The Paper and Leather Conservation Studio of the National Museum in Kraków restores objects on a paper, parchment and leather.

Traditionally, the conservation of paper was understood as the conservation of books with leather bindings, hence the combination of these materials in the name of studio. In the past, in the studio we used to restore leather objects, such as cordovans, leather parts of armaments and art and crafts items. Today, due to the very large paper collection (over 450,000 inventory units) and the needs of the Museum related to the provision of collection, in the studio we mainly take carry of objects on paper support.

The studio provides conservation care for all collections of graphics and drawings of the National Museum in Kraków. The team of the studio also deals with objects on a paper support, which can be found in the Artistic Crafts Departments, in the Numismatics Room, or in other departments of the Museum. There are also three libraries under the constant care of the studio: the Prince Czartoryski Library, library of the department of old prints, manuscripts and cartography of the National Museum in Krakow, as well as the library of the National Museum in Krakow. The later one has collections of books owned by Olga Boznańska, Stanisław Wyspiański, Józef Czapski and others.
In addition, the studio takes care of the miniature painting collection and the collection of the old photographs.

The studio takes care of the Far East art collection, currently deposited in the "Manggha" Museum of Japanese Art and Technology. The collection includes scroll paintings on silk and paper, pictures on tsu-so rice paper, screens, fans and the largest in Central Europe collection of Japanese woodcuts.
Although the collections are kept in a different institution, conservation works and research on the objects are carried out by conservators of the NMK.

The studio restores objects made in variety of artistic techniques. These include drawings, graphics, gouaches, watercolors, pastels - both made on a paper and parchment support. Handwritten and printed books, both on paper and parchment. Posters, documents, prints, collages, leaflets, maps, but also globes, fans or tracing drawings are also treated.
The works of art treated at the studio are of very different physical sizes: from a few centimeters long forms of miniature paintings or 18th century prints by J.P. Norblin, to posters and large-format objects, such as polychrome or stained glass designs, which can be several meters long.

The studio has carried out numerous maintenance works on large-format objects - stained glass and polychrome designs. The most prominent ones were the series of cardboards by Józef Mehoffer for St. Nicholas Cathedral Church in Friborg, the pastels of Apollo and Wanda by Stanisław Wyspiański, designs for stained glass and polychrome for the Franciscan Church in Kraków by Stanisław Wyspiański, and the polychrome designs for St. Mary's Church in Kraków by Jan Matejko.

In addition to the conservation of damaged works of art, the studio prepares objects for loans outside the Museum. This include the setting and protection of works of art, preparation of opinions and documentation of the state of preservation and supervision over packaging. The duties of conservators also include the supervision of current exhibitions and the control of climatic conditions in designated departments of the Museum.

The bookbinding workshop of the studio binds contemporary books and restores books from the 19th and 20th century. Specialist individual packaging for monuments are made in the workshop, e.g. boxes for parchment documents with seals, boxes for fans or boxes for miniatures. The workshop and the studio work together to mount graphics and drawings after conservation works.

Conservators participate in conferences, trainings and workshops constantly developing their skills. The studio accepts students for internships.

The team of the Paper and Leather Conservation Studio of the National Museum in Krakow participated in the development of brochures from the Collection Protection NIMOZ series:
The rules fo handling with historic objects on a paper support (https://nimoz.pl/files/publications/29/Zasady_postepowania_z_obiektami_na_podlozu_papierowym.pdf)
and Leather in museum objects.
(https://nimoz.pl/files/publications/32/konserwacja_skory_zeszyt_nr_4.pdf).

In 2015, a studio’s team carried out conservation of 270 volumes of Józef Czapski's diaries as a part of the Józef Czapski Pavilion Construction Project at the National Museum in Krakow. In the years of 2016-19, as part of the project Closer to Culture, several thousand paper-based objects (mainly graphics, manuscripts, old prints) were prepared for digitization. In the years 2019-2020, objects from the collection of old prints, manuscripts, maps, graphics and drawings for variable exhibitions were preserved for the Princes Czartoryski Museum as a part of the project The Past to the Future.

The team of the studio takes part in the preparations for almost all the exhibitions held at the Museum, since each exhibition includes paper objects.

In recent years, the Studio has carried out the conservation of numerous objects for the monographic exhibition of Stanisław Wyspiański (2017-19) and its subsequent editions (Wyspiański Unknown (2019), Wyspiański Aterword (2019): a large collection of drawings and large-format stained glass and polychrome designs for the Franciscan Church in Krakow have been preserved (Roses, St. Francis, Blessed Salomea). For the exhibition Genius of the Baroque. Szymon Czechowicz (1689-1775) (2020-21), conservators had preserved a collection of about 40 drawings by the artist from the Museum of the Jagiellonian University. About 50 prints and drawings were restored for the exhibition Aleksander Kotsis (1836-1877). Shades of realism. The Studio also prepared and maintained objects for such exhibitions as the 1920 Miracle of the Vistula (2020) Here Comes Youth. The First Krakow Group (2019-20), Jan Hrynkowski. The artist's story (2019-20), Independence (2018-19), Krakow 1900 (2018-19), and #heritage (2017-18).

In 2021, works of art were prepared for the exhibitions: Hokusai. Passages… (conservation and mounting of over 160 Japanese woodcuts), numerous prints and drawings for the exhibition about Joachim Lelewel (2022), including a collection of proofs of his engravings. Further works by Stanisław Wyspiański were also being restored for the exhibition Young Poland and the Arts and Crafts Movement at the William Morris Gallery in London. The most prominent object was a designs of Franciscan Church polychromes (Nasturtiums). Objects for the Polish National Styles (2021) and drawings and pastel self-portrait of Jacek Malczewski for the Jacek Malczewski. Romantic (2022) exhibitions were prepared.

The team of the studio takes an active part in the establishing of the Stanisław Wyspiański Museum. Due to the specificity of the artist’s workshop the collection mainly includes objects on a paper support.


Studio team:

Łucja Skoczeń-Rąpała - head of the studio (lskoczen@mnk.pl)
Ewa Sobiczewska (esobiczewska@mnk.pl)
Zofia Maniakowska-Jazownik (zmaniakowska@mnk.pl)
Marta Winiarczyk (mwiniarczyk@mnk.pl)
Katarzyna Król-Goździk (kkrol@mnk.pl)
Sylwia Nienajadło (snienajadlo@mnk.pl)
Barbara Giżycka (bgizycka@mnk.pl)
Małgorzata Burda(mburda@mnk.pl)
Anna Kozłowska (akozlowska@mnk.pl)


Contact:

The Łoziński tenement house
ul. J. Piłsudskiego 14
phone: +48 012 433 58 21