The course acquaints students with the main historical and cultural steps in the restoration of artistic artefacts from the 15th to the 21st century, initiating them towards a methodological approach and critical tools necessary for the study of specific sources and the analysis of restoration solutions adopted in different periods and contexts. Together with the lectures, visits and conferences form in the student primary competences for interaction with the various professional figures with whom the art historian dealing with restoration and conservation must interact.
teacher profile teaching materials
The topics covered will be:
- Restoration, reuse and maintenance in antiquity
- Restoration culture and the relationship with antiquity between the 15th and 18th centuries
- History of the culture of context
- Restoration of paintings and sculptures in the 19th century
- Restoration of monuments in the 19th century
- The culture of authenticity between the 19th and 21st centuries
- Main concepts of Brandi's Theory of Restoration
- Critical approach to the methodological proposals of Giovanni Urbani
Programme
The course outlines diachronically the history of restoration from the 15th to the 21st century, with special emphasis on the 18th-20th centuries, through the analysis of the most significant steps and the personalities and institutions that have played a crucial role. Lectures devoted to current restoration methods and criteria will be accompanied by visits to restoration sites and laboratories and lectures given by the various professionals involved in restoration and conservation.The topics covered will be:
- Restoration, reuse and maintenance in antiquity
- Restoration culture and the relationship with antiquity between the 15th and 18th centuries
- History of the culture of context
- Restoration of paintings and sculptures in the 19th century
- Restoration of monuments in the 19th century
- The culture of authenticity between the 19th and 21st centuries
- Main concepts of Brandi's Theory of Restoration
- Critical approach to the methodological proposals of Giovanni Urbani
Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended. Non-attending students should integrate the program as indicated in the Texts section.Type of evaluation
The exam will focus on knowledge of the slides illustrated in the lectures and in-depth materials posted during the lecture period in the 'teaching materials' section on the course's Teams channel. By observing a photo of an artwork analyzed in class (see PDF), the candidate should illustrate the conservation history and the restoration culture of the time. The student will have to demonstrate, by means of an oral interview, that he/she has studied and critically understood the topics dealt with during the lessons, illustrated in the slides and in the bibliography indicated in the syllabus; that he/she has therefore acquired knowledge of the history of restoration relative to the chronological span indicated in the syllabus; that he/she has acquired a methodological approach necessary to orientate him/herself in the study and analysis of the conservation history of the works of art. The interview will also verify the results obtained with respect to communication skills and autonomy of judgement.