Restoration: Theory, Ethics and Issues

2 Units
Instructor: Prof. Max Cardillo

COURSE STRUCTURE

Mornings: Lectures 1.5 hours (4 weeks)

This course examines the purpose and goals of preservation. Beyond technical issues, lie matters of philosophy, ethics, cultural values  and “best practices” that influences the work of restorers. These issues are very important, because misguided restoration work is a major cause of destruction or falsification of an irreplaceable cultural heritage. In a field where there are no simple answers, this course, will teach students to assess the goals and values that guide and influence restoration and conservation.

The course is aimed primarily at students of art history, art, architecture, restoration, anthropology, archaeology, museum conservation, and management of cultural heritage.

READINGS: Cesare Brandi, Theory of Restoration ICCROM

DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENTS:

Class discussion of reading material
Term paper 1: 5 page paper on a topic to be assigned
Term paper 2: 5 page paper on a topic to be assigned (only graduate students)

Workshop – Traditional Painting: Materials and Methods

2 Units

Instructor: Prof. Teresa Mascolo

COURSE STRUCTURE

Afternoons: 4 hours workshop (SG208B)

Requirements: Courses SG208A (theory) and SG208B (workshop) must be taken together.

This painting workshop aims to give students a better understanding of traditional Italian painting materials and painting techniques by giving them a chance to realize materially a series of paintings using these methods. This workshop is not an art class, although good aesthetics are appreciated. The main objective of the course is for students to understand well the painting process, the difficulties and limitations associated with each technique and how they influence both the aesthetics and the image making process.

The knowledge acquired in this course can be of interest to students of art restoration, painting, art history, art management and museum studies.

Workshop Projects and Assigned Reading

READINGS: Cenino Cenini, The Craftsman’s Handbook.

Traditional Painting: Materials, Methods, and Issues in Conservation

2 Units

Instructor: Prof. Faviola Vitali

COURSE STRUCTURE

Mornings: Lectures 1.5 hours (SG208A)
Afternoons: 4 hours workshop (SG208B)

This course gives an in-depth understanding of traditional painting materials and techniques commonly used in Italy from the Classical Antiquity, to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Since this course is aimed primarily at people planning to study art conservation, the course also explores factors that hasten deterioration of the materials and the different approaches to their restoration. Four visiting lecturers will present various topics of interest to painted artifacts and restoration case studies (frescoes, panel paintings, canvas paintings).

This course could be of interest to students of fine arts, art restoration, painting, art history, art management and museum studies.

Part 1. Traditional Methods and Materials in Painting

Deterioration Causes

Crushed stones

Pozzolana

Artificial

Crushed bricks and others

See Syllabus SG208B

READINGS: Cenino Cenini, The Craftsman’s Handbook.

Paper Restoration in Artworks and Archival Documents

3 Units
Instructor: Profs. Manuela Belli (first 2 weeks) and Laura Chignoli (second 2 weeks)
COURSE STRUCTURE

Mornings: Theoretical Lectures 3 hours (SG206A)
Afternoons: 4 hours workshops (SG206B)
The courses include a study visit to Fabriano Paper Museum and special sessions with an external teachers.

REQUIREMENTS: Courses SG206A (theory) and SG206B (workshop) must be taken together.

Course 1

Paper Media and Restoration Methods for Artworks

This lecture and workshop course on the restoration of paper media aims to give an overview of the field, including instruction on the nature and history of paper, the traditional methods of paper making, the different artistic techniques, the processes of deterioration over time, and the various methods of handling and mounting, conservation and restoration of artworks on paper.

Students learn the following: the material nature and the various typologies of paper (both traditional and new), the artistic techniques, the various agents and processes of deterioration and how they impact both paper and drawing media and the various methods of conservation and restoration to counteract them.

Course 2

Handwritten and Printed Archival materials Restoration Methods

The second course is a lecture and workshop where students focus on archival documents and original manuscript material from local historic archives (16th to 19th centuries), and learn their evolution in history. The following subjects are also treated or practiced: decoration of paper, dry cleaning, gentle or local washing, mending tears in paper, infilling loses, lining weak paper structures, deacidification, flattening, simple sewing  and proper long-term conservation of archival materials.

The course includes a study visit to “Santo Chiodo” depot (Spoleto) and special session with an external teacher.

[The workshop also includes work on the digitization of the San Gemini Historic Archives.] 

Students learn the following: the material nature and the various typologies of inks, writing, printing processes, the structure of archival bindings, the various agents and processes of deterioration of paper documents and how they impact both paper and bindings or cases and the various methods of conservation and restoration to counteract them.

These courses are aimed at two types of students: those planning to become restorers and those planning to manage paper-based resources in libraries, archives or museums. For those planning on a career as a restorer, this is a good introduction to the field to be followed up by further education. For those planning to manage paper-based resources, it is a good overview of the field and offers insight and experience on the safe storage and conservation of paper materials.

Workshop projects, reading assignments

READINGS

1. Dard Hunter, Papermaking, The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft, Dover,  New York, 1978.

2.Bamber Gascoigne, How to Identify Prints, A complete guide to manual and mechanical processes from woodcut to ink-jet, Thames and Hudson, 1998.

3. Bernard C. Middleton, The Restoration of Leather Bindings, Oak Knoll Press – The British Library, 1998

Paper Restoration Workshop

3 Units
Instructor Nella Poggi

COURSE STRUCTURE

Afternoons: 4 hours workshops
The course includes a study visit to Fabriano.

REQUIREMENTS: Courses SG206A (theory) and SG206B (workshop) must be taken together.

This workshop course is an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience on the basic skills required for restoration of paper media and to work on original archival materials. Students begin learning basic skills on the printed pages of an 18th century book of lesser value and then, having acquired sufficient skill, students  move on to restore unique manuscript documents from the city of San Gemini historic archives and from the historic archives of the Diocese of Narni (16th-19th centuries).

This workshop aims to give students hands-on experience and the basic skills required for restoration of paper media, offering the opportunity to work on material from the city of San Gemini historic Archives and from the historic archives of the Diocese of Narni. The work done in the workshop is actual work conserving original materials (16th to 19th centuries) from these archives that becomes part of the students’ professional curriculum.

This course is aimed at two types of students: those planning to become restorers and those planning to manage paper-based resources in libraries, archives or museums. For those planning on a career as a restorer, this is a good introduction to the field to be followed up by further education. For those planning to manage paper-based resources, it is a good overview of the field and offer insight and experience on the safe storage and conservation of paper materials.

Familiarization of manufacturing techniques of paper and bookmaking materials.

• Observation with microscope and reflected, translucent and grazing light

• Measuring pH

• Testing to identify adhesives and additives used in paper during manufacturing

Restoration of books

• Techniques of restoration:

  • Dry cleaning

  • Washing

  • Deacidification

  • Sizing

  • Drying paper

  • Reintegration of tears and missing sections

    • Criteria for the choice of materials and techniques for reintegration

  • Flattening with presses and weights

Restoration of book bindings

• Disassembling a book

• Signature

• Technique for sewing the quires

• Technique for making the headband

• Cover in textile or leather

Restoration of artwork on paper

• Observation of artworks on paper with microscope and reflected, translucent, and grazing light

• Measuring pH

• Testing to identify adhesives and additives used in paper during manufacturing and mounting artworks

• Special techniques of restoration:

  • Dry cleaning (with brush, rubber, scalpel)

  • Washing (if necessary, locally by using vacuum table, blotting papers, or using a screen)

  • Deacidification (aerosols)

  • Sizing/consolidation

  • Drying paper

  • Reintegration of tears and missing sections

Workshop projects, reading assignments

READINGS

1. Dard Hunter, Papermaking, The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft, Dover,  New York, 1978.

2.Bamber Gascoigne, How to Identify Prints, A complete guide to manual and mechanical processes from woodcut to ink-jet, Thames and Hudson, 1998.

3. Bernard C. Middleton, The Restoration of Leather Bindings, Oak Knoll Press – The British Library, 1998

Preservation Tour: Siena, Florence and Rome

1 Unit
Instructor: Cornelia Danielson
e-mail: [email protected]

Course Description

The field trip professor is an art historian holding a doctorate from Columbia University in New York with a specialization in 16th Century Florentine Studies and a particular interest in Medici-related projects and their contextual background. Lectures are informal and on-site. In each city, specific monuments have been chosen which represent the particular characteristics of that city.

Siena: Visits include the Palazzo Pubblico, the Duomo, and the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Scala. In Florence, the Cappella Brancacci, Orsanmichele, the Churches of San Miniato, San Salvatore al Monte, Santo Spirito, the exteriors of Palazzo Pitti, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi, the Duomo and Baptistry and the major piazzas are focused on.

Rome: Visits include the Colosseum, the Forum, the Palatine Hill and the Pantheon for Repubblican and Imperial Rome; for Renaissance Rome: Bramante’s Tempietto, Michelangelo’s Capitoline Hill and a typical Renaissance villa  (Villa Medici, Villa Giulia or Villa Farnesina). Baroque Rome is represented by works of Caravaggio, Bernini, Borromini and Pietro da Cortona.

Visits to all monuments are subject to change and are determined by the priority of the scheduling of appointments to the various restoration sites and laboratories. Visits to restoration sites and laboratories which are subject to change from year to year are arranged by Prof. Nikolas Vakalis. The students are accompanied by Prof. Danielson.

This 10 day field trip seminar combines two main objectives. The first is to visit three major Italian cities: Medieval Siena, Renaissance Florence and Imperial and Baroque Rome and to place the urban scheme, art and architecture of each city within its historical, socio-economical, and religious context.  The aim of these visits is to provide future restorers and conservators with a model of the type of contextual framework that should be created each time they approach a work which is to be restored. The second objective is to visit major laboratories and sites of restoration in each city to provide the unique experience of coming in to contact not only with major works of art under restoration but also with their restorers and conservators.  Students in the past have visited the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence seeing major works by Fra Angelico (the Palla di San Marco), Raphael (Portrait of Pope Leo X), and Ghiberti (the Florentine Baptistry bronze doors); the sculpture restoration laboratories of the Vatican Museum, including a behind the scenes visit to view the work-in-progress conservation of the sculptures in the pope’s private Vatican Gardens. In Siena students have climbed scaffolding to view within inches Simone Martini’s magnificent Maesta’ in the Palazzo Pubblico and similarly in Rome, during the restoration of Bernini’s Triton Fountain.

This course will be of interest to students of all disciplines having to do with the history, restoration and conservation of the world’s artistic heritage.

This is an intensive 10-day field trip which takes place during Italy’s hottest time of year. Temperatures in late June and July may already register in the 90’s. Mornings begin early to avoid the mid-day heat. Ample time is allowed for lunch breaks. Blocks of time are left in each city for students to explore museums and monuments on their own but it is necessary for them to make reservations ahead of time to visit particularly crowded museums such as the Academia, the Uffizi, the Vatican Museum and the Villa Borghese. It is advised to drink lots of water, wear comfortable shoes and clothes, hats and dark glasses. Be prepared for lots of walking. Do not wear extreme clothes: mini skirts or short shorts. Always bring a scarf to cover bare shoulders and legs, required for entering all churches in Roman Catholic Italy

READING: No required reading but a bibliography is provided and it is suggested that students read at least one book on each city, determined by their particular interests.

Introduction to Preservation and Preventive Conservation of Books

3 Units
Instructor: Prof. Francesco Maria Rizzo

COURSE STRUCTURE

Morning Work in the Terni Dioceses Archives: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM;
Afternoon: Lectures and Workshop 3:00-7:00 PM

No prerequisites required

This course gives a theoretical overview of the field of book preventive conservation and restoration of books and archival material along with some practical experience in non-invasive preventive conservation. Covers historical intrusive restoration. Students describe and assess conservation conditions of archival material from the Terni Diocese Archives and implement non-intrusive preventive conservation measures on original material in the Archives (dry cleaning, re-shelving, box making).

The program is aimed at two types of students: those planning to become book conservators, and people that in various ways will be managing book or archival resources. For those planning for a career as book conservators, this is a good introduction to the field that will require further education. For those planning to manage book collections or archives, it will offer skills in analyzing the nature of bound material, understanding the state of conservation, best practices in handling, storage and conservation.

Students of the following subjects can find this program useful: Bookbinding, book conservation and restoration, library science, library management, archival sciences, management of rare book collections, book design, anthropology and history of technology.

To give students an overview of the field of conservation and restoration of books and archival material along with some practical experience in non-invasive preventive conservation.

Student Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Handle correctly books and archival documents, using book cradles and supports

• Analyze storage condition and be able to suggest improvements

• Describe and identify the deterioration process of book bindings and contributing factors

• Prepare documentation records for conservation assessment

• Perform dry cleaning

• Make archivally safe storage boxes and protections

Deterioration processes of organic materials in bindings

Analyzing and documenting book bindings (working with books from the local archives):
Features to document
State of conservation
Data sheets
Photographic documentation

Prevention and Minimal Conservation Methods
Biocides and decontamination
Deacidifiaction
Climate control

• Temperature

• Humidity

• Light

Shelving, flat file drawers and other storage units
Storage Containers
Box making:

• Drop back spine box

• Phase box

• Book shoe

• Four flap folder

Housing of fragments and mounting of single sheets

Digitization of archival material

Participate in process of photographing archival material from the San Gemini Historic Archives, as part of the San Gemini Archives Digitization Project.

Reading list supplied with acceptance to the program.

Term paper #1: 8- page paper on a topic to be assigned
Term paper #2: 8- page paper on a topic to be assigned (graduate students only)
Final exam: mixed format – quiz and essay questions

Grade Breakdown:

Term paper(s) 35%
Final Exam 35%
Archival storage-making and work 30%

Contact Hours
Lectures: 40
Workshops: 40

Grading scale:

94-100 = A 90-93 = A-
87-89 = B+ 84-86 = B
80-83 = B- 77-79 = C+
74-76 = C. 70-73 = C-
67-69 = D+. 64-66 = D
60-63 = D- Below 60 = F

Introduction to the History and Craft of Book Bindings

3 Units
Instructor: Prof. Giuliano Camilleri

COURSE STRUCTURE

Morning Lectures: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM;
Workshop: Monday – Friday 3:00-7:00 PM;
Classroom: Book Binding studio

No prerequisites required

Through a lecture and workshop format, this course introduces students to the history and evolution of Western bookmaking, from the handmade codex to modern industrialized book-making processes. Students craft 4 traditional books and in the process learn the materials, tools, sewing structures and assembly process of the various elements.

This course is designed primarily to provide knowledge and skills to people going into the field of book conservation/preservation and management of book resources, although it can also be useful to people going into the field of bookbinding and book design.  For those planning a career as book conservators, this is a good introduction to the field to be followed up by further education. For those planning to manage book collections or archives, it offers basic skills in identifying the nature of bound material, understanding the state of preservation, best practices in handling, storage and conservation.

Students of the following subjects can find this program useful: Bookbinding, book conservation and restoration, library science, library management, archival sciences, management of rare book collections, book design, and history of technology.

Student Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Describe and define book components and writing supports

• Identify and explain differences of book binding structures

• Design and create four historical types of book bindings

Book components and terminology, writing support/media

The book structure: general notions about book structure and terminology

In the workshop sessions each student will create four blank page model bookbindings from scratch, copying historical binding techniques and making use of original materials and traditional tools.

Reading list supplied with acceptance to the program.

Create from scratch four blank page books using four historical bindings systems and original materials and tools.

Grade Breakdown:

Term paper #1: 8-page paper on a topic to be assigned 20%
Exam: mixed format – quiz and essay questions. 20%
Book #1        15%
Book #2        15%
Book #3        15%
Book #4        15%

Grading scale:

94-100 = A 90-93 = A-
87-89 = B+ 84-86 = B
80-83 = B- 77-79 = C+
74-76 = C. 70-73 = C-
67-69 = D+. 64-66 = D
60-63 = D- Below 60 = F

Analysis of Archaeological Ceramics

3 Units
Instructor: Prof. Elena Lorenzetti
[email protected]

COURSE STRUCTURE

Morning Lectures: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM (2 weeks)

Classroom: San Giovanni Battista

• Lectures are dedicated to the presentation of material, ceramic technologies and evolution of ceramics in Italy from the archaic to modern age.

Afternoon Workshop: Monday – Friday, 2:00 PM to 6:30 PM (2 weeks)

• As part of the course, students will be working on a field project – a complete analysis of a Roman Age ceramic’s context through visual inspection, scientific testing, morphological analysis, drawing, and a written scientific analysis of the context.

• There also will be an afternoon visit to the nearby ancient Roman City of Carsulae.

No Prerequisites required

REQUIREMENTS: Courses SG 203B is complementary to this course and must be taken in the same session.

This course introduces students to the study of archaeological ceramics from multiple perspectives with a view toward acquiring the tools necessary for the full study of an archaeological context. Through lectures and hands-on workshops it examines both materials and production methods used over time in the Western world. Classes also study historical typologies of architectural ceramics and pottery that are found in Italian archaeological sites, analyzing archaeological artifacts from local excavations (6th C. BC – 20th C. AD) and learning to perform the following tasks: identifying and sorting ceramic sherds; performing typology analysis of “diagnostic” sherds (including analytical drawings and diagrams); and cataloging and documenting ceramic sherds.

Led by a practicing field archaeologist expert in Roman ceramics, this course forms the first half of the program Restoration and Analysis of Archaeological Ceramics. The lecture classes give an overview of ceramic technology and its evolution over time; it also explores the various typologies of pottery and architectural ceramics found in Italian archaeological sites. In the afternoon workshop students work with archaeological artifacts from local excavations (6th century BC – 20th century AD) and learn to perform analysis and documentation of sherds.

The course studies materials and ceramic production methods, the history of ceramics and statistical methods of data elaborations.

The objectives of this course are to provide basic theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in the field of analysis of archaeological ceramics. For students planning a professional career as an archaeologist, this course is an introduction that will be a building block for further education. For students who plan to be involved in the process of conservation and historic preservation, this course offers a useful overview of the complementary issues and processes involved in the field.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Identify various ceramics, their use in antiquity, their physical properties, and choose the appropriate analyzing methods.

• Catalogue, make diagrams and draw ancient ceramics.

CERAMICS HISTORY AND PROCESS

Visual inspection

• Recognizing materials, techniques, marks and flaws

Scientific Testing

• Materials

• Dating

Analysis

• Morphology

• Clay forming

• Firing

• Materials

Clay

Inclusions

Tempers

Slips and glazes

• Stylistic analysis

Documentation and recording

• Drawings

• Diagrams

• Documentation

READINGS

Reading list supplied with acceptance to the program.

Grading

• Participation/Field work: Complete various assignments that are given as part of the field project (50%).

• Assignments: Term Paper #1: 8-page paper on the analyzed context (50%).

Grading scale:

94-100 = A. 90-93 = A-
87-89 = B+. 84-86 = B
80-83 = B- 77-79 = C+
74-76 = C. 70-73 = C-
67-69 = D+. 64-66 = D
60-63 = D- Below 60 = F