How 3D scans reveal the art historical secrets of the Grote Kerk Naarden
Sanne Frequin and Daantje Meuwissen in OVT, NOS, and NH Nieuws et al.
High up in the vaults of the Grote Kerk in Naarden, surrounded by monumental ceiling paintings that have kept their secrets for centuries, young researchers and students are working on the ambitious project . Art historians and university lecturers Sanne Frequin and Daantje Meuwissen have discussed on platforms such as OVT, NOS, and NH Nieuws how a digital 3D scan is revealing the hidden details of the vault.
First 3D model of its kind in the Netherlands
The young researchers and students from the are mapping the ceiling of the Grote Kerk in Naarden using digital scans, which they process into a 3D model. This is the first time a model of this scale has been created in the Netherlands. Meuwissen explained on OVT what the 3D scans enable: 鈥淚f we suspect that something is a later overpainting, we can visually remove it, bringing us closer to the original painting.鈥
During the research, the students have the opportunity to work on the 25-metre-high scaffolding in the church. Student Baukelien Vonk shared her experience with NH Nieuws: 鈥淲e all have a great passion for art, and when you鈥檙e standing so close and really working with it, it鈥檚 truly a completely different feeling.鈥
Importance of 3D scans for art history
One of the goals is to learn more about the artist behind these paintings. For instance, could it be Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, as is often thought? 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure if we鈥檒l completely solve the mystery, as we would need to find a signature somewhere鈥, Frequin tells NOS.
The importance of such a 3D scan has already been demonstrated, Frequin continues in the Achtuurjournaal. 鈥淪ome time ago, the Notre Dame in Paris caught fire. What few people know is that shortly before the fire, a lecturer had already made a 3D scan.鈥 This scan proved to be of great value for the restoration.
Sistine Chapel of the North
The Grote Kerk in Naarden, also known as the 鈥楽istine Chapel of the North鈥, is renowned for its impressive sixteenth-century ceiling paintings. These depictions of Biblical scenes are unique in Northern Europe due to their scale and quality.