The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich recently started a conservation and research project of its large collection of Van de Velde drawings. The objective is to get an insight in the use of techniques and materials of maritime draftsmanship in the 17th century. In total 1.400 drawings by Willem van de Velde the Elder and the Younger will be scrutinized in the following two years. This consists of a detailed condition survey of the sheets, but also of an analyses of all used techniques. Counter-proofing or offsetting is one such technique. With this method a preliminary sketch in graphite is put onto a second sheet to create a copy that could be finished into a more detailed drawing.
Thorough investigation will hopefully give new insight in the relation between drawing and painting in the case of the Van de Velde drawings. A third interesting part of the research is the documentation of all used high quality seventeenth century paper and its marks, including watermarks and later added collectors marks. Sometimes sheets were combined to make larger compositions, on which artists occasionally made additions or short comments. These are also recorded, where hopefully an overview of these additions could shed new light on how these drawings were used in the process. Of the entire 1.400, 300 drawings are treated for regular degradation. This could be the problem of foxing or damage by poor mounting in the past centuries. We soon hope to read about the first results. www.collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html
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