Simone Bretz - Conservation of Reverse painting on Glass

Professional experience / Clients in Germany and abroad / References / Publications
Professional experience After completing the training as a conservator of paintings at the Österreichische Galerie in Vienna, started in 1979 and at the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig, I began to concentrate on the field of glass conservation, by working for three years at the Restaurierungszentrum Düsseldorf. Volunteer work conserving glass vessels led me to the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne and to the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg. My knowledge and experience gained in conservation and restoration of paint on canvas and on glass constituted a solid basis for treating reverse paintings on glass. I acquired technical skills in this field in 1984 at the workshop of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich, then continued in the same discipline as a self-employed conservator. Since 1985 I have specialized in conservation and restoration of reverse paintings on glass. During these years I have restored more than 500 reverse paintings on glass for major museums and private collections in Germany and other countries including the U.S.A., Great Britain and Switzerland. After years of conservation in the field of folk art reverse paintings on glass of the 18th and 19th centuries, I was experienced for highly demanding restoration work. These included first quality objects from the 15th through the 17th century, which were presented in the following exhibitions on reverse paintings on glass: "Amalierte Stuck uff glas/Hinder Glas gemalte Historien und Gemäld", Schloßmuseum in Murnau, 1995 "Glas Glanz Farbe", Schloßmuseum in Murnau, 1997 "Farbige Kostbarkeiten aus Glas", Kabinettstücke der Zürcher Hinterglasmalerei 1600 - 1650, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in München, 1999; Schweizerisches Landesmuseum in Zürich, 2000 "Glanzlichter", Die Kunst der Hinterglasmalerei, Musée Suisse du Vitrail in Romont, 2000; Museum in der Burg in Zug, 2000/ 2001 "... welche zuweilen Kunstwerth haben." Hinterglasmalerei in Südbayern im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, Schloßmuseum in Murnau, 2003 The restoration of four reverse painted tankards of treasure-chamber quality represent the most demanding projects of my professional career so far like the tankard of Elisabeth Duchess of Mecklenburg, Hans Jakob Sprüngli, Zurich, 1618-25, Hessisches Landesmuseum Kassel and the tankard from the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Hans Jakob Sprüngli, Zurich, about 1610, Staatliches Museum Schwerin. Part of my work lies also in the conservation of double-walled bowls and reverse-glass paintings integrated in cabinets as well as mirrors. My activities also includes talks, demonstration of my pratical work and training of colleagues in the conservation of reverse paintings on glass, including for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, for the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage in Amsterdam and the West Dean College in Chichester. Furthermore, I supervised study projects and various thesis for conservators in training. I have also contributed my technical and practical knowledge in the field of paint and glass techniques to a research project of the Swiss Center for Research and Information on Stained Glass in Romont, Switzerland, entitled "Untersuchung von Schweizer Hinterglasmalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts. Grundlagen zur Schweizer Kunstgeschichte" (Examination of 17th century Swiss reverse paintings on glass. Fundamentals of Swiss Art History), financed by the Schweizerischer Nationalfond (1998 - 2002). A contribution on 'history, technology, deterioration and restoration of reverse paintings on glass' was included in the professional book "Conservation and Restoration of Glass" by Sandra Davison, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, published in 2003. Another article about 'paint techniques of reverse paintings on glass in Southern Germany during the 18th and 19th century' has been published in an exhibition catalogue for the Schlossmuseum Murnau in 2003 and about 'Reverse-glass Paintings on an American Sideboard' in Met Objectives, Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York also in 2003. Other articles are in preparation.
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Clients in Germany and abroad Germany Aschaffenburg, Museum der Stadt Aschaffenburg Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Kunstgewerbemuseum Bruchsal, Schloß Bruchsal Dillingen, Stadt- und Hochstiftsmuseum Feuchtwangen, Fränkisches Museum Fürstenfeldbruck, Heimatmuseum Garmisch, private collection Immenstadt, Heimatmuseum Kassel, Hessisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, Schloßverwaltung Kaufbeuren, Stadtmuseum Kelheim, Archäologisches Museum Köln, Museum für Angewandte Kunst Kronberg, Hessische Hausstiftung Lohr, Spessartmuseum Massing, Freilichtmuseum Meersburg, Neues Schloß Miltenberg, Museum der Stadt Mindelheim, Heimatmuseum Murnau, Schlossmuseum München, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, private collection and art dealer Münster, Stadtmuseum Neumarkt, Heimatmuseum Oberammergau, Heimatmuseum Oberschönenfeld, Cistercienserinnenkloster Oettingen, Heimatmuseum Oettingen Ottobeuren, Benediktinerabtei Ottobeuren Ruhpolding, Bartholomäus Schmucker-Heimathaus Schrobenhausen, Heimatmuseum Schrobenhausen Schwerin, Staatliches Museum Schwerin Starnberg, Städtisches Heimatmuseum Stuttgart, Württembergisches Landesmuseum Tittmoning, Heimathaus des Rupertiwinkels Walderbach, Kreismuseum Würzburg, Kunsthandel Zeil, Fürstlich Waldburg-Zeil'sche Hofhaltung Great Britain London, Christie’s London, private collection Shrewsbury, private collection Netherlands Amsterdam, Christie’s Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Utrecht, Museum Catharijne Convent Austria Innsbruck, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Schloß Ambras Michaelbeuren, Benediktinerabtei Salzburg, Erzbischöfliches Priesterseminar Switzerland Basel, art dealer Bern, Bernisches Historisches Museum Bern, Collection Ruth and Frieder Ryser Lausanne, Musée historique de Lausanne Luzern, private collection Zug, Museum in der Burg Zürich, private collection Zürich, Schweizerisches Landesmuseum USA Corning, The Corning Museum of Glass New York, Christie’s New York, private collections New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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References

Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Köln	Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin	The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning

Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, Zürich	Staatliches Museum, Schwerin	Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht
Publications Bretz, Simone: Die Restaurierung eines Glases aus dem Mittelalter, in: Maltechnik Restauro, Callwey, München, Heft 1, 1984, S. 51 - 56 Bretz, Simone: Die Restaurierung eines Glases aus dem Mittelalter, in: Glück und Glas. Zur Kulturgeschichte des Spessartglases, Verlag Kunst & Antiquitäten, München 1984, S. 122 - 126 Bretz, Simone: Restaurierung - Reinigungsversuche, in: Restaurierung Moderner Malerei. Tendenzen - Material - Technik, Callwey Verlag, München 1985, S. 89 - 102 Bretz, Simone; Ortmeier, Martin: Restaurierung eines Hinterglasbildes aus Raimundsreut, Oberbayrische Grenzmarken, Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde, Jahrgang 29, 1987, S. 211 - 212 Bretz, Simone; Bömer, Isabel; Ranz, Hans-Jörg: Konservierung und Restaurierung von Glas, in: Vor dem großen Brand. Archäologie zu Füssen des Heidelberger Schlosses, Landesdenkmalamt Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 1992, S. 97 - 99 Bretz, Simone: Maltechnik und Glastechnik in der Hinterglasmalerei 1600 bis 1650, in: Farbige Kostbarkeiten aus Glas. Kabinettstücke der Zürcher Hinterglasmalerei 1600 - 1650, Ausstellungskatalog Bayerisches Nationalmuseum München, Schweizerisches Landesmuseum Zürich 1999, S. 181 - 219 Bretz, Simone; Ryser, Frieder: Kleines Handbuch der Hinterglasmalerei, in: Glanzlichter. Die Kunst der Hinterglasmalerei. Ausstellungskatalog Musée Suisse du Vitrail Romont, Museum in der Burg Zug 2000, S. 289 - 315 Bretz, Simone: Information on the history, technology, deterioration and restoration of reverse paintings on glass, in: Conservation and Restoration of Glass by Sandra Davison, Butterworth- Heinemann, Oxford 2003 Bretz, Simone: Der Hinterglasmaler in Südbayern im 18./ 19. Jahrhundert und seine Maltechniken, in: "... welche zuweilen Kunstwerth haben.". Hinterglasmalerei in Südbayern im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, exhibition catalogue Schlossmuseum Murnau 2003, S. 93 - 100 Bretz, Simone: Reverse-glass Paintings on an American Sideboard, in: Met Objectives, Treatment and research notes. The Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 5, No. 1, fall 2003, S. 4 - 6 Bretz, Simone; Ranz, Hans-Jörg, Hahn, Oliver: Materialwissenschaftliche Analysen an Hinterglasbildern. Poster Tagung "Analytik und Massnahmen an Baudenkmälern und Kulturgütern", Zentrum für Kulturgüteranalytik, EMPA, Zürich 2003 Bretz, Simone; Ranz, Hans-Jörg, Hahn, Oliver: Materialwissenschaftliche Analysen an Hinterglasbildern, in: Jahrestagung Archäometrie und Denkmalpflege, Mannheim, 05.10.- 09.10.2004, S. 182-184
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