Art and architecture: heritage and society

Our researchers maintain productive relationships with artists and other makers, museums, art and heritage institutions in the Netherlands and abroad, as well as with research institutes and consultancies. Our research, individual or in cooperation with the heritage field or other partners, works towards a sustainable, diverse and participatory society in which we see a prominent role for art, architecture and cultural heritage from the past and present.

We provide solutions, knowledge and ideas to the heritage and museum field and work together to conserve and restore art, architecture and urban heritage. Our research focus includes a variety of approaches and fields of expertise, including but not limited to the cultural history of cities, gender, collecting, curatorial practices, the critical reception of art, the use of technical and digital techniques in restoration/conservation and presentation, audience and spectator history as well as the threat to historical heritage, monuments, inner cities and cultural landscapes from climate and conflict.

PALAMUSTO: Research and Training for the Palace Museum of Tomorrow

The European Training Network PALAMUSTO of leading European universities, heritage institutions and palace-museums investigates the court residence or palace as a phenomenon of cultural exchange, not only in the past but also today and in the future. Ten PhD students in five different countries examine European palace architecture and interiors and the international connections and exchange in this field. Ten subprojects have been identified, each of which explores a theme in palace architecture diachronically and internationally.

Principal investigator: Prof. Koen Ottenheym
Participants: Dr Eloy Koldeweij, Sara Bernert, Manos Vakondios
Duration: 2019 - 2024
Funding: ERC Horizon2020, Madame Curie Programme

Structures of Strength: Unusual Collaborations on Porous Materials

Structures of Strength will develop workable innovative solutions to societal challenges relating to porous materials; and create discussions across disciplines from which we learn to identify the parallels in the work of different research fields and obtain unique skills that help us act more effectively on future challenges. During the first year, two already formulated cross-boundary challenges related to improving intestinal barriers (a bio-medical challenge) and protecting our historical monuments (a cultural heritage challenge) will be addressed.

Participants: Dr Amir Raoof, Dr Marjolijn Bol
Duration: 2019-
Funding: UU Centre for Unusual Collaborations (collaboration UU, WUR, and TU/e)

Constructing the Limes: Investigating the border of the Roman Empire in the Netherlands

This interdisciplinary programme explores humans and cultures of the area of the limes, the border of the Roman Empire which run roughly from Katwijk, via Utrecht, to Nijmegen. This border was a transition zone between the Roman Empire and the world beyond. This subproject covers the rediscovery of the limes by antiquarians, humanists, and artists in the period 1500-1750 and the early creation of myths about the ancient inhabitants of this part of Europe; the errors in the interpretation of co-called Roman “temples” and “castella” along the Rhine and Donau, and their elaboration in the architecture of the Low Countries, the German states, and beyond.

Participants: Prof. Koen Ottenheym, Dr Saskia Stevens, Prof. Jaap Verheul, Dr Gertjan Plets
Duration: 2020 - 2022
Funding: Nationale Wetenschapsagenda

Dynamics of the Durable: A History of Making Things Last in the Visual and Decorative Arts

How long can an art work survive? This question is typically considered a problem of cultural heritage conservation—as the physical problem of how art can best be kept and stored in its original condition for as long as possible. This research programme investigates the problem of durability in art in an entirely new manner. It turns to the patrons and artists of the past and their ambitions for art’s survival: How did artisans explore ways to make objects durable? What determined the desire of patrons to order and own durable art objects? What social practices and institutions were designed for an object’s survival?