Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland

Further to the inviation to all ENCoRE members to the next General Assembly which is to be held in May 2003 in Torun, it would be worthwhile to share some information about the hosting institution.

The Institute for the Study, Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Heritage is the only institution in Poland offering education in the field of conservation-restoration of cultural heritage on academic degree level, located at the university. The history of the Institute goes back to the year 1947. Since then the present formula of the curriculum and research areas has been gradually developed. Presently, the Institute conducts research and offers education programmes on master, doctoral and post-doctoral level, covering different areas of the history of art, protection, conservation and restoration of monuments as well as the history of technology and techniques of arts and crafts. This diversity allows for interdisciplinary character of both the research and training.

The Institute incorporates 9 departments: History of Art - Middle Ages to the 18th cent., History of the 19th cent. and Modern Art, Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Museology, Painting Technology and Techniques, the Practical Art Training, Conservation of Painting and Polychrome Sculpture, Conservation of Paper and Leather, Conservation of Architectonic Elements and Details.

Since the very beginning the Institute has been an ENCoRE member (initially an associate one and this year a full member).

The Department of History of Art - Middle Ages to the 18th cent.

The Department conducts a variety of lectures and practical seminars and is particularly concerned with providing a basic, integrated curriculum in Art History to cater for the general needs of the Faculty. Along with creating the specialisation in Art History for the degree programme in the Protection of Cultural Heritage in 1997, the curriculum was extended by new subjects such as Orthodox art, Protestant art, Asian art and the marketing of art. Practical summer courses for both full-time and extramural students in the Protection of Cultural Heritage form an important part of the Departments activities. Such courses feature both classes on the study of style and training in descriptive cataloguing with the ultimate aim of introducing students to the various issues in research.

The main research interests focus on the art of Prussia in the period before the Teutonic Knights, mediaeval late-Gothic architecture of the Baltic Coast and Baltic Lowland, modern painting of Gdansk and the architecture of Northern Poland in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The Department of History of the 19th cent. and Modern Art

The Department conducts lectures and seminars in European, American and Polish art of the last two centuries and of the present day. Other courses include the History of Asian art, Doctrines of art and Introduction to the History of Art. These courses are followed by students of art, art conservation and restoration, the protection of cultural heritage and cultural studies. Research of the Department concerns various aspects of contemporary art and of the art of Asia and recently is focused on such issues as the 19th cent. sacral architecture in the Kingdom of Poland and in the Russian Empire, the art from 1918 to 1939, art criticism in Warsaw 1918-1939, video art and Asian art including Indian painting.

The Department of the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

The main research areas focused on by the Department include the history and theory of conservation of monuments, the history of building organization and techniques, the historical analysis of cabinet-making and carpentry construction, the history of architecture including the so called "architectonic examination" and methods of the conservation of monuments of architecture and urbanization. A recently started major research program concentrates on the history of furniture making and the conservation issues pertaining to it. The educational offer prepares the students for work in the area of conservation services and in the research and documentation associated with organizing and supervising activities concerning the protection and conservation of monuments, issues concerning the conservation of architectural monument to historic spatial layouts according particular attention.

The Department of Museology

The Department is the main unit providing museology studies for the degree programme in the Protection of Cultural Heritage. The courses are geared to preparing students to deal with specific historic objects and to work in museums. The research and teaching interests of the staff are concentrated on so-called “movable artefacts”: paintings, sculptures, graphics, drawings and other works of artistic craftsmanship such as furniture, goldsmithery, ceramics, glass, fabrics and coins. The diversity of and scope of the lectures have led to the Department gaining a national reputation as a major center for the study of museology. During the course of their studies, students are also given many opportunities to gain further experience, with numerous field trips to museums, an advanced course in documentary photography and other subjects associated with museology such as the history of collecting and the arranging of museum exhibitions. An increasing emphasis is also placed on familiarizing students with the functioning of the art market. Research interests of the Department include Italian art and Italianism in Poland, Dutch painting, art critics and collecting in the 19th cent., modern goldsmithery in Prussia in the European context, the art of arranging exhibitions and museum space etc.

The Department of Technology and Painting Techniques

Educational offer of the Department is adjusted to the needs of all other specialities of the Institute for the Study, Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Heritage. The students are taught to draw and paint, mostly in old masters’ style and to copy paintings. The curriculum also includes training in physical and chemical methods of examination of works of art. Beside traditional analytical methods the students are also acquainted with the most modern techniques using specialised analytical equipment. The Department conducts complex and specialised research of an interdisciplinary character in the field of easel and mural painting, polychrome sculpture, monuments of architecture and illuminated manuscripts. The services of expert appraisement and consulting regarding authorship and dating of works of art together with a detailed documentation of the structure of the works of art are also offered. The employees solve technological and conservation problems, offering the most recent scientific methods. Also the reconstruction of mural and easel painting is executed as well as copies of paintings.

The Department of Practical Art Training

The Department plays an important role in providing courses for the degree programme in Art Conservation and Restoration and conducts classes with students from the first year of their studies. Classes conducted by the Department tend to be geared to the requirements of particular specialisations (e.g. specificity of painting on paper backgrounds or mastering the difficult technique of glazing wit resinous colours. The syllabi of individual instructors may be modified by the instructors themselves and changes which are introduced reflect the highly individualised education the Department aims to provide.

The Department of the Conservation of Paintings and Polychrome Sculpture

Department activity is divided into conservation education - theory and practice and research projects, updating old and new methods and materials used in the field. Students are prepared to plan and conduct the conservation and restoration of their future projects. The course of studies includes all artistic and technical procedures as well as documentation procedures such as conservation diagnostics, determining the original techniques and state of preservation, stating treatment proposals and restoration programmes. The topics of scientific research are: improvements of lining techniques, safe cleaning of art objects, techniques and problems of conservation of 19th c. and modern paintings, optical, physical and chemical analysis of structure of art works and monitoring of conservation treatment, developing and evaluating methods and materials for retouching both of missing paint, gold and silver layers, methods and materials for conservation of murals. Considerable attention is paid to preventive conservation in museums, churches and private collections.

The Department of the Conservation of Paper and Leather

The Department came into being in 1969. In the same time the specialty of conservation/restoration of ancient paper and leather has been formed. The staff consist of highly specialized restorers and biologists. It is the only unit in Poland conducting research in the field of biodegradation and disinfection of historic artifacts of a very broad spectrum of size and structure - from single objects to mass disinfection of archive and library collections. New methods of conservation of diverse artifacts built of paper, parchment and leather are being developed and applied in educational program, including archeological leather, seals, books and documents, drawing and painting, tapestries and leather wall-hangings, globes and artifacts of the Far East, the latter resulting in organizing an independent atelier specializing in the field of research and restoration of ancient Eastern textiles and papers.

Department of the Conservation of Architectural Elements and Details

The Department specialises in the area of the conservation and restoration of stone sculpture and architectonic elements. The work, focussing on problems in the conservation of stone, metal, wood and glass, was quite fruitful both in terms of research and conservation projects. The following areas were developed and researched: methods of stained-glass conservation, increasing the endurance and water-resistance of construction gypsum, the structural strengthening of wood under lowered pressure, the hydrophobization of brick walls, brick strengthening, the analysis and removal of deposits from stone, and the technology of plasters used for filling in cavities in stones and for structural strengthening.

In the academic year 2000/2001 the number of full-time students at the Institute was 417, extramural students 93; number of research and teaching staff was 70, including 19 professors.

The Institute's representative to ENCoRE is :
Prof. Bogumila J. Rouba,
Head of the Department of Conservation of Paintings and Polychrome Sculpture,
PL 87-100 Torun,
ul. Gagarina 7,
tel/fax (+48 56) 6114621,
brouba@art.uni.torun.pl,

contact person Joanna M. Arszynska MAC,
jma@chem.uni.torun.pl,

additional information on the University is also to be found on the website www.uni.torun.pl, and about the town itself on the website: www.um.torun.pl

The text is based on the English translation for the publication "Instytut Zabytkoznawstwa i Konserwatorstwa" Torun 2001, ed. J. Krawczyk