Bibliothèque royale de Belgique / Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, Brussels) andLieve Watteeuw (Illuminare - University of Leuven, Belgium)

11-11.30 a.m.

The Parable of the Blind and Misanthrope. Tüchlein from the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples
Angela Cerasuolo (Museo di Capodimonte, Naples)

11.30-12 a.m.

Bruegel in Black and White
Aviva Burnstock (The Courtauld Institute of Art, London)

12-12.30 p.m.

Bruegel and the Tradition of Book Illumination
Till-Holger Borchert (Musea Brugge, Bruges)

12.30-2 p.m.

Lunch

2 - 5.30 p.m. // Afternoon Session
2-2.30 p.m.

Traces of Lost Pieter Bruegel Paintings Revealed Through Derivative Paintings, Phantom Copies, and Dealer Practices
Hans J. Van Miegroet (Duke University, Durham NC, USA)

2.30-3 p.m.

Observations on the Genesis of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Conversion of Saul, and the Examination of Some Copies
Christina Currie (KIK/IRPA, Brussels) and Dominique Allart (Université de Liège)

3-3.30 p.m.

Bruegel as Second Bosch. Another look at the Washington St Anthony and copies of Bosch’s Prado Adoration of the Magi
Ron Spronk (Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario / Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen)

3.30-4 p.m.

Coffee

4-4.30 p.m.

Technological Research of the Panel Two Monkeys and the Making of a Reconstruction
Babette Hartwieg and Bertram Lorenz (Staatliche Museen, Berlin)

4.30-5 p.m.

The Restauration of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Triumph of Death in the Museo del Prado
Maria Antonia López de Asiaín and José de la Fuente Martinez (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid) – in Spanish

5-5.30 p.m.

The Cleaning and Restoration of Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Panel Painting The Suicide of Saul
Elke Oberthaler (Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna)

Saturday, 8 Dec.

9.30 a.m. - 1.30 p.m. //  Morning Session
9.30-10 a.m.

Dendrochronology of the Panels by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in the Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
Pascale Fraiture and Armelle Weitz (KIK/IRPA, Brussels)

10-10.30 a.m.

Bruegel’s Panel Paintings in Vienna. Remarks on Their Construction and Condition
Ingrid Hopfner and Georg Prast (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

10.30-11 a.m.

Textile Worlds in Bruegel’s Paintings. A Contribution to Costume History of the Sixteenth Century
Katja Schmitz-von Ledebur (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

11-11.30 a.m.

Coffee

11.30-12 a.m.

Between Brussels and Antwerp. New Perspectives on Bruegel’s Cycle of the Seasons
Tine Luk Meganck (Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique / Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, Brussels)

12-12.30 p.m.

Peter Bruegel and Realia. Context and Reception of His Paintings
Claudia Goldstein (William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, USA)

12.30-1 p.m.

No Signposts – Neither in Life nor in Death. Peasant and Nestrobber, The Conversion of Saul, The Triumph of Death
Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat (Universität für angewandte Kunst, Vienna) – in German

1-1.30 p.m.

Final Remarks – Summary
(Elke Oberthaler, Sabine Pénot, Manfred Sellink, Ron Spronk)