A Man of Vision. Paul Coremans and the Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Proceedings of the International Symposium Paul Coremans Held in Brussels, 15-17 June 2015

Dominique Deneffe, Dominique Vanwijnsberghe (eds)

Pages: 377 p.
Size:230 x 290 mm

Language(s):English
Publication Year:2019

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ISBN: 978-2-930054-34-6
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"A Man of Vision: Paul Coremans and the Preservation of Cultural Heritage est un ouvrage indispensable à l’histoire de la conservation-restauration ; richement illustré et documenté, il fournit un éclairage sur une période charnière, en Belgique comme au niveau international. Bien au-delà de l’approche biographique, il permet d’appréhender les connexions, les échanges qui permettent aux disciplines de se développer, et au savoir de se construire." (Muriel Verbeeck-Boutin, CeROArt (Online), 11/2019, URL: http://journals.openedition.org/ceroart/6849)

Summary

In June 2015, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) organized an international symposium in honour of its founder and first director Paul Coremans (1908-1965). Exactly fifty years after his death, it was a unique opportunity to look back on his extraordinary career and the impact of his innovative ideas and vision on the conservation and restoration of works of art. His ground-breaking insights have been widely recognized in Belgium and all over the world. Paul Coremans’ fields of interest were broad: the conservation of works of art in museums, preventive conservation and climate control, the protection of cultural heritage in times of war – a highly topical issue -, as well as the status and role of the restorer, the importance of photographic documentation and scientific research, or the detection of art forgeries. Coremans’ belief in the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of works of art still inspires many art historians, conservator-restorers and scientists today.

This book – the Proceedings of the 2015 Brussels Symposium – presents twenty original contributions that reveal Coremans’ multi-faceted personality and action. It is the first monograph devoted to this visionary Belgian scientist and Monuments Man.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
Hilde De Clercq Director General a.i. of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage

Introduction
Marie-Christine Claes et Dominique Vanwijnsberghe

Part 1 An Inspiring Scientist
1 Early Museum Laboratories and the Pursuit of Objectivity
Geert Vanpaemel
2 Paul Coremans (1908-1965): A Pioneer Chemist in the Application of Scientific Techniques to the Visual Arts Hendrik Deelstra and Duncan Thorburn Burns
3 Vijftig jaar 14C-dateringen aan het Koninklijk Instituut voor het Kunstpatrimonium (KIK-IRPA) te Brussel Mark Van Strydonck
4 Paul Coremans et la restructuration du Laboratoire du Musée du Louvre dans l’après-guerre
Camille Bourdiel
5 The Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage: Design and Realisation of a Ground-Breaking Building
Gertjan Madalijns

Part 2 A Monuments Man
6 Paul Coremans, l’inventaire photographique du patrimoine artistique belge et ses relations avec l’occupant, 1940-1945
Christina Kott
7 Paul Coremans et ses actions en faveur de la sauvegarde des peintures murales
Ilona Hans-Collas

Part 3 Flanders in the Fifteenth Century
8 Construction of a Vision: Coremans’ Approach to the Study of Flemish Primitives before the Restoration of the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (The Ghent Altarpiece)
Hélène Dubois and Dominique Deneffe
9 Le quotidien d’un idéal : l’Agneau mystique, catalyseur de l’interdisciplinarité
Marie-Christine Claes, Hélène Dubois et Jana Sanyova
10 Paul Coremans, Edgar Richardson and the 1960 Flemish Art Show: A Transatlantic Friendship Forged by a Transatlantic Exhibition
Yao-Fen You

Part 4 The Van Meegeren Affair
11 D.G. van Beuningen’s Crusade against Paul Coremans
Arjan de Koomen
12 Expertise in the Van Meegeren Case: the Contributions by Coremans, Froentjes and De Wild
Arie Wallert and Michel van de Laar
13 The Amsterdam X-Rays for Coremans and Van Schendel
Rick F.E.D. Hartmann

Part 5 Friendships
14 Paul Coremans and Sheldon and Caroline Keck: A Collegial Friendship that Influenced the Development of Conservation Education in North America
Jean D. Portell
15 Arthur van Schendel: Friend and Companion in the World of Museums and Conservation
Jan Piet Filedt Kok
16 « Dear Paul

Cher Pan » Paul Coremans et Erwin Panofsky : histoire d’une amitié
Dominique Vanwijnsberghe

Part 6 Global Activities
17 At ICCROM’s Cradle: Paul Coremans and the Beginning of the “Rome Centre”
Stefano De Caro
18 Paul Coremans, un expert de l’UNESCO au Brésil : aperçu de sa contribution au développement du patrimoine brésilien
Diogo de Souza Brito
19 Borobudur: the Alchemy of a World Heritage Site The Expert and the Student: Shared Views
Nicole Gesché-Koning
20 Museum Policy Concerning the Conservation and Restoration of Artworks and the Rubens and Ensor Research Projects at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Karen Bonne, Elsje Janssen, Christine Van Mulders, Herwig Todts

Part 7 Tributes to the “Patron”
21 Un inoubliable meneur d’hommes
Pierre Colman
22 La formation des restaurateurs
Nicole Goetghebeur
23 Paul Coremans, Personal Memories
Liliane Masschelein-Kleiner

Bibliography
Abbreviations
Authors
Index of Persons
Photographic Credits