ArtWatch International is an American nonprofit organization founded by James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University, to monitor, and campaign for better practices in, the conservation of art works. The United Kingdom branch, ArtWatch UK, is run by Michael Daley.
In 1991, Beck criticised the cleaning of Jacopo della Quercia's sculpture, the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca cathedral in Italy. As a result, the conservator sued him for "aggravated slander", which carries a possible three-year prison sentence. Beck won the case and subsequently co-founded ArtWatch. [1]
ArtWatch has been critical of many conservation practices and projects, including the restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper and the restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes. In 2004, it raised an unsuccessful petition to halt the restoration of Michelangelo's David , which has since been found to be developing cracks.
ArtWatch UK have included a commemorative issue on the late James Beck; a report on the damage to artworks in transit for blockbuster exhibitions; and articles critical of the results of restorations on modern painters like Gustav Klimt. The November 2008 ArtWatch UK journal contained 20 articles campaigning about developments in the UNESCO-protected city of Saint Petersburg.
Beck was, and Daley is, frequently outspoken and their opinions on recent restorations have been covered regularly by the press. [2] [3] However, they have been equally strongly opposed by those they criticise. The Surveyor of the Fabric of St. Paul's Cathedral, who oversaw a 2004 cleaning of the cathedral that came under fire by Daley, retorted that "ArtWatch UK sounds very grand, but seems to be the view of one person." [4] The investigation of the restoration campaign had been conducted and written by art historian, Florence Hallett.[ citation needed ]
In April 2006 the ArtWatch UK Journal published research into Ludwig Burchard, a scholar who had made many attributions to Rubens. This showed that Burchard had been prepared to make false attributions for commercial gain. It again called into question the authenticity of the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah —and the integrity of the then director Neil MacGregor. The research was conducted by Dr. Kasia Pisarek.
The conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property, including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Conservation activities include preventive conservation, examination, documentation, research, treatment, and education. This field is closely allied with conservation science, curators and registrars.
The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, [and] the most parodied work of art in the world". The painting's novel qualities include the subject's enigmatic expression, monumentality of the composition, the subtle modelling of forms, and the atmospheric illusionism.
The Last Supper is a mural painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1495–1498, housed in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting represents the scene of the Last Supper of Jesus with the Twelve Apostles, as it is told in the Gospel of John – specifically the moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him. Its handling of space, mastery of perspective, treatment of motion and complex display of human emotion has made it one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings and among Leonardo's most celebrated works. Some commentators consider it pivotal in inaugurating the transition into what is now termed the High Renaissance.
The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne is an unfinished oil painting by High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1501–1519. It depicts Saint Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. Christ is shown grappling with a sacrificial lamb symbolizing his Passion as the Virgin tries to restrain him. The painting was commissioned as the high altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence and its theme had long preoccupied Leonardo.
Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of any immovable cultural property are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.
The Portrait of a Musician is an unfinished painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1483–1487. Produced while Leonardo was in Milan, the work is painted in oils, and perhaps tempera, on a small panel of walnut wood. It is his only known male portrait painting, and the identity of its sitter has been closely debated among scholars.
The Isleworth Mona Lisa is an early 16th-century oil on canvas painting depicting the same subject as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, though with the subject depicted as being a younger age. The painting is thought to have been brought from Italy to England in the 1780s, and came into public view in 1913 when the English connoisseur Hugh Blaker acquired it from a manor house in Somerset, where it was thought to have been hanging for over a century. The painting would eventually adopt its unofficial name of Isleworth Mona Lisa from Blaker's studio being in Isleworth, West London. Since the 1910s, experts in various fields, as well as the collectors who have acquired ownership of the painting, have asserted that the major elements of the painting are the work of Leonardo himself, as an earlier version of the Mona Lisa.
The conservation-restoration of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel was one of the most significant conservation-restorations of the 20th century.
A conservator-restorer is a professional responsible for the preservation of artistic and cultural artifacts, also known as cultural heritage. Conservators possess the expertise to preserve cultural heritage in a way that retains the integrity of the object, building or site, including its historical significance, context and aesthetic or visual aspects. This kind of preservation is done by analyzing and assessing the condition of cultural property, understanding processes and evidence of deterioration, planning collections care or site management strategies that prevent damage, carrying out conservation treatments, and conducting research. A conservator's job is to ensure that the objects in a museum's collection are kept in the best possible condition, as well as to serve the museum's mission to bring art before the public.
James H. Beck was an American art historian specializing in the Italian Renaissance. He was an outspoken critic of many high-profile restorations and re-attributions of artworks, and founded the pressure group ArtWatch International to campaign against irresponsible practices in the art world.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. Its headquarters are in Annapolis.
Stained glass conservation refers to the protection and preservation of historic stained glass for present and future generations. It involves any and all actions devoted to the prevention, mitigation, or reversal of the processes of deterioration that affect such glassworks and subsequently inhibit individuals' ability to access and appreciate them, as part of the world's collective cultural heritage. It functions as a part of the larger practices of cultural heritage conservation (conservation-restoration) and architectural conservation.
Kasia Pisarek is an art expert in London, specializing in Old Masters.
Salvator Mundi is a painting attributed in whole or in part to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1499–1510. Long thought to be a copy of a lost original veiled with overpainting, it was rediscovered, restored, and included in an exhibition of Leonardo's work at the National Gallery, London, in 2011–2012. Christie's, which sold the work in 2017, stated that most leading scholars consider it an original work by Leonardo, but this attribution has been disputed by other leading specialists, some of whom propose that he only contributed certain elements; and others who believe that the extensive restoration prevents a definitive attribution.
Conservation and restoration of glass objects is one aspect of conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. The nature and varying composition of the material, and the variety of types of object made from it, demand certain specialized techniques. The conservator needs to be aware of "agents of deterioration" presenting particular risk to glass objects, and how to prevent or counteract their effects. Relevant education and training is available in certain countries through museums, conservation institutes and universities.
Girl with a Flute is a small painting by Johannes Vermeer. It is currently believed to have probably been painted between 1669–1675. It is owned by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. along with three paintings attributed to Vermeer: Woman Holding a Balance, A Lady Writing a Letter, and Girl with a Red Hat.
Work on the conservation and restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper mural, much of it more harmful than helpful, has been carried out over many centuries, and continues. Completed in the late 15th century by the Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, the mural is located in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy. The Last Supper was commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan in 1495, as part of a series of renovations to the convent with the intention that the location would become the Sforza family mausoleum. Painting began in 1495 and continued until 1498.
The Modern and Contemporary Art Research Initiative is a program started by the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI). It began in 2007 in response to the variety of new materials and technologies being used by contemporary artists in their work, and the lack of known conservation treatments for these new materials. This area was seen as a gap in the field of conservation, but also posed unique challenges when considering the intention of the artist and the physical aging that his or her materials might endure. According to Thomas F. Reese, "Conservators...must enter into the critical spirit of the works themselves if they are to save and transmit not merely decontextualized fragments but their essence to the future."
The conservation and restoration of Pompeian frescoes describes the activities, methods, and techniques that have historically been and are currently being used to care for the preserved remains of the frescoes from the archeological site of Pompeii, Italy. The ancient city of Pompeii is famously known for its demise in A.D. 79 after the fatal eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped out the population and buried the city beneath layers of compact lava material. In 1738, King Charles III or Charles of Bourbon, began explorations in Portici, Resina, Castellammare di Stabia, a Civita, where it was believed that the ancient cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum were buried beneath. The first phase of the excavations at Pompeii started in 1748, which led to the first conservation and restoration efforts of the frescoes since their burial, and in 1764, open-air excavations began at Pompeii. Pompeii has a long history of excavation and restoration that began without a strong foundation or strategy. After centuries of cronyism, recurring financial shortages, and on-again-off-again restoration, the city's frescoes and structures were left in poor condition. In 1997, Pompeii was added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.