Research Catalog

Title

The Art of the conservator / edited by Andrew Oddy.

Publication

Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution Press, c1992.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Oddy, W. A.

Description

192 p. : ill. (some col.); 29 cm.

Summary

The restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's famous cartoon The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist, vandalized by a shotgun blast, and the cleaning of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes have recently focused attention on the painstaking process of conserving works of art. The "detective" work, scientific research, and technical experimentation involved in conservation sometimes yield surprising results: a different composition may be discovered underneath the visible surface of a painting, or the reconstruction of fragments of a helmet or pot may force scholars to revise their ideas about how objects were made in antiquity. Conservators can also provide valuable information about an object's history, about past restoration techniques, and about faking. In this book, experts directly involved in the conservation of eleven important works of art made of different materials--including metals, wood, glass, ceramics, and textiles--describe the often nerveracking problems they faced, and the methods they used to overcome them. The introduction outlines the development of modern conservation techniques and current research, discussing as well changing attitudes to conservation and restoration and the ethical questions involved.

Subject

• Art > Conservation and restoration
• Art > Conservation and restoration
• Art > Expertising
• Art > Expertising

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Leonardo da Vinci's cartoon The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist / Eric Harding, Andrew Oddy -- The Portland vase / Sandra Smith -- Henry Prince of Wales on horseback by Robert Peake the Elder / Ian McClure -- The Sutton Hoo helmet / Nigel Williams -- Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel / Fabrizio Mancinelli -- The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius / Alessandra Melucco Vaccaro -- The Piranesi vase / Eric Miller -- The Hockwold treasure / Andrew Oddy, Robert Holmes -- The R̀oman de la rose' tapestry / Norma Borg Clyde -- The Sophilos vase / Penelope Fisher -- Statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin / John Larson.

ISBN

1560982292

LCCN

^^^92060302^

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library