Art Conservation

Art Appreciation

Asst. Prof. Gonzalo R. Malihan, PhD.

 Preservatio
n
Conservatio
n
Restoration
 Conservation
❖ Preserve and or
restore to ensure
•SAFETY
•SECURITY
•SURVIVAL
❖ Don’t put to waste
❖ All acts that prolong
the life of cultural
heritage.
Conservation ❖All the
processes of
looking after a
place so as to
retain its
cultural
significance.

Burra Charter Definition

 ❖Place – site, area,
Conservation land, landscape,
building or other
work, group of
buildings or other
works, and may
include
components,
contents, spaces
and views.

Burra Charter Definition

Conservation

• refers to all the processes and measures of

maintaining the cultural significance of a
cultural property
• includes but not limited to, preservation,
restoration, reconstruction, protection,
adaptation or any combination thereof;
Cultural Significance
aesthetic, historic, scientific,
social or spiritual value for
past, present or future
generations.
 Preservation
❑.maintain the fabric of
❑prevent, slowdown, or a place in its existing
stop deterioration (as is) state and retard
deterioration

Fabric – all physical

material of the place
including
components, fixtures,
contents, and
objects.
 Restoration
❖Bring back to
original shape and
form.
 Restoration

❖Return the existing

fabric of a place to a
known earlier state by
removing accretions or
by reassembling existing
components without
the introduction of a
new material.
Fatal Restoration, One of
Michelangelo’s spandrel
at the Sistine Chapel
•Reconstruction –
return a place to a
known earlier
state by the
introduction of
new material into
the fabric.
•Maintenance – continuous protective care of
the fabric and setting of a place.
Setting – the area around a place which
may include visual catchment.
•Repair – involves restoration or
reconstruction.
 •Renovation – adaptation and possible
“beautification” of a structure.

Note: Renovation not considered

conservation activity
•Remodeling – drastic renovation without regard
to its original state, authentic whole, or past.
(not a conservation activity)

Palacio del
Gobernador,
Intramuros,
Manila
•Monument – a single structure or group
of buildings with one or more of the
following attributes:
1. Historical value associated with
important historical event or being
the first structure.
2. Socio-cultural value depicting values
of the people
3. Artistic/architectural value bearing
strong foreign or local influence of a
certain style or period.
4. Uniqueness expressing distinct
characteristics not seen in other
structures such as architecture
originality.
Conservation of structures includes its surroundings
 Reconstruction

Return a place
to a known
earlier state by
the introduction
of new material
into the fabric.
 Causes of Conservation Problems
•Intrinsic Causes
inherent to object
e.g. substandard material
•Extrinsic Cause
external to the object
e.g. photographic flash, ultraviolet
rays
Loboc Church
Before the
Earthquake
Loboc Church
After the
Earthquake
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
 Types of Conservation Intervention

•Preventive
(Indirect)

•Curative (Direct)

Mayan Site Restoration

 Minimum
Intervention

Principles of
Conservatio
n

Compatible
Reversibility
Stability
 Principles of Conservation

1. Minimum Intervention (Minimalist)

• “The less you touch the better”
• Must not be an imitation, falsification, or
attempt to compete with the original
• Must not alter the way the structure was
originally made
• It is better to preserve that to restore, to
restore than to reconstruct
 Principles of Conservation
2. Reversibility
• Whatever is
added must
also be
removable

3. Compatible
stability
• How long can
you control?
Sistine Chapel Restoration
The Deposition of Christ, Tintoretto, National Gallery of Art,
Washington DC.
Scope of Conservation Program

•General and
Specific Areas
•Complexities
•Economic
Constraints
Scope of
Conservation
Program

•Explosion of Object
in all forms
•Technological
Changes
Scope of Conservation Program

•Role of
Government
•Role of Private
Sector
 Conservation in the New Century

Conservation
Transforms
Heritage from
Neutral to Critical
Case of
Interpretation

Manila Jai-|Alai
Conservation in the New
Century

•Evolves as an
increasingly Complex
Process
•Internal Complexity
•Practice
•Science
•Technology
 Conservation in the New Century

•External Complexity
•Shared
responsibility
(authorities,
collectors,
conservator,
tourists)
Conservation in the New Century

•Is a CHALLENGE to
balance different values
in:
•Tourism
•Technical & scientific
matters
•Professional ethics
•Generally accepted
practices
Ethics and Policy

•Respect for past

•Respect for all
concerned
Ethics and Policy

•Re-examine
professional views
and practices
•Re-evaluate
education, distance
learning and
information
technology
 Procedures in Restoration

•Documentation
•Get as much
information on
the object,
structure or place
(both primary
and secondary
data)
Procedures in Restoration

-For structures,
measure and
draw the existing
architectural
plans, elevations,
sections
 Procedures in Restoration

-Photograph or
draw as much as
one can on the
existing object or
structure
Procedures in Restoration

•Planning
•Evaluate the
condition of the
structure and
consult the
checklist
formulated
immediately
 Procedures in Restoration

•Formulate first-aid
measures based on
checklist
•Decide on the
appropriate
restoration
technique
History of Modern Conservation

•Dr. Friedrich Rathgen in

1888 of the State
Museum of Berlin
codified the methods of
modern conservation
practice
History of Modern Conservation

Dr. Friedrich Rathgen Piecing together of tile fragments

conserving a coat of mail
 History of Modern Conservation

•Dr. R.E.M. Wheeler

established the University
of London Institute of
Archaeology in 1936.
•One aspect of the training
given at the institute was
the cleaning and
restoration of the
archaeological artifacts
History of Modern Conservation

•From 1924 to 1959,

Dr. Harold
Plenderleith was
head of the British
Museum Research
Laboratory.
History of Modern
Conservation
•In 1959 he was appointed as
the founding Director of
ICCROM, then known as the
'Rome Centre'.
• His objective of integrating
both the art historical and
the scientific aspects of
restoration became the
guiding philosophy of the
developing 'Centre'.
 ANTIQUES
Cultural properties
found locally which
are one hundred years
old or more in age or
even less but their
production having
ceased, they have,
therefore, become rare
or are becoming rare.
(RA 4846)
 RELICS
Cultural properties
which, either, as a
whole or in fragments,
are left behind after the
destruction or decay of
the rest of its parts and
which are intimately
associated with
important beliefs,
practices, customs and
traditions, periods and
personages. (RA 4846)
 ARTIFACTS
Articles which are
products of human
skills or
workmanship,
especially in the
simple product or
primitive arts or
industry representing
past eras or periods.
(RA 4846)
HISTORICAL SITE

Any place, province,

city, town and/or any
location and
structure which has
played a significant
and important role in
the history of our
country and nation.
(RA 4846)
National Cultural Treasure

A unique object found

locally, possessing
outstanding historical,
cultural, artistic and or
scientific value which
is highly significant to
the country and
nation.
 CULTURAL PROPERTIES

Old buildings,
monuments, shrines,
documents and
objects which may be
classified as antiques,
relics, or artifacts,
landmarks,
anthropological and
historical sites
 CULTURAL PROPERTIES

Works of art such as

paintings, sculptures,
carvings, jewelry,
music, architecture,
sketches, drawings, or
illustrations in part or
in whole;
CULTURAL PROPERTIES
Works of industrial art
such as furniture, pottery,
ceramics, wrought iron,
gold, bronze, silver, wood
or other heraldic items,
metals, coins, medals,
badges, insignias, coat of
arms, crests, flags, arm,
and armor; vehicles, or
ships or boats in part or in
whole.
 Historical Landmarks
•shall refer to sites or
structures that are
associated with
events or
achievements
significant to
Philippine history as
declared by the
National Historical
Institute (RA 10016)
 Historical Monuments

• shall refer to structures

that honor illustrious
persons or
commemorate events
of historical value as
declared by the
National Historical
Institute.(RA 10016)
 Nationally Significant

•shall refer to historical,

aesthetic, scientific,
technical, social and/or
spiritual values that unify
the nation by a deep
sense of pride in their
various yet common
identities, cultural
heritage and national
patrimony.
 Historical Shrines

• shall refer to
historical sites or
structures hallowed
and revered for
their history or
association as
declared by the
National Historical
Commission.
National Cultural Treasure

•shall refer to a unique cultural property

found locally, possessing outstanding
historical, cultural, artistic and/or
scientific value which is highly significant
and important to the country and
nation, and officially declared as such by
pertinent cultural agency.