Restoration of didactic botanical models from the collection of the IES Isabel la Católica

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Six didactic models of the XNUMXth century

The Community of Madrid has a network of Historical Institutes, secondary schools created in the XNUMXth century and in the first third of the XNUMXth century, which guard and preserve cultural heritage assets of undoubted value. The name Historical Institutes refers to their patrimonial importance, on some occasions because of the building that houses them and on others, because of the documentary or instrumental pieces that they have managed to preserve.

In these institutes, collections of a very varied nature and surprising contents are preserved, with historical objects used in the teaching of subjects such as Biology, Geology, Physics or Chemistry. They range from anatomical, botanical and zoological models, such as naturalized animals, to collections of fossils and mineralogy and scientific-technological instruments, passing through historical maps for teaching Geography, models for explanations of Physics or Mathematics, musical instruments and also works of art.

All these collections constitute an important fund of the historical heritage of the Community of Madrid that is largely unknown to the general public. For the purpose of their protection, conservation and enhancement, in 2019 the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage began a line of work with restoration interventions on assets from these collections, which is maintained to this day and which also meets their needs for preventive conservation.

The Isabel la Católica Institute is made up of five buildings included in an area adjacent to the Retiro Park, in the so-called Cerrillo de San Blas. The origin of this institute is due to the construction of the Institute-School (Retiro Section) in 1928. It has very varied and unique collections of elements of historical heritage in the areas of Technology, Geology, Anatomy and Biology. Its state of conservation requires conservation and restoration interventions to stop its deterioration. In 2020, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Community of Madrid began a restoration campaign on various botanical teaching models with a high degree of deterioration that has continued in 2021 with conservation and restoration work on prioritized pieces.

restored models

The treatments have been carried out on six didactic botanical models from the scientific collections of the Isabel la Católica Institute in Madrid.

Five of these didactic models are made of papier-mâché, produced in Dr. Auzoux's factory (Chrysanthemum, Acorn, Rumex Seed, Rumex Flower and Campanula) dated 1915. The last one, Germination, is made of wood and plaster and has no signature or date. This and the Crisantemo model are the only ones that present original bases with the metal plates corresponding to the distribution houses CASA ARAMBURO and SOGERESA respectively. The rest of the models are exhibited on replicas of different manufacture and quality, without any identifying mark.

Louis Thomas Jerôme Auzoux (1797-1880) was a Norman medical anatomist and naturalist who was responsible for the manufacturing technique of papier-mâché teaching models, starting from anatomical models of the human body.

Botanical models, enlarged ten times in scale, made their appearance in 1862 thanks to the development of natural science education and state subsidies to equip colleges and secondary schools with the scientific and educational collections required by the new study programs.

Apart from the intrinsic factors inherent to the nature of the materials (such as the degradation of the cellulosic support, making it fragile and brittle), the main causes of alteration of the didactic models are precisely due to their pedagogical nature. The constant manipulation was causing in them fractures, deformations and loss of polychromy.

All the restored pieces showed a large accumulation of surface dirt, marked exfoliation, erosion and loss of polychrome and oxidation of the surface protections that caused the dark appearance of the paintings.

Likewise, there were cracks and lifting that cause the deterioration of the pieces, loss of material from some of them, especially located on the edges of the volumes and friction zones, deformations of the base material, which caused the mismatch and loss. of metallic fastening elements of the different pieces that make up the models.

The restored didactic models were well protected, in the cabinets of the old laboratories. Unfortunately, the climatic conditions have not always been the most favorable for the correct conservation of the pieces. In September 2008 there was a strong hail storm in Madrid that caused multiple material damages throughout the city. Around those same dates, the roof of the historical building of the institute was under construction, which caused large leaks and pockets of water to form that damaged the showcases of the Biology and Geology laboratories and, therefore, the collections that are housed in their inside. Among these collections were the thirty-seven didactic models of Botany of Dr. Auzoux, which are part of the historical legacy of the institute. Given the hygroscopic nature of the material with which they are made, the sudden changes in volume that the cellulosic support suffered as a result of moisture seepage have affected the preservation of the polychromy, as well as the support.

Restoration of the works

The restoration works have been adapted to the needs of each piece:

First of all, it was disassembly, organoleptic examination and documentation of the pieces, necessary steps to determine the methodology to follow.
Some parts have required the removal of overpainting, alternating mechanical and chemical methods until reaching the original level of polychromy, which had to be established by injections of aqueous resin dispersion. The cleaning of this polychromy has been carried out using swabs dipped in cold distilled water.
Cstructural consolidation of the most deteriorated pieces and to the replacement of the anchors of the pieces that make up the models.
Material and volumetric reintegration, to return to the pieces their aesthetic and didactic legibility, lost over the years.
Mechanical and chemical cleaning of dirt and oxidized varnishes and elimination of corrosion products from metallic elements.
Protection end of each of the pieces that make up the models and the adaptation of the bases or replacement by new ones, as has been the case of the base of the Campánula, which has been replaced by a wooden base.