The Request:

It started in 2023.

Suzanne van de Meerendonk, Bader Curator of European Art at Agnes, received an inquiry requesting a loan of works by Monogrammist I.S. for an exhibition. The inquiry came from Tomi Moisio, Curator at Serlachius, in Mänttä, Finland, just over six thousand kilometers from Kingston. The works in question, An Old Woman Singing (c.1638) and Two Scholars in a Tall Room (1640), were gifts from Drs Alfred and Isabel Bader, donated to Agnes in 2014 and 2021, respectively.

The works are attributed to Monogrammist I.S., also known as Master I.S. No one knows the identity of Monogrammist I.S., though clues in the painting style suggest connections to Dutch masters such as Rembrandt and Lievens, while details of garments and furnishings hint at origins in eastern or northern Europe. After careful consideration, Van de Meerendonk approved the loan of these works but knew that the loan process would have to be postponed. Agnes staff were preparing to move the 17,000-piece collection to secure off-site storage before construction began on the new building, Agnes Reimagined.

Cut to Fall 2024.

The Frame:

An Old Woman Singing was ready for travel, Two Scholars in a Tall Room presented significant challenges. Its original frame was damaged, allowing the painting to shift inside—a serious risk for a delicate 400-year-old artwork. Many paintings of this vintage have “microclimates”—a sealed environment with controlled temperature and humidity—Two Scholars was missing one entirely.

Creating a museum-quality frame for a historical artwork requires extraordinary expertise. Agnes Collections and Care Manager Gabriel Bevilacqua and Preparator Scott Wallis began by visiting the painting in storage to take precise measurements, accounting for the slight curve in the wooden panel. Next came a consultation with frame fabricator Manuel Augusto of Sovereign Studio in Toronto. Unlike mass-produced frames, Manny’s process combines traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Using a special laser cutting tool followed by some hand-finishing techniques, Manny builds frames that mimic the detailed carving work common in seventeenth-century European frames.

The Conservation:

The microclimate—vital in the preventative conservation of traveling artworks —required different expertise. Conservator Sjoukje van der Laan, with experience from the Art Gallery of Ontario and several European institutions, was brought in to create this specialized environment.

After consulting with Manny about how the frame and microclimate would integrate, Sjoukje built the microclimate system in her studio north of Kingston. The final installation took place at Agnes’s off-site storage facility, where she encased the painting in its protective environment before fitting it securely into the custom frame.

The Journey:

With the framing process complete Agnes engaged Total Transportation Services to build a custom crate system, consisting of two smaller crates–one for each painting–which both sat vertically inside a larger crate. Typically, shipped artworks are accompanied by a courier, often a representative of the loaning institution. Agnes Exhibitions and Commissions Coordinator, Leah Cox, has made several of these trips, but due to the distance of this loan the team elected to use a remote courier service so that Leah could follow the works on their entire journey. Professional art shippers sourced domestically handled the shipping on the Canadian leg of the journey with an international firm taking over once the works arrived in Finland. After deplaning in Helsinki, the paintings journeyed three hours to the north to Mänttä. Both shipping companies provided live updates with photos and current locations so that Leah knew down to the minute where the crate was in its journey and its condition.

Once the delivery was made to Serlachius, Leah conducted a remote condition report via video call with Serlachius’ conservation team, meticulously checking for any damage before releasing the works for exhibition. Today, these works are featured in Master I.S.: The Enigmatic Contemporary of Rembrandt—the first exhibition dedicated entirely to this unknown artist. From Finland, they’ll travel to the Museum de Lakenhal in Leiden, Netherlands, before returning to Canada in 2026, having journeyed over 15,000 kilometers!

While international loans between museums and galleries are not unusual, this story highlights the combined years of experience and expertise that go into preserving cultural heritage and sharing it with wider communities.

Want to learn more about the mystery that is Monogrammist/Master I.S.?

Join Agnes for this year’s Isabel and Alfred Bader Lecture in European Art featuring Dr Marieke de Winkel, renowned specialist in historical dress. Dr de Winkel will discuss clues in the garments depicted in I.S.’s paintings that could reveal the identity of this enigmatic artist. Register now!

Serlachius has produced a short video documentary on Master I.S., now available on their website.