Zprávy památkové péče, 2016 (vol. 76), issue 4

Editorial

Vratislav Nejedlý, Petr Skalický

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):353

In Medias Res

Slovo úvodem. Kuks - chvála, trápení a budoucnost

Ivo Kořán

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):355

Restoration of the Kuks Hospital. Notes on the restoration of historical colour scheme

Karel Kibic ml.

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):356-361

The article provides comprehensive information about the restoration of the state protected site of the Hospital Kuks. It includes a history of the site from its inception until its current restoration. The original concept for the restoration had as its main goal presenting the site as a complex composite area created gradually in many, often contradictory, phases. This concept was fulfilled only partially with some unavoidable compromises and a few disputed choices. The results overall can however be seen as successful, especially given the inherent degree of difficulty. The complicated issues encountered during the project are illustrated on the...

Restoration of the cycle "Dance of Death" and the paintings in the chapel and pharmacy of the Kuks Hospital

Milena Nečásková

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):362-370

The walls of the main hall of the Kuks Hospital bear 46 wall paintings with scenes from the cycle "Dance of Death", which illustrate an anonymous German poem about human equality before death and which were painted according to templates by Hans Holbein the younger. Quatrain verses of the poem are listed below the paintings. The paintings were made around 1720, and after several decades were partially scraped off and whitened. Four scenes were gradually recovered in the 20th century, while the cycle as a whole was restored during the renovation of the hospital in 2013-2015. The fortunate choice of restoration concept included not only the murals, but...

Memento mori in the Kuks Hospital corridor

Jiří Šerých

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):371-378

Using a substantial contribution of EU money, the project Kuks - pomegranate managed to restore a hitherto unused and largely derelict part of the Kuks Baroque hospital and breathe new life into it by 2014. The task also included freeing the large mural "Dance of Death" from a lime overcoating, painted in the 1720's on the initiative of Count Franz Anton von Sporck, who took a special passion in cultivating the memento mori in all areas of art, from the family tomb under the hospital, through the literature he published on this topic at his own expense, to Braun's statues and numerous engravings. During the restoration of the mural cycle, it became...

The restored Dance of Death paintings in Kuks in a conservationist's retrospect

Petr Skalický, Terezie Šiková

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):379-386

The article looks back at the recent restoration of the cycle of wall murals depicting the Dance of Death cycle located on the longitudinal walls of the main hall on the ground floor of the north wing of the Kuks Hospital. The cycle of paintings, which were probably created around 1722 and whitened already probably in the second half of the same century, originally consisted of fifty paintings, of which forty-six have been preserved. Most of them were uncovered during a recent restoration in 2013 and 2014 as part of the renewal of the entire complex from grants provided by the Integrated Operational Program entitled Kuks - Pomegranate.Even though...

Transformations and state of the relief of the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Arrival of the Magi in Nový Les near Kuks

Jiří Kaše, Jiří Novotný, Zdeněk Štaffen

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):387-397

The issue of caring for the reliefs that were created in the Baroquely conceived natural environment at the behest of Count F. A. Sporck and created by sculptor M. B. Braun has been a frequent subject of research and debate over the last decade.The beginning of the article mentions major works that formed the grounds' facilities and are now located elsewhere or have disappeared. The main outlines also recapitulate earlier interventions that led to the better preservation of the Nativity relief. The impact of these interventions on the current status of the work and on current and future care is also addressed.The subsequent text describes recent...

Options for biocidal protection of the set of stone sculptures in Nový les near Kuks

Petr Kotlík

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):398-401

Stone objects located in forest or garden areas are exposed to extraordinary levels of vegetational attack. Preventing the occurrence of such requires modifying the conditions necessary for the existence of living organisms (amount of light, available moisture, sufficient nutrients, etc.) or the use of chemical liquidation agents (biocides). The selection of a suitable biocide is usually governed by a compromise between its effectiveness (duration), consideration for the workers who apply it, and the environment. The article addresses the possibility of the destruction of vegetation on stone surfaces using alcohols. Alcohols destroy bacteria, algae,...

Some remarks on the issue of creating substitute stone sculpture works in the Czech environment

Petr Gláser

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):402-406

The short article provides some practical remarks on the issue of creating substitute stone sculpture works in the Czech conservation environment. The frequently discussed topic is seen in this text from the position of restorer for a change, largely limiting itself to the creation of copies from natural stone and facsimiles (true copies of sculpture) from cast stone.The author focuses on a limited part of the Czech Heritage Fund and deals with the lifespan of the stone, the causes of its disintegration, and several other factors that adversely affect the resistance of the stone sculpture works. The importance of the story of the artwork is also...

Braun's "Nativity" - sculpture work in a natural setting and the problems of its reception and restoration

Vratislav Nejedlý

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):407-416

The article starts from the recent cleansing of the relief of Braun's "Nativity" and discusses the current state of the monument and reflections of its restoration in a wider historical context. The introduction recalls how the view towards surface treatment of stone sculpted works during the 19th century changed, since value was perceived in the pure stone itself without a color coating. The change in approach had a significant impact especially on exterior sculpture works, Braun's "Nativity" being one of them. Another fundamental shift in the approach to monuments was the new relationship to nature and to the natural environment. This is exemplified...

Studie a materiálie

Restoration and protection of artificial stone using the example of concrete facsimiles from the Konopiště castle grounds

Lukáš Brotánek, Renata Tišlová

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):417-423

The Castle Garden in Konopiště holds a remarkable collection of sculptures from different types of materials and which are exceptional in terms of their historical development, material structure, and composition within the layout of the garden, which was conceived as a landscaped park. A substantial part of the sculptural decoration is made of artificial stone and cement-based, and which met the aesthetic standards of the time. In terms of durability, however, this is a very complicated and, compared to classical natural sculpture materials, less resistant material. For these reasons, the set of sculpture and artisan works from artificial stone have...

Plague column in Kutná Hora - comprehensive preparation for restoration work

Jakub Ďoubal, Roman Kolář

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):424-432

The Plague column in Kutná Hora was constructed in 1713-1714 by the Jesuit coadjutor František Baugut. During its existence, it has undergone a number of modifications and corrective interventions that have brought quite a few problems to the present time. A restoration survey pointed out the complex issue of degradation of the surface layers of the biodetritic limestone, associated with the closure of the gypsum surface crusts and previous restorations that utilized a wide variety of materials ranging from cement through epoxy resin to acrylic dispersion. The survey also confirmed the assumption that the column was repeatedly treated with surface...

Medieval wall paintings in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Pomezí below Landštejn

Petr Pavelec

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):433-440

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Pomezí below Landštejn, according to architectural and historical surveys and interpretations of surviving written sources, was built between 1188 and 1232. In the interior of its presbytery, medieval wall paintings from three historical periods were uncovered and restored in 1990-2008. The remnant of the youngest layer of painting bears painted consecration crosses and fragments of illusory blocking which, based on the stratigraphic situation, color, and morphology, can be dated back to approximately the 15th century. From the earlier layers comes a painting of St. Erasmus in the ground-floor areas of the northern...

Restoration of the Vrtbov tombstones, or František Xaver Lederer in Vrchotovy Janovice

Ludmila Fiedlerová

Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(4):441-446

Over its many centuries of existence, the Vrchotovy Janovice Castle belonged for the longest period to the Votice branch of the Counts of Vrtba (1594-1807). Since the construction of the Franciscan monastery in Votice, its members could be buried in the family crypt in the local monastery church. The exception was Count Franz Ernst the younger (1716-1791) and his daughter Barbara, Schrenková of Notzing (1751-1790), who are buried in the old cemetery in Vrchotovy Janovice. The tombstones were restored in two phases in 2014-2015, already in very bad condition. During the restoration work, carried out by Jitka Malovaná and Kateřina Amortová, it became...