Studio Claudy Jongstra is a contemporary laboratory for the investigation of historical color-making technologies. Our most recent research focuses on the complex and mystifying creation of the famous Burgundian Blacks, lustrous and lasting tones
of black perfected by Flemish master dyers in the Burgundian- Habsburg Netherlands (c. 1430s - 1580s).
In collaboration with the Artechne Project (European Research Council) and a diverse range of historians, specialists, and curators, Studio Claudy Jongstra draws on a collection of color- recipe books and art technological sources from this period to revive and reimagine the Burgundian Black color-making technologies in a contemporary artistic practice.
This research is the foundation of an exhibition entitled Back to Black at Museum Hof Van Busleyden (Mechelen, Belgium) opening in June 2019.