How can current engineering services contribute to improving the conservation and restoration of art objects? The Institute for Statics and Dynamics of Supporting Structures at TU Dresden is dealing with this issue and thus opening up new potentials and perspectives for museums. It mainly relies on the interdisciplinary use of theoretical-numerical approaches such as the finite element method for simulating and predicting structural responses of artworks and objects as a result of climatic and mechanical effects.

In collaboration with partner institutions such as the Dresden University of Fine Arts (HfBK), the scientists have carried out a detailed experimental and numerical analysis of icons from the Russian Memorial Church of St Alexei in Leipzig. Extensive research was conducted on replicas made with partners from the Andrey Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Culture, Moscow, and the Moscow State Academy of Arts, named after V.I. Surikov.

The results were presented most recently in November at the colloquium Virtual Experiments for Wooden Artwork. Other lectures focused on the portrait of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the Swedish Vasa ship from the 17th century.

© Institut für Statik und Dynamik der Tragwerke

Until the publication of the corresponding conference proceedings on the state of the art of the field of work at the beginning of next year, the lectures can be accessed on the website of the Institute of Statics and Dynamics: https://tu-dresden.de/bu/bauingenieurwesen/sdt/forschung/2016/historische-holztafelbilder-und-ikonen?set_language=en