Conservator Interview: Matteo Rossi Doria by dr. Sanneke Stigter
Tuesday 28 January 2025, 16:30-18:00
Eye Filmmuseum, IJpromenade 1, Amsterdam
In the context of The Dutch Method Unfolded II, a special film screening of The Restoration of the Night Watch by Théo Kok was organised at Eye Filmmuseum. The film is a documentary on the 1975 treatment of Rembrandt’s masterpiece.
The projection was followed by a conservator interview with Italian conservator Matteo Rossi Doria by Sanneke Stigter. Seeing the treatment of Rembrandt’s Night Watch on television was a life changing experience for Rossi Doria, after which he devoted his career to safeguarding our cultural heritage. He specialised in the structural treatment of canvas paintings, the restoration of historic carriages, and the treatment of paper and leather artefacts.
The attendees included the masterclass participants and guest lecturers as well as several students enrolled in the master program on conservation and restoration of cultural heritage at the University of Amsterdam. The audience was also invited to ask questions to Rossi Doria after the interview by Stigter.
The interview was recorded (film and audio) and archived in the DANS platform (Dutch national centre of expertise and repository for research data) for wider dissemination and future research.
Background
Rossi-Doria, Matteo. 2023. “Linking Past and Future: Forty Years a Liner in Italy.” In Conserving Canvas, edited by Cynthia Schwarz, Ian McClure, and Jim Coddington, 76–84. Getty Publications. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.6142260.14
Dr. Sanneke Stigter is Assistant Professor of Conservation and Restoration at the University of Amsterdam, specialised in Contemporary Art. She is directing the Interviews in Conservation Initiative and is PI of several research projects on Oral History. Her focus is on installation art, photoworks and conceptual art, as well as museum practice and artist involvement, using her previous experience as museum professional, including as Head of Conservation of Contemporary Art and Modern Sculpture at the Kröller-Müller Museum. She has been involved in many international research projects, such as Inside Installations, NeCCAR and NACCA, holds positions on the steering committees of INCCA and the SBMK, and teaches graduate, postgraduate, and PhD-students in conservation, curatorial studies and artistic research.