Resultados de pesquisa

In Memoriam de Luís Elias Casanovas

There are several blurry questions in contemporary Conservation Theory. Remarkable contributions from the past now seem insufficient and a stronger theoretical structure is required. Conservators and restorers rely blindly on concepts taken for granted; such is the example of “original” which is the basis of so many decisions and intervention methodologies. Do we really understand the meaning of “original” and why it is so important to our work? What consequences may derive from the misinterpretation of this concept? This paper proposes an approach to the term “original”, seeking answers in a historic analysis, revisiting a remarkable publication by the British Museum, Fake? The Art of Deception, a catalogue from a 1951 exhibition re-published in 1990. In opposition to “original”, we aim to analyze the relationship Man has had with fak...

The Calvary Panels from the Monastery of St. Andrew of Ancede, in Baião, present a challenge to the field of conservation and restoration. These paintings represent the images of Our Lady and St. John the Evangelist by the Cross on Mount Calvary. Together they constitute a pictorial and sculptural work, since the figure of crucified Christ is a sculpture, placed between the two panels, in a scenic manner. Probably dating from the sixteenth century, in its original composition, and from the nineteenth century in the second composition, aesthetic and historical issues arise inevitably when planning an intervention methodology, given the rarity of specimens from late Gothic painting in Portugal. Facing the impossibility of the preservation and fruition of both compositions, it is necessary to consider the validity of different methodologi...

This study’s goal is to deepen the knowledge about techniques and materials applied in the execution of Portuguese wooden paintings. The Portuguese Catholic University of Oporto gathered a multidisciplinary team in order to study the Pentecost panel from Vasco Fernandes. This study was held in situ, in Santa Cruz de Coimbra Monastery and several techniques of analyses were applied: photographic examination under visible light, infra-red and ultra-violet photography, EDXRF and radiography. This last one allowed us to identify new information regarding both pictorial layer and wooden support, being the support our main concern. The relevance of the study of wooden Portuguese paintings is understandable due to the considerable knowledge gaps that still exist in this field.