Over 10 months, the Selene will operate experimentally within the Vatican Library, primarily starting with the Bartolini Collection, the archive of works by 20th-century engraver Sigfrido Bartolini (1932-2007). 231 matrices in various materials (wood, zinc, linoleum, plaster and marble) will be recorded in unprecedented detail in 3D and colour by Andrea Antonelli and, in light of the results of this experimental phase, the system may later be applied to other documents as well.
Although the Apostolic Library is renowned for its historical collection, this collaboration will highlight the significance of its contemporary heritage through the promotion and enhancement of the works of Bartolini, one of the most distinguished Italian engravers. His innovative approach to printmaking techniques and versatility as an artist spanned woodcuts, etchings, lithographs, watercolours, and oil paintings. In addition to his work as an art critic and co-founder of “Totalità”, Bartolini illustrated works by Bernardo di Chiaravalle, António Vieira, Policarpo Petrocchi, Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Alberto Savinio, and Alfredo Cattabiani as well as the Gospel for the Jubilee of 2000. Among his most celebrated works is the lavishly illustrated 1983 edition of Pinocchio for the Carlo Collodi National Foundation’s centenary celebration of the work’s publication—with more than three hundred black-and-white and colour woodcuts.
The Vatican Library’s collection represents an extraordinary donation from Bartolini’s family of hundreds of his most significant graphic works, making it a vital contribution to the Library’s contemporary art holdings that has yet to be digitised in 3D. The recording through the Selene Photometric Stereo System will not only contribute to the preservation of Bartolini’s collection of matrices, but will also create opportunities for new research, discoveries and in-depth studies of 20th-century graphic art techniques through a state-of-the-art technology that has already contributed to outstanding scholarly results within several archives and museums around the world.
Since autumn 2024, the Vatican Library has also undertaken an important research project in collaboration with the University of Rome Tor Vergata. The project aims to analyse Bartolini’s 88 zinc plates (in some cases combined with linoleum) and their corresponding prints through technical, archival, historical, and bibliographical investigations, as well as to produce in-depth content on the materials, tools, and techniques used, and on aspects closely tied to the artist’s identity.
Meanwhile, the Library’s Photography Laboratory is acquiring images of the 297 prints of the Collection and experimenting with photographing a small selection of matrices using RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) technology.
The 10-month recording of the Bartolini Collection is supported by the Patrons of the Vatican Apostolic Library, a UK-registered charity, chaired by Candida Lodovica de Angelis Corvi Chi, whose purpose is the protection and valorisation of the heritage of the Vatican Apostolic Library.
