Ethical challenges in the conservation of the wall paintings of Chapel 11 at the Sacro Monte di Varallo

• Autorzy: Piqué Francesca , Jean Giacinta

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.35784/odk.1092

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Chapel 11 is one of the 45 chapels of the Sacro Monte di Varallo. It is decorated with 16th century polychrome terracotta statues and wall paintings representing the Massacre of the Innocents. Since 2015, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) is in charge of its conservation. Up-close examination of the wall paintings allowed to observe the presence of overpainting, which were evaluated to have no aesthetical and/or technical quality. During the study phase and with preliminary tests for treatment development, it became clear that the removal of this overpaint was risky for the underlying original decoration. Moreover, it was not possible to determine if under the overpainting there was the original layer and in what condition it was. Although IR Reflectography showed the presence of underdrawings, this information did not always coincided with the presence of a paint layer. Considering that the overpainting covers about 80% of the surface, SUPSI strongly advised against embarking on its removal. This conclusion was achieved after several removal attempts and through regular communication meeting with the stakeholders aimed at illustrating the situation and the results achieved. SUPSI considered more ethical to focus on the development of a ‚reversible’ stabilization intervention considering that in the future new technologies (to assess the presence of paintings below and to remove overpainting) could make the recovery of what remains of the original decoration easier. This paper describes the project in terms of the ethical challenges faced when conflicting expectations about the project arised.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Sacro Monte Varallo; overpaint; uncovering; ethical challenges; values

• Wydawca: Polski Komitet Narodowy Międzynarodowej Rady Ochrony Zabytków ICOMOS ; Wydawnictwo Politechniki Lubelskiej
• Czasopismo: Ochrona Dziedzictwa Kulturowego
• Rocznik: 2019
• Tom: Nr 8
• Strony: 255--268
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 8 poz., fig.

Twórcy

autor

Piqué Francesca

• University of Applied Arts and Sciences of Souther Switzerland Szwajcaria

autor

Jean Giacinta

• University of Applied Arts and Sciences of Souther Switzerland Szwajcaria

Bibliografia

• 1. Agosti, G. & Stoppa, J. (Eds.). (2017). Seminario sul manierismo in Lombardia. Milano: Officina Libraria.
• 2. Burra Charter (2013). Retrieved July 30th, 2018, from: https://australia.icomos.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Burra-Charter-2013-Adopted-31.10.2013.pdf.
• 3. Caviglioli, L. (1989). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 37. Consulted on http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/della-rovere-giovan-battista-detto-il-fiamminghino_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/.
• 4. De Filippis, E. (2009). Sacro Monte of Varallo. Borgosesia: Tipolitografica di Borgosesia.
• 5. Piqué, F., Caroselli, M., Koch Dandolo, C., Luppichini, S. & Santella, M. (2016). Multitechnical approach for the characterization of the stratigraphy of blue areas in the wall paintings in the Chapel 11 at the “Sacro Monte di Varallo”, Italy. International journal of conservation science, Vol 7, Special issues 1, http://www.ijcs.uaic.ro/public/IJCS-16-SI2_14_Pique.pdf.
• 6. Piqué, F., Luppichini, S., Acuto, G., Acquistapace, G., De Stefano, A. & Regazzoni, L. (2017). Can paint stabilization be reversible? The case of the wall paintings in Chapel 11 at the UNESCO site of the Sacro Monte di Varallo. In: J. Bridgland (Ed.), ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Preprints (Art. 1003_451, 8 pages). Copenhagen 4-8 September. Copenhagen: On line publication: https://www.icom-cc-publications-online.org/PublicationList.aspx?search=&wg=0&vy=Copenhagen+2017&t=0&page=1.
• 7. Piqué F., Wong, L. & Boming, S. (2010). Methodology for the Conservation of the Wall Paintings in Cave 85, in Conservation of Ancient Sites on the Silk Road. In: Agnew, N. (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Conservation of Grotto Sites, Mogao Grottoes (pp.421-429). Los Angeles: www.getty.edu.
• 8. Weyer, A., Roig Picazo, P., Pop, D., Cassar, J., Özköse, A., Vallet, J.M. & Srša, I., (Eds.). (2016 2nd revised digital edition). EwaGlos European illustrated glossary of conservation terms for wall paintings and architectural surfaces. Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved from http://193.175.110.9/hornemann/doi/2016ewa2a.pdf.

Uwagi

Opracowanie rekordu w ramach umowy 509/P-DUN/2018 ze środków MNiSW przeznaczonych na działalność upowszechniającą naukę (2019).