The Driving Night Watch - carriage project De Haar part 4

By: Mario Broekhuis

Big news this week that the Night Watch is going under. The restorationat the Rijksmuseum will be similar to a "hospital visit. On the basis of all kinds of examinations, the conservators make their diagnosis and they set to work according to a treatment plan. Meanwhile, Maria Stolk is already working on the treatment plan for the hunting break of Kasteel de Haar. Her approach is not so essentially different from that in the Rijks....

 

"No glass walls are needed to keep the public at bay, and there is no need to bring in a university scanner or chromatograph, but the solvents and cotton swabs to remove the old varnish are exactly the same. Even the technique of fixing paint that has come off is the same as in the restoration of an old master. A few may ask a year from now: what exactly was done to the yacht break? But those who read the weekly report from restoration center Stolk know that a lot has been done. Cracks in the wood have been repaired, bent forgings straightened, a broken flap replaced, buckles and leatherwork cleaned and meanwhile Maria Stolk is busy fixing and cleaning the paint with monk's patience. And soon she will complete the missing details with paint containing the same pigments as were used at the time by Mühlbacher's master painter. This will require another "referral from the specialist. And all from the realization that this carriage in its original state must also be preserved for our children and grandchildren. Even in this, the Night Watch and the carriages of Castle de Haar are not so very different from each other."

Also read part 5 of the carriage project by Mario Broekhuis

Mario Broekhuis (51), a stewardship graduate, feels completely at home at a historic country estate like De Haar. Moreover, he knows alesson of carriagesand can tell wonderful stories about it. That is why Mario gives us a monthly update on the progress of the restoration of three carriages for De Haar on this page. The three carriages in this project come from the management of Borg and Nationaal Rijtuigmuseum Nienoord and are transferred to long-term loan by Castle de Haar. This project has been made possible by VZW Pater Davids, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, VSBfonds, Stichting Bonhomme Tielens and Stichting kasteel de Haar. The Hippomobile Heritage Foundation is supervising the implementation and providing communication.