Collaboration MASP
Frans Hals
Tuesday 30 August 2022
Collaboration Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)
Between 2021 and 2022, the MASP’s Conservation and Restoration Department, with the support of the Dutch multinational AkzoNobel, carried out the analysis and restoration of three works by Frans Hals. The works, which form part of the MASP’s collection, date from the 1630s and were donated to the museum as a set in 1951. The works in question are: Portrait of Maria Pietersdr Olycan (1638), Portrait of Captain Andries van Hoorn (1638) and Portrait of an Officer (1631).
Parties involved
The initiative is a collaboration between the Frans Hals Museum and two Brazilian institutions: the Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFUSP) and the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology in Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ). The entire process is overseen by an international scientific council comprising specialists from various museums.
The phases
The project is divided into two phases. The first phase involved a series of scientific analyses that revealed relevant aspects of the painter’s technique, resulting in a detailed assessment. This assessment was of fundamental importance in proposing suitable treatments. The second phase involved the conservation and restoration of the works, which was carried out by the MASP team in collaboration with Liesbeth Abraham, a conservator at the Frans Hals Museum.
Read more below the video about the first phase of the project.
First phase of the Frans Hals Project in collaboration with MASP
Result
As a result of the project, the three restored works are returning to their easels and will once again be included in the permanent exhibition ‘Acervo em transformação’ [Permanent Collection in Transformation], which is open to all museum visitors. In addition to the display of the works, details of the project can be seen in the second video on the results of the final phase.
Second phase of the Frans Hals Project in collaboration with MASP