Our first transoceanic trip was a big one. Funded by The University of Melbourne-University of Toronto Research Partnership Development Fund, we teamed up with University of Melbourne’s Professor Jonathan Kemp, from the Grimwade Center for Cultural Materials Conservation, Australia’s only conservation program. Jonathan’s help was essential in planning our Australian adventures: together we organized workshops at the Grimwade, lectures at the University of Melbourne, and incorporating conservation students into both technical examination trips to Australian museums.
Having enjoyed the hustle and bustle of cosmopolitan Melbourne, and fueled by the city’s excellent coffee, we landed in Di Whittle’s objects conservation lab where our ranks swelled with Grimwade colleagues; Professor Jonathan Kemp and graduate students Kerry, Annabelle, Fen, William, Amy and Jess. Branden joined in on Zoom for XRF and was able to engage with the students while monitoring spectra. We missed meeting with Ted Gott, Senior Curator of International Art, and Laurie Benson, Curator, International Art, who had greatly facilitated making our visit a reality. We were also pleased to meet the photographer, Nicholas Umek, who works closely with Di on all aspects of documentation, including 3D scanning.
Our long journey was well worth it. The Matilda has an impeccable provenance tying it to Taddeo Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII who commissioned Bernini’s greatest bronze: the Baldacchino. The small, gilded figure sits on a veined, glossy black stone socle and is an indirect lost-wax cast relating closely to other casts from the same model. It has several interesting features, including an overtly conscious effort to retain the appearance of the clay prototype and the retention of surface of microporosity for a decorative effect. The NGV Matilda was striking to us for revealing how such an important work–a prestige object for the patron– retained so many aspects of the bronze casting process, from model-making (the tool marks on the back, mold lines, and the damaged wax inter-model), to the effects of the pour (porosity), and the finishing process, with some flaws being meticulously repaired and others left very much apparent.
Rounding out our visit was the Bust of Richelieu: the imposing, larger-than-life, darkly patinated bust which did not disappoint. Documents indicate the existence of a clay model and two bronze versions of the work. The NGV’s bronze was cast in two components using the indirect lost wax casting technique. Again, we noted conspicuous traces of the clay model, most particularly on the back of Richelieu’s head where toothed tool marks define the strands of hair. The attachment of the bust to the socle was a novelty for the team: the “u” channel on the back of the bust terminates in a sleeve that is bolted onto a square-shaped finial on a round, bronze socle to which it is pinned. We were delighted to find juicy sprues on the back of the bust extending from the thick underside of the collar as well as in the socle. Incoming, timely photographs from the keepers of Richelieu’s twin bronze at Sanssouci in Potsdam, revealed an amazing correspondence between the Australian and German works. Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to get to Berlin to see how the two compare.
Our visit was punctuated with a flying tour of the NGV’s galleries with Michael Varcoe-Cocks, Head of Conservation, a charming, learned host and supporter of the project. We marveled at the impeccable galleries, innovative and politically important installations, and countless treasures. We were in museum heaven.
