The Casa de los Tiros Museum in Granada is cooperating in this plan, providing access to some of its unique pieces
The scientific team generates algorithms for the digital rejuvenation of archives and also creates artificially aged samples to simulate deterioration
Two scientific projects at the UGR are testing new methods to identify early signs that determine the state of conservation of historical documents before the damage becomes visible and irreversible. These procedures seek to combat wear and tear caused by metalloacid inks, better known as ‘killer inks’, as they are very harmful to archives.
The Casa de los Tiros Museum in Granada has begun collaborating with these research initiatives, called HYPERDOC and CC-DOC, funded by the State Research Agency. Painting professor Ana López Montes and optics professor Eva Valero Benito, both from the UGR, are leading these projects.
The aim of this cooperation is to deepen knowledge of the materials that make up historical graphic documents, in order to improve their conservation and restoration.
The HYPERDOC team has taken measurements with multispectral and hyperspectral cameras on documents in different stages of corrosion by metal-acid inks, as well as on documents in good condition, with the aim of developing a digital rejuvenation algorithm.
For their part, the CC-DOC project researchers are focusing on assessing the state of conservation, creating artificially aged samples in the laboratory to simulate their future deterioration, and experimenting with new methodologies—or adapting existing ones—to stabilize these materials.
The museum has facilitated access to its documentary collection, especially to two unique pieces: the volumes of the Granada group La Cuerda (1853-1854) and the Album of Miss Sofía de Paso y Artacho (1869-1904). The first is a written testimony of the literary gatherings of the La Cuerda group, in which prominent artists such as Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, the novelist Fernández y González, and José J. Soler de la Fuente, among others, participated. This handwritten album contains illustrations, verses, poems, and musical compositions presented in the form of competitions of satire and wit.
The second document, dedicated to Sofía de Paso y Artacho—daughter of one of the members of La Cuerda—is also a manuscript in which painters, musicians, and writers belonging to the 19th-century artistic circle of Granada collaborated.
Both archives are illustrated and written mainly with metal-acid inks, colloquially known in the field of conservation as ‘killer inks’ due to their deterioration process, which can degrade the paper to the point of causing a burning effect or even its complete disappearance.
“These types of initiatives highlight the enormous potential of interdisciplinary collaborations between projects in different fields of knowledge. In addition, the active involvement of institutions such as the Casa de los Tiros Museum is essential, as they not only safeguard valuable documentary collections, but also share a commitment to their study, preservation, and dissemination,” explain the researchers coordinating the work.
Opening up these collections to scientific research allows for advances in innovative and sustainable methodologies for the conservation of graphic heritage, while enriching collective knowledge about cultural history.
Contacts:
Ana López Montes
Department of Painting. IP project CC-DOC
Faculty of Fine Arts
University of Granada
Email: @email
Eva Valero Benito
Department of Optics. IP project HYPERDOC
Faculty of Sciences
University of Granada
Email: @email
This text has been generated using machine translation and has not been revised. The UGR does not guarantee the accuracy of the translation and accepts no liability for possible errors.
