The Artist’s Fingerprint. The manufa cturing technique in Johann Köler’s fresco Come unto Me, All…

Hilkka Hiiop: The Artist’s Fingerprint. The conservation and technical examination of Johann Köler’s fresco Come unto Me, All…Keywords: fresco painting, artist’s technique, artistic practice, technical conditions of th e painting, conservationSummary:The article focuses on the artist’s technique in Johann Köler’s apse painting in the fresco technique, and the resulting conservation problems. In 2013, a technical examination was made and conservation-restoration work carried out on the altarpiece by Johan Köler in the apse of Kaarli Church in Tallinn. This was the first complete conservation of the painting since its completion. In order to conduct the conservation work, scaffolding was installed in front of the painting, which is locatedat a height that is normally inaccessible. In addition to making the conservation work possible, this also made it possible to conduct a thorough technical examination of the work. Since, in the local context, this is a unique painting in fresco technique, the wet layer of plaster had stored a large amount of information. “Reading” of this information provides insight into the artist’s work methods and an interpretation of the marks left by the author. In the course of the research, the following features were identified: the artist’s handprint pressed into the wet plaster, the time sequence of the execution of the painting, the number of individual plaster areas, the location of the structural lines used in the preparation of the work, the various methods used to transfer the outlines from the 1:1 cartoons, etc.CV:Hilkka Hiiop (PhD) is head of Conservation Departement in Art Museum of Estonia and responsible of contemporary art conservation in Kumu Art Museum. She is also assistant professor and coordinator of the artefact conservation branch at the Estonian Academy of Art, Departement of Conservation. 2003–2009 she was working as a conservator of muralpaintings in Rome. She has supervised many conservation and technical investigation projects in Estonia, cureated exhibitions made scientific research on topic of conservation and technical art history. Hiiop’s PhD theses (2012) treated the conservation management of contemporary art

THE KOLGA MANOR ‘CHAPEL’ THAT ISN’T A CHAPEL

In the Estonian context, Kolga is a truly a gigantic manor, which wasowned by the powerful noble families of De la Gardie and Stenbock.The focus of this article is the interior of the two-storey-high spacein the northern avant-corps of the Kolga manor house, called the‘chapel’, which has survived almost untouched. A brief survey isalso provided of the fragments of the finishing details that havebeen preserved in the other rooms of the manor house. The articleis based on research dealing with the building’s interior finishing(in 2014) and archaeology (in 2021), which has been conducted bythe Estonian Academy of Art, and on information obtained in thecourse of the on-going conservation.What has the recent research and ongoing conservation work addedto the interpretation of the interior in Kolga Manor’s northern avantcorps?As is known from previous studies, the northern avant-corpsroom’s décor probably dates back to the period of a Neoclassicalreconstruction in the early 19th century. Only the building sectionitself dates back to the earlier Baroque period, which also explainsthe existence of previous finishing layers under the current one. TheNeoclassical approach transformed it into a two-storey space andmasterfully added an illusory design. However, the room, which fora long time has been called the ‘(home) church’ or ‘chapel’, probablyhad a secular function and was used as a ballroom or music hall

The Glittering Gold of the Paintings in the Great Hall of Õisu Manor’s Main Building

Regardless of its fragmentary and ruined condition, the painting find described in this article provides a small reference to what existed in the interiors of the Õisu Manor and affirmation of the fact that, as expected,the interior design corresponds to the splendour of the manor’s exterior form. The complete design of the room admittedly cannot be reconstructed on the basis of what has survived, yet the work of conservators has made it possible to read that which has survived. The analogies provided in the article and the imagination of the spectator make it possible for each individual to create his/her own picture of what the original whole of the spatial design once looked like

Colour in Church Interiors, Medieval and Beyond

Recent studies of churches of medieval origin in Estonia have shownthat these edifices have long histories of polychrome decorationboth before and after the Reformation. In this article, some aspectsof these colour schemes are discussed. Firstly, the question of thedecoration and redecoration of interiors during the Middle Ages isaddressed, secondly the authorship and technique of vernacularlookingmurals is discussed, and thirdly the geographical spreadof these decorations is analysed. In addition, post-medieval muralsare also examined.This article is based on fieldwork in Estonian medieval churchesconducted over a period of fifteen years by the staff and studentsof the Department of Conservation and Cultural Heritage at theEstonian Academy of Arts. Here mainly the results of work in thechurches at Koeru, Keila and Järva-Jaani is presented. Some otherchurches are also discussed for comparison.So far, medieval painted decoration has been found in around25 church interiors on the territory of present-day Estonia, i.e. inroughly a quarter of the medieval churches. Although the numberis not large, the finds allow us to draw some conclusions regardingthe spread of and networks behind these paintings.We can claim that as elsewhere in medieval (northern) Europe,medieval church interiors included at least some kind of painteddecoration. It seems likely that the first (and possibly in many casesthe only) colour scheme was provided by the builders. Especiallyin rural parishes, where no specialised guilds existed, it mighthave been difficult to employ professional painters, although notimpossible. Almost certainly the decoration was applied at the timeof plastering, when the mortar had not yet set and the scaffoldingwas still available.Historical records, surviving artworks and investigated interiorsdemonstrate that after the Reformation the Lutherans were less radical in transforming churches than were other Protestants: severalCatholic altar retables and statues were preserved, side altars werenot removed, etc. The churches were usually decorated with new,more modern murals and only whitewashed in many cases severalcenturies later.Gradually, church interiors became more monochrome, althoughnot necessarily white, something that has been associated with thespread of Pietistic ideas in the Lutheran church. However, the late 19thcentury brought a revival of colour to at least some churches. Thesecolourful, mainly Gothic revival interiors survived for only a shorttime and disappeared again when they were painted over everywhere.For example, in St Lawrence’s in Kuusalu, wall paintings dating fromthe period of the Gothic revival renovation of the medieval church(1899) were found and uncovered in 2021

The Triple Pompejanum Possessed by the von Stryk Family: The Manor Houses of Vana-Võidu, Suure-Kõpu and Voltveti

The article is inspired by the fascinating findings and conservationwork done on the Pompeian style murals in Estonian manor housesduring the last few decades. The focus is on the murals in the manorhouses of Voltveti, Suure-Kõpu and Vana-Võidu – all of whichbelonged to different members of the von Stryk family of BalticGermans. The article focuses on the figurative paintings and the styleof the murals, as well as on an art-history-related interpretation anda wider contextual analysis of the Vana-Võidu wall paintings. Thesefinds are the most recent, and this article will study the possiblemodels and ideas for them, search for their art history context andimportance among the triple Pompejanum of the von Strycks. Thewall paintings in the Suure-Kõpu and Voltveti manor houses areused as reference material.The Vana-Võidu, Suure-Kõpu and Voltveti manor houses wererebuilt in the late neoclassical style between 1830s and 1840s. Thewall paintings in these late neoclassical manor houses were madeduring the second half of the 19th century and were inspired, in allcases, by a desire to achieve the look of an ancient interior. There arePompeian-style murals in all three manors. In Suure-Kõpu and Vana-Võidu, can see figurative paintings as well as the division of the wallsinto panels, which is characteristic of the Pompeian style. In Voltveti,there are no figurative paintings and the colour palette – alternatingwarm and cool pastel shades – is not characteristic of the Pompeianstyle, but the ornamental motives are derived from antiquity. It isknown that different publications about the excavated Campaniancities, were available in Estonia in the 19th century. Apparently, thevon Stryk brothers and the painter(s) were able to use the publishedmotifs, because the figurative paintings at Vana-Võidu and Suure-Kõpu are very accurately detailed

A Newly Conserved Plafond Painting Enriches the Old Town of Tallinn

An exquisite panel muralceiling painting was conserved and restored in the Old Town of Tallinn at the Rahukohtu 5 building on the Patkul viewing platform after more than a decade of exposition to unsatisfactory environmental conditions. This article provides a brief overview of the estate history and its owners, placing the conserved mural within the historical context of ceiling panelling in Tallinn, and addresses the issues of simultaneous exhibition of diverse historical strata and theconception of conserving both the mural and its surrounding space.CV – Hilkka Hi iopHilkka Hiiop (PhD) is the head of Conservation Departement in Art Museum of Estonia as well as being responsible for contemporary art conservation in Kumu Art Museum. She is also assistant professor and coordinator of the artefact conservation branch at the Estonian Academy of Art, Departement of  Conservation. She has worked as a conservator of mural  paintings in Rome 2003–2009, supervised a number of conservation and technical investigation projects in Estonia, curated exhibitions, and made scientific research on topic of conservation and technical art history. Hiiop’s PhD theses (2012) treated the conservation management of contemporary art.CV – Eva TammekiviEva Tammekivi is a graduate student at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2012 with the thesis titled An Altarpiece Found in the Attic Makes Its Way to the Church: Survey and Conservation of the Altarpiece ‚Lord help me!‘ She has contributed to several studies of interior decoration and has also taken part in  conservation and restoration projects including an eighteenth century painted board ceiling in the Old Town of Tallinn, Johann Köler’s altarpiece in St Charles Church in Tallinn, and lunette paintings in the Great Guild Hall of Tallinn

DATING THE NEWLY DISCOVERED CEILING PAINTING IN THE HOUSE OF ESTLAND’S NOBILITY IN TALLINN: FROM ARCHIVAL RESEARCH TO DENDROCHRONOLOGY

In the course of renovating the Estonian Knighthood (Ritterschaft)House in the autumn of 2022, a magnificent find came to light in theceiling of a first floor room – a figural plafond painting on a canvasattached to the ceiling. This find is sensational since it adds to thenumber of rare and fragile canvas plafonds, only a few of whichsurvive in Estonia. This article demonstrates how archival researchand dendrochronology can work together hand in hand. Accordingto historical documents, this part of the Knighthood House was builtaround the year 1690, because it was described as nearly finishedin the spring of 1691. By applying dendrochronological dating, it was possible to ascertain that the trees that form the main woodenstructures were felled after the growing season of 1689 and wereused in construction, probably in 1690. The Üxküll family of Vigalamanor sold their newly completed town palace to the Knighthood ofEstonia in 1694 for unknown reasons. The plafond painting probablyoriginates from the period between those two dates, 1690 and 1694.Thus, the Knighthood House’s plafond ceiling is the only firmlydated painting of this kind in Estonian architecture. It originatesfrom an earlier period than most other plafond paintings in Tallinn,which are assessed using stylistic comparison as dating from theperiod after the Great Northern War, specifically from 1721 to 1760.The nearly 60 m2 plafond is certainly the largest in Estonia. The useof distemper and oil paint techniques together makes this paintingremarkable. It is also the only known plafond with more than onepainting layer from different periods. At the time of writing, thepainting has not yet been exposed to view. Its thematic subject matterand the details of its technical realisation will be revealed onlyafter its restoration. The question of the authorship of the plafondpainting also remains unanswered at this stage. The overpaintingwith Rococo ornamentation covering the original painting can becautiously associated with the name of the guild painter, GotthardHolm, who was paid for work done in the Knighthood House inthe 1760s