Art Restoration: The Culture, the Business, the Scandal - Paperback

by James Beck (Author), Michael J. Daley (With)

The world's art heritage is under attack from the very people charged with its preservation, argues this important book, which has ignited controversy among art historians, curators, and restorers. In the world's museums and in towns and cities throughout Europe, misguided restoration efforts are having irreversible, often tragic effects on masterpieces by Piero della Francesca, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and many other artists. What roles do aesthetic, institutional, and commercial factors play in the decision to restore a work of art? How can we prevent or halt projects in which a work of art is not restored but irreparably damaged? James Beck and Michael Daley explore these questions in the context of restoration projects in Florence, at the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and in museums in France, England, and the United States. They sound an alarm that must be heeded if we are to preserve the world's art for future generations.

Back Jacket

This book deals with one of the most important and contentious issues in the world of fine art. Starting in the 1970s a mania has developed for restorations of works of art. London's National Gallery (first in this field by several decades), Washington's National Gallery, the Metropolitan, the Louvre, the Prado, the Uffizi, and others besides, are restoring their collections on a wholesale basis. Much of what is being done is radical and, in its effects, irreversible. Yet a generation from now, or less, the assumptions and the most advanced technologies of today may well be regarded as backward, misconceived or plain wrong. The authors discuss the recent restoration of three Renaissance masterpieces including Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, one of the high points - and perhaps now also one of the tragedies - in the history of Western art. New evidence is presented of what has been done, and why, and it is certain to be controversial. Also examined are the restoration policies of the National Gallery and, so far as they can be learned from what the Gallery is prepared to reveal, their effects. These will prove controversial too. The authors enquire into the social, cultural and, increasingly, commercial factors that underlie the recent spate of restorations which have produced what amounts to a restoration establishment with its own networks, priorities and interests. Last, they offer hope not only that change is possible but also that the need for change is beginning to be recognized, and they put forward ideas for hastening the process.