The Figge Art Museum and the German American Heritage Center present "Solving the Cranach Mystery Surrounding the Portraits of Martin Luther & Katharina von Bora" -- November 14.
Sunday, November 14, 2 p.m.
Presented by the German American Heritage Center and the Figge Art Museum
In the second of two virtual Sunday-afternoon programs hosted by Davenport's German American Heritage Center and Figge Art Museum, painting conservator and art historian Barry Bauman will lead the Zoom discussion Solving the Cranach Mystery Surrounding the Portraits of Martin Luther & Katharina von Bora, a November 14 presentation in which participants will share in the joy of Bauman's most remarkable discoveries on two 1537 portraits by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Is it true that a painting conservator is also a detective? According to conservator and art historian Bauman, every painting has its secrets. During his 46 years of experience treating and analyzing damaged paintings, he has uncovered many of them, including lost signatures, hidden dates, and entire paintings beneath other works. Two of his discoveries were so phenomenal they landed on the front page of the New York Times. Bauman's November 14 Zoom presentation will detail the conservation procedures that exposed the secrets hidden in the portraits and the forensic science techniques that led to the recovery of “lost” information. The conservation of fine art is a wonderful synthesis of art and science, but most individuals are not aware of the rewards this field has to offer. Attendees interested in art, art history, chemistry, physics, history, and museum studies all overlap with conservation concerns, and Bauman's virtual program will also review the requirements necessary to enter the field of art conservation.
At the beginning of his career, Bauman, an Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation, worked for 11 years at the Art Institute of Chicago, departing as the Associate Conservator of Paintings. He then founded and directed the Chicago Conservation Center, which, for 20 years, was the largest private conservation facility in America. In 2004, Bauman left the private sector to establish Bauman Conservation, America’s first conservation laboratory dedicated to offering complimentary services to museums and non-profit organizations. When he closed Bauman Conservation in 2018, it was estimated he had contributed more than $6,000,000 in conservation services to museums and nonprofits. In August of 2019, Bauman went on to open Conservation Ventures, a company that focuses on presentations and CAP grants to assist museums with recommendations and priorities for long-range collection care.
Bauman's presentation Solving the Cranach Mystery Surrounding the Portraits of Martin Luther & Katharina von Bora will begin at 2 p.m. on November 14, and virtual participation is $5. For more information on the event, call the German American Heritage Center at (563)322-8844 and the Figge Art Museum at (563)326-7804, and registration for the program is available by visiting GAHC.org and FiggeArtMuseum.org.
