Restoration, because of its legal, theoretical, cultural nature, is the functional restoring and careful preservation of a work. The common methodology prefers to show the moderate, but easily to recognize zone interested by the restoration. These theories should find application as well in the papier-maché works' restoration, where the restoration was easily mistook with the most showy and superabundant remaking. In poor quality works' restoration, made by improvised authors, it is not always opportune to apply these high principles, but with significant - for age and author - works, imposing these solutions should be imperative. It's sure that the client claims the right to see the work restored in the entirety of its original form, and any kind of visible retouch causes distrust. But it should be worse to cover with various coats the adjusted parts, or more to use violence widening the restoration to the whole work, also where it is not necessary, only for "renove" the work itself. And so, we have to bring up the client to accept moderate operations that, from the first stage of the static consolidation to every final coating, don't alter the original work's "aura", the only silent witness of the past, which in its cloaks' folds, in its hands' features, narrates the story of its born.

The restoration of the "Dead Christ" - report


In these photos the example of a statue before the restoration (left) and after (right). Notice how a previous restoration had been entirely altered the original colours of the statue.

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