MuseoMag: MuseoMag 2017_01

MuseoMag 2017_01

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Title:: MuseoMag

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Title:: MuseoMag 2017_01

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Title:: A photo shoot under high surveillance: A precious book donated to the Musée Dräi Eechelen by the Friends of the art and history museums, is photographed from every angle

28 museomag 01 ‘ 2017 a photo shoot under high surveillanCe a preCious book donated to the musÉe dräi eeChelen by the friends of the art and history museums, is photographed from every angle For each shot, photographer and restorer must find the best inclination to naturally achieve the best shot without damaging the paper or the casing. © éric chenal Thanks to the patronage of The Friends of the Art and History Museums, the Musée Dräi Eechelen acquired a particularly valuable book published in 1596. The Novice of Leone Belgico eiusque topographica atque historica descriptione liber of Michael Aitzinger is one of the books most sought after by historians and lovers of antiquarian books. The book presents a detailed description of the events that happened in our region between 1555 and 1595, during the revolt of the Spanish Netherlands, thanks to 237 double engraved pages and six medallion portraits of the governors. In order to acquire a detailed knowledge and to study these etchings with a thousand details, it was imperative to photograph them and thus manipulate the original book as little as possible. However, to carry out a photo session of a finely gilded and over 500-year-old-book with delicate bindings one does not improvise! Neither does the old paper appreciate long exposures to light, nor must the bound pages be forced open. And for each page, the photographer must find a different solution and play with a mirror to obtain the best lighting through its reflections. This book is certainly a lazy model but has so much to say! Indeed, besides engravings and portraits, it contains an even more precious treasure (and even more challenging to photograph): a lion! Michael Aitzinger was the first to represent the map of the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands in the form of a lion. This Leo Belgicus has become a «must» of cartography and its copies are highly appreciated by collectors. It is even more rare and valuable to be able to acquire this map within a complete book. However, when it is time to photograph it, it is necessary to hold one’s breath and to work with the utmost dexterity. Several etchings represent a key figure in the history of Luxembourg: Pierre-Ernest de Mansfeld (1517- 1604). These images unveil details and make us literally witness scenes, such as the arrest of the Counts of Egmont and of Hornes by the Duke of Alba in 1567, or the assassination of William of Orange in 1584, as well as relive the ceremony during which Mansfeld bestowed the prestigious chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece to Alexander Farnese after the surrender of Antwerp in 1585. Thanks to this special photo shoot, all the engravings of the book - and its precious Leo – are now available and can be studied by historians without having to use the precious original, which can remain in optimal conservation conditions in one of the museum’s safe. Cécile Arnould

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