The Conservator and the Creator

Weighing the Value of Artistic Intention in the Conservation of Fine Art

In the conservation of cultural property, all actions of the conservation professional must be governed by an informed respect for the integrity of the property,
including physical, conceptual, historical and aesthetic considerations.
This quote is the second rule in the Code of Ethics and Guidance of Practice of the Canadian Association of Conservation. It is a fundamental rule to the conservation
of objects. It outlines the 3 key considerations of any piece undergoing conservation: Conceptual (the artists original intention of the work), historical (the evidence of
providence), and aesthetic and physical (the sustainability and longevity). These three aspects must be compared in value when considering how to proceed with preservation.

Unknown Artist. Munich Residenz Lion. Circa 1600-1610. Bronze statue. Munich Residence. Photo Credit: Jessica Bekesi.

As the creator of the piece, the artists original vision for the work is a key consideration when approaching its conservation.
This can often be difficult if there is no supportive documentation to what the artist wanted; the intention is left to posthumous
interpretation based on the singular event of the artworks existence. Therefore, a great amount of research must go into the
history of an artwork before proceeding with any conservation methods. Another difficulty of adhering to the artists intent
being that it may directly contradict other values of the piece, such as crucial preservation work without which could lead to the
deterioration of the artwork. In these situations the values of consideration must be weighed against each other, as was done
with the recent work on Picassos Les Demoiselles dAvignon. The painting was varnished in the 1950s, despite Picassos strong
opposition to the appearance of varnishes and having created his paintings to have a contrast of textures and dramatic depth
without it. It is suspected that the varnish was added with preservation in mind, however it resulted in the diminished essential
quality the painting. The conservators at the MoMA chose to remove the impeding varnish, and return the surface to the artists
intended state. The weighed value of preservation and artist intent are able to coincide by the conservators compromise in using
different methods to protect the surface of the painting from dirt.

Historical Value: Appreciation

and Evidence of Providence

Picasso, Pablo. Les Demoiselles dAvignon. 1907. Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York. MoMA.

Conceptual and Creative Value: Artistic Intention

The historical value of an artwork helps dictate the context illustrating its rich history. This has grown to be a key principle of
conservation as an object adopts new meaning through evidence of providence. The debate of the removal or preservation of this value
must be considered as removing it can act to delete part of its heritage, but leaving it can often hinder other aspects. A prime example
of this occurrence is present on the Lucky Bronze Lions outside of the Munich Residenz. The Lions were forged in the early 1600s as
a symbol of Bavaria. However, in the late 1830s the lions gained a new meaning through an incident with Ludwig the First. The legend
tells that Ludwig had a flagrant affair upsetting the people, and driving one student to post his complaint to the Residenz door. When the
King called for all of the writers to be punished, the young man claimed his sole responsibility and was pardoned for his courage. Upon
leaving, surprised at his good fortune to still be alive, he placed his hand on the muzzle of the Bronze Lions shield. From this event it has
become tradition for passersby to rub the muzzle of the statues for good luck. The Munich Residenz Lions muzzles have been rubbed so
frequently that, though the rest of the figure is weathered, the muzzles shine with the abraded metal exposed. This wear has become a
part of the history of the piece, however, the constant rubbing is slowly deteriorating the metal. The value of the historical context of the
lions outweighed that of the conceptual value and longevity, but in efforts to compromise and preserve the pieces, only two of the four
lions remain outside of the gate while the other two have been brought into the Residenz Museum.

Physical Value: Longevity

Van Gogh, Vincent. The Olive Trees. 1889. Oil on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New York. MoMA.

The physical and aesthetic value of a piece is related to its current condition and estimated longevity. The desire to
preserve pieces for future generations is predominant in museum culture, but often conservators need to compromise
to maintain the highest value of the object. This compromise is seen in the determination for reversibility, mentioned
in the Code of Ethics for Conservators. By ensuring any work done is reversible the object maintains much of its
previous integrity with a heightened aesthetic value. However, sometimes the preservation value will overrule some
artistic requests, as is the case in many of Vincent Van Goghs paintings. When looking at his painting, The Olive
Trees, we see his iconic artistic style of thickly applied paint with a multitude of colour. Van Gogh painted this way
wanting the thick impasto paint to be shaved down once the surface had faded to continually reveal the brilliance of
the colours, he explains this in a letter to his brother Theo in 1885:
I lay on the paint with brushstrokes that leave smaller or larger bits of paint sticking up. ... If you leave them for
a year (or six months is enough) and then quickly scrape over them with a razor, you will soon get a rather more
fixity of color than would be the case if it were painted lightly.
This method would not only impugn the paintings aesthetics but would lead to the inevitable demise of the painting.
Van Goghs impasto technique has become part of what is most appreciated about the pieces. With the artistic intent
contradicting both the historical and aesthetic values it becomes clear that pursuing the shaving method is not a
viable option for the conservation of his work. This piece represents the difficulty of upholding artistic intention.

Decision Making
The decision of how to proceed with a treatment is determined by the comparison of the values of the artwork. There should be a nature of compromise between considerations with the final
outcome being, if necessary, at the expense of that which was determined to have the least amount of value. Each case must be approached individually and for its own merit. The conservator should
be mindful of all aspects of value of the piece, with the three key considerations being: conceptual, historical, and physical and aesthetic; however, there are other elements that will factor into the
decision, such as: economical boundaries, technical and practical boundaries, authenticity, spiritual aspects, and functionality. The conservation methods chosen should be kept in strict adherence
to the ethical guidelines of conservators, such as in the Murray Pease Report: Code of Ethics for Art Conservators, which states that there should be an unswerving respect for the aesthetic, historical,
and physical integrity of the artwork. To best treat the artwork all considerations must be evaluated in hopes of maintaining as much of the original intent of the creator as possible.

Jessica Bekesi

Conservator and Creator Poster Horizontal.indd 1

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