Department of Art History

Sr. Res. Assoc. Dr. Anabelle Križnar

Specialised in material and technical analysis of mediaeval mural paintings and other artworks

Has studied Art History and Hispanic language at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Ljubljana, where she obtained her degree in 1998 and continued her postgraduate studies in Art History. In her PhD (2005) she specialized in materials and techniques of medieval wall paintings. In 2005 she obtained the title of Assistant, in 2008 of Research Associate and in 2017 of Higher Research Associate in the area of Art History at the University of Ljubljana. After moving to Spain, she started to work as a researcher at the University of Seville (Faculty of Physics and Centro nacional de Aceleradores) carrying out the analytical work on selected artworks of different collections. In 2012 she obtained the habilitation for Assistant professor and Associate Professor. Since 2016, she works as assistant professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts (US), teaching Theory and History of the Arts and Applied Sciences. In 2017 she started with her individual research project dedicated to the painting techniques and materials of the Centro-European mediaeval mural paintings around 1400 and sponsored by a prestigious scholarship by the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for established researchers, being a guest researcher at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Berlin. 

She has finished several courses on painting techniques and material analysis in Austria, Spain, Italy, Great Britain and the Netherlands, and also worked in several important research centres (Kunsthistorisches Institut and Bundesdenkmalamt/ Restauratorenwerkstaetten in Viena, Institute for Material Science (CSIC) in Seville, Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, The British Museum in London, sponsored with grants by the Ministry for Education, Science and Culture of Austria, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Spain and Italy, and The British Council. She is enabled to perform independent analysis of artworks, applying different invasive and non-invasive techniques like OM, FTIR, SEM-EDX, XRD, Raman, IRR and XRF. She participates in several research programs in Slovenia and Spain, is member of five research groups, member of ICOM, ICOMOS IIC and Society of Art History of Slovenia. She presents obtained results at national and international conferences, has published two monographies on materials and techniques of wall paintings, has participated in several book chapters and is author or co-author of more than fifty scientific articles.

Monography:

1. A. Križnar: Slog in tehnika srednjeveškega stenskega slikarstva na Slovenskem [Style and Technique of Medieval Mural Painting in Slovenia] (Ljubljana: Zalozba ZRC SAZU; Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani, 2006), 360 pp. ISBN: 961-6568-23-X.

2. A. Križnar: Materiali in tehnike starejse beljaske slikarske delavnice. Historia Artis, Zbirka oddelka za umetnostno zgodovino (Materials and techniques of the Older Villach’s painting workshop. Historia artis. The collection of the of Art History Department). ZIFF – Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani (Scientific Editorial of the Art Faculty, University of Ljubljana), Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani, Ljubljana 2009 (printed in 2011), 184 pp. ISBN 978-961-237-475-4

Book chapters:

1. A. Križnar: Pigments in medieval wall paintings in Slovenia, in: R. Novak Klemencic, S. Stefanac (eds.),  Historia Artis Magistra: amicorum discipulorumque munuscula  Johanni Höfler septuagenario dicata, ZIFF, Ljubljana 2012, pp. 79-88, ISBN: 978-961-237-623-9.

2. A. Križnar, M. Valme Muñoz, M. A. Respaldiza, M. Vega: Pigments and painting preparations of Gonzalo Bilbao analysed by non-destructive XRF technique, in: M.A. Rogerio-Candelera, M. Lazzari, E. Cano: Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage, CRC Press/ Balkema, Taylor & Francis Group, London 2013, pp. 185-188; ISBN: 978-1-138-00009-4; eBook: ISBN: 978-0-203-50801-5.

3. A. Križnar, M. Valme Muñoz, M. A. Respaldiza, M. Vega: Panel painting by Cristobal de Morales analysed by non-destructive XRF technique. In: M. A. Rogerio Candelaria (Ed.): Science,Technology and Cultural Heritage, Taylor & Francis Group, CRC Press, London, New York, Leiden 2014, pp. 295-300. ISBN: 978-1-138-02744-2

4. Križnar, A., Murals of the so-called “Hybrid Gothic style in Slovenia (Fourteenth Century); connections between their stylistic and technical history; in: A. Wallert (Ed.): Painting Techniques: History, Materials and Studio Practice, 5th International Symposimum, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 2016, pp.11-16; ISBN: 978-94-91714-95-5

5. A. Križnar, K. Laclavetine, M. V. Muñoz, M. A. Respaldiza, M. Vega: A tryptich by Martín de Vos analysed by non-destructive techniques, in: A. Mackova, F. Azaiez, J. Nyberg, D. MacGregor, E. Piasetzky (Eds.): Nuclear Physics for Cultural Heritage, Nuclear Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS NPD), Mulhouse 2016, pp. 60-64.

6. A. Križnar, M. A. Respaldiza, M. A. Gómez Morón, L.  Nuñez Cacáres, E. Fernandez Ruiz, L. Martín: Analysis of materials during the restoration of Tota Pulchra. En: Conserving Cultural Heritage: Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress on Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (TechnoHeritage 2017), May 21-24, 2017, Cadiz, Spain, University of Cadiz, Cádiz 2018, pp. 71-74. ISBN 9781138067448.

Articles:

1. A. Križnar, M.V. Muñoz, F. de la Paz, M. A. Respaldiza, and M. Vega: Pigment Identification using X-Ray Fluorescence in a Polychromated Sculpture by Pedro Millán, in: X-Ray Spectrometry, no. 37, 2008, pp. 355-359. ISSN: 0049-8246

2. A. Križnar, A. Ruiz-Conde, and P. J. Sánchez-Soto: Microanalysis of Gothic Mural Paintings (15th Century) in Slovenia: Investigation of the technique used by the Masters, in: X-Ray Spectrometry, no. 37, 2008, pp. 360-369. ISSN: 0049-8246

3. A. Križnar, M.V. Muñoz, F. de la Paz, M. A. Respaldiza, and M. Vega: XRF analysis of two terracotta polychrome sculptures by Pietro Torrigiano, X-Ray Spectrometry, 38, 2009, pp. 169-174. ISSN: 0049-8246

4. A. Križnar: Maltechniken und Werkstoffe der Ältern Villacher Werkstätte, in: Wilhelm Wadl (ed.): Carinthia I, No. 200, Verlag des Geschichtsvereins fuer Kärnten, Klagenfurt am Wörthsee 2010, pp. 247-266. ISSN: 0008-6606

5. A. Križnar: Interdisciplinary approach to Medieval wall paintings in Slovenia: between art history and material analysis (invited contribution). In.: Hradil D., Hradilova J. (Eds.): Acta Artis Academica 2012, Proceedings of the 4th conference of ALMA "Knowledge and experince in fine art" held in Prague, 21-23. November 2012, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, Prague 2012, pp. 25-34. ISBN: 978-80-87108- 33-8.

6. A. Križnar, M.V. Muñoz, M. A. Respaldiza and M. Vega: Análisis no destructivo por FRX portátil del Retablo de la Natividad del Señor del Maestro de Moguer (sgl. XVI), Estudos Arqueológicos de Oeiras, 19, Camara municipal de Oeiras, Lisboa 2012, pp. 241-247,  ISSN: O872-6O86

7. A. Križnar: Workshop practice in Slovenia wall paintings from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, In: D. Saunders, M. Spring and A. Meek (eds): The Renaissance Workshop, Archetype publications, The British Museum, London, 2013, pp. 10-19, ISBN: 978-1-904982-93-7.

8. A. Križnar: Plasters in medieval mural paintings of Carinthia and its influence on Slovenia, Journal of Architectural Conservation, vol. 20, Issue 1, Taylor& Francis Group, 2014, pp. 43-55.  ISSN 1355-6207 (Print), 2326-6384 (Online)

9. A. Križnar, M.V. Muñoz, M. A. Respaldiza and M. Vega: Non-destructive XRF analysis of selected Flemish panel paintings in the Fine Arts Museum of Seville, Journal of the Institute for Conservation, 37/2, Taylor&Francis, 2014, pp. 136-151.  ISSN: 1945-5224; DOI: 10.1080/19455224.2014.915224

10. A. Križnar: A comparative study of wall painting materials and techniques used in fifteenth century Austria by Frederich of Villach and his followers, Studies in Conservation, 59/5, IIC – International Institute for Conservation of historic and artistic works 2014, pp. 289-299. Impact Factor: 0.173. ISSN: 0039-3630.

11. M. Gutman, M. Lesar-Kikelj, A. Mladenovič, V. Čobal-Sedmak, A. Križnar, and S. Kramar: Raman microspectroscopic analysis of pigments of the Gothic wall painting from the Dominican Monastery in Ptuj (Slovenia), Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 45/11-12, John Wiley & Sons. 2014, pp. 1103-1109; ISSN: 0377-0486. Impact factor: 2.519. DOI: 10.1002/jrs.462

12. Križnar, A., Laclavetine, K., Muñoz, M. V., Respaldiza, M. A., Vega, M.: Non-destructive Analysis of Pigments in a Triptych by Martin de Vos, Spectroscopy Letters 49/01, 2016, pp. 30-36, ISSN: 0038-7010. Impact factor: 0.852; DOI:10.1080/00387010.2015.1061018

13. Križnar, A., Laclavetine, K., Muñoz, M. V., Respaldiza, M. A., Vega, M.: Non-destructive techniques for in situ studies of a 16th Century panel painting, Opuscula Musealia, 23, Muzeum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Collegium Maius, Krakov, 2016, pp. 113-120, ISSN 0239-9989, e-ISSN 2084-3852; DOI 10.4467/20843852.OM.15.010.5388

14. Križnar, A., Ager, F. J., Caliri, C, Romano P. F., Respaldiza M. A.: Study of two large dimension Murillo paintings by means of Macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) imaging, point XRF analysis and stratigraphic studies. En: X-Ray Spectrometry. 2018. Vol. 1. Núm. 1. Pag. 1-8

15. Levstik, M.G., Mladenovič, A., Križnar, A., Kramar, S.: A Raman microspectroscopy-based comparison of pigments applied in two gothic wall paintings in Slovenia, Periodico di Mineralogia 88/ 1, 2019, pp. 95-104.

Staff

Events

09. 11. - 11. 11. 2023
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts

26th Neolithic Seminar 'Eurasian Neolithics: How Cultures and Societies Evolve and Why It Matters'

27. 02. 2023
Faculty of Arts

Online presentation of University of Ljubljana for prospective international students

13. 10. 2022
Administrative Office for Doctoral Study, Faculty of Arts

EUTOPIA Citizen Science Clinics

15. 09. 2022
Administrative Office for Undergraduate Study Programme, Faculty of Arts

Reception for International Students at the Faculty of Arts and at the University of Ljubljana (two separate events)

22. 02. 2022
Faculty of Arts

Online sessions for prospective international students, 22 February 2022 at 1.15 pm (CET)