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NEWS > Reviews1927
First ARP Seminar From Practice to Theory - Master and PhD Research Review by Rui Bordalo
May 30-31, 2008, Lisbon, Portugal
Organiser: ARP, Professional Association of Conservator-Restorers of Portugal
According to the objectives of the seminar, the presentations were made to disseminate among the audience the research subjects and the methodologies, while the results were secondary as most of the studies are still undergoing. The opening session of the seminar was made by MNAA’s Director, who welcomed the initiative, and by ARP’s President Alexandrina Barreiro, who welcomed the participants and the audience, and underlined the importance of the present seminar and the need for future similar initiatives. The seminar was organised in four sessions, each one opened by the supervisors of some thesis. The first session was started by the conservation-scientist Dr. António João Cruz, whose very interesting presentation was entitled "Existe investigação em Conservação e Restauro?" ("Is there research in Conservation and Restoration?") In order to assess the level of research in conservation, he evaluated in his study several factors, such as the existence of periodic conferences and meetings and the publication of journals, books and thesis as positive arguments. He demonstrated that some of the most important conservation journals are categorised by specialised scientific publishers and research platforms, concluding that they are attributed to different and unrelated categories such as Art History or Chemistry. He also quantified the bibliographic references in Abstracts of International Conservation Literature (AATA Online) and found that, for example, the category G “Materials and objects: analysis, treatment and techniques” is, by far, the one under which more articles are assigned. He analysed the articles published in Studies in Conservation between 2006 and 2007 in factors such as the author’s training and the analytical techniques employed, concluding that conservators are a minority in conservation research. Dr. Cruz kindly made his presentation available online at www.box.net/shared/86hkzbg0sk. The first student presentation was made by Tânia Costa who is making a master in Chemistry Applied to Cultural Heritage at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. She presented her master work entitled "Synthesis of pigments according to the procedures described in old painting treaties and their characterisation". The pigments chosen to be synthesised were Verdigris and Cobalt Blue. During the initial bibliographic research, several recipes were collected for the laboratorial duplication. The analytical characterisation was made by FTIR, SEM and XRD and the results compared with other several samples, such as Azurite and Malachite in the case of Cobalt Blue. The first PhD presentation was the one of José Mendes who is pursuing a PhD in Conservation of Paintings at the School of the Arts of the Portuguese Catholic University. His thesis, "The Work of Nuno Gonçalves – technical study", is dedicated to the study of the 15th century painter and author of the well-known paintings St. Vincent polyptych, Martyrs of St. Vincent and our Saints. These works were the object of previous studies, however, never in a systematic way, which is the new approach of the researcher: to take advantage of the scientific documentation that already exists in order to characterise and reconstitute the technique of the painter. In the afternoon, the second session was started by Isabel Raposo de Magalhães, sub-director of the Institute of Museums and Conservation (IMC) who spoke about the role that IMC has in the protection of heritage. IMC is a new institute that resulted from the most recent governmental reorganisation, from the merge of the ex–Portuguese Institute of Conservation and Restoration (IPCR) and the ex–Portuguese Institute of Museums (IPM). It coordinates the National Museums network and has had an important role in many conservation projects around the country. Next, followed three presentations of thesis from the same university – the School of the Arts of the Portuguese Catholic University. An interesting presentation was the one of Frederico Henriques, a 1st-year PhD student in Conservation of Paintings, who is researching "Photogrammetry applied to easel paintings: the convergent monoscopy process". The author is proposing a new application of photogrammetry, a technology applied in domains such as architecture and archaeology, in the conservation field. The acquisition of an orthophotography allows to measure precise areas and distances in the painting’s surface. This will permit conservators to obtain exact spatial references in the works of art. Daniela Coelho, a PhD student in Decorative Arts, presented "Painted furniture in Portugal from the end of the 17th century and first half of the 18th century: material study, techniques and conservation state". A set of furniture pieces was selected and analysed using several analytical techniques. Next was the presentation of Ana Fernandes, a Master student in Decorative Arts who presented a "Study of hand fans typology in the 19th century". This work includes the inventory of the hand fans in all IMC’s palaces and museums in order to build a database. This tool will allow to standardise factors such as the terminology used, and to gather information related to the objects’ state of conservation, materials and techniques. Maria do Rosário Marcelino brought a new subject into discussion: "Ethnographic heritage – an ethical problem in conservation and restoration". She is a master student at the Department of Conservation and Restoration of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology at the New University of Lisbon. Her research is made in partnership with the National Museum of Ethnology (MNE) and she is studying a painting from Bali that belongs to the museum’s collection. Very little was known about the painting but it was possible to study it in depth with laboratorial analysis. The treatment of this work as an ethnographic asset allowed the author to discuss the ethical implications of the intervention proposal. Next day, a Saturday, the morning session was started by Prof. José Aguiar, from the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Lisbon. His intervention – a very interesting one - was dedicated to the colour that ancient Portuguese buildings had. He gave some examples of buildings where only some reminiscent traces can be seen. He then introduced Milene Gil, who is working in the same project and pursuing a PhD in Theory, History and Techniques at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the New University of Lisbon. I was also invited to present my 4-years PhD research, entitled "Characterisation of the alterations induced by excimer laser radiation in 19th century pigments" and made at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London and at the Welding and Quality Institute in Portugal. Laser technology has a big potentiality to be used in easel paintings but the great sensibility of painting materials makes difficult its application. This work is focused in the study of the discoloration induced by laser radiation at a wavelength of 248 nm of 8 pigments widely used in the 19th century. To this end, several mock-up samples were made, artificially aged, irradiated and characterised by several analytical techniques. Next presentation was about the "Compositional and typological characterisation and conservation of ceramic materials from Lusitania province – Industrial Materials" by Ricardo Triães, who is pursuing his PhD in Geosciences at the University of Aveiro. As the title indicates, his work is focused in the study of ceramic as material used in the construction of new cities during the Romanisation process in the province of Lusitania, actual southwestern Iberian Peninsula. This is a broad study that includes the identification of the materials source, the composition analysis and the typology characterisation in order to contribute to a better understanding of those materials and to define the conservation methodologies. Alexandra Antunes presented "Summer architecture in the county of Oeiras (1880-1940): inventory, characterisation and conservation state" in the context of her PhD in Architecture/Technologies at the Lusíada University. Due to their privileged coast location, the ancient summer houses of this county are of patrimonial interest, by which they are being identified, categorized and their state of conservation is being assessed. At the end of the morning session, Leonor Loureiro, a PhD student in Paper Conservation at the Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts (London), presented "European decorative and printing coated papers 1850-1975: their classification for conservation purposes". Coated paper was produced and largely used since mid 19th century. Due to the profusion of materials used in its fabrication, from pigment mixtures to mediums and additives, its knowledge and characterisation are important tools for its preservation and help to establish a methodology for its identification. The afternoon session first participant was Alice Nogueira Alves, who is finishing her PhD in History and Theory of Conservation and Restoration at the Institute of Art History of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon, with the title "Ramalho Ortigão and the Cult of National Monuments in the 19th century". The thesis focuses on the figure of Ramalho Ortigão, who had an important role in the protection of monuments in Portugal in the 19th century and in the patrimonial theories thereafter. One of the most interesting interventions was done by Conceição Casanova, conservator and responsible for the pilot project of the Archive of the Institute of Tropical Scientific Research, who discussed about the actual statute of the conservator-restorer. Her PhD thesis, made in Theory, History and Techniques at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, is entitled "Between conservation theories and professionalisation theories – notes for the characterisation of the figure of the conservator-restorer in the 20th century Europe". Beyond the 19th century and early 20th theories in conservation and profissionalisation, the actual conflict between the anglosaxon concept, linked to science, and the latin concept, linked to art history, was discussed. Actual concepts were also taken in consideration, such as the broadening of the heritage notion and the valorisation worldwide. However, it was concluded that the profession is insufficiently defined and that a characteristic image of the professional is lacking. The well-known mural paintings conservator Joaquim Inácio Caetano is developing at the moment his PhD in Art, Heritage and Restoration at the Institute of Art History of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon. His research is entitled “Stamps’ motives in a fresco painting from the north of Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries - relationship with easel paintings”. After collecting and organising several patterns, the researcher noticed that many of the stamps are used for long time, even when mixing different artistic styles. The repetitive use of the same patterns allows the identification of several workshops and their participation in the contemporary easel painting practice. In this presentation, the researcher focused in particular on the relation between the mural painting and a 16th century building technique characterised by the use of light coloured, salient stone joins. Vanessa Antunes presented the "Techniques and preparation materials of Portuguese painting from the 15th and 16th centuries". She is pursuing a PhD in Art, Heritage and Restoration at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon in partnership with IMC’s Conservation and Restoration Laboratory. Her research includes the compilation and interpretation of the analysis performed and archived at IMC’s laboratory in the 15th and 16th centuries panel paintings in Portugal. The objective is to gather sufficient data to enable a better knowledge of the techniques, materials and conservation state of the paintings. The last presentation was done by Elsa Murta, a master student in Decorative Arts at the School of the Arts of the Portuguese Catholic University, who spoke about "From the materiality to aesthetics: the golden woodcarving of the Chapel of St. Albert". Her thesis concerns the study and characterisation of the chapel of St. Albert and its golden woodcarving, among the main objectives being the inventory and the identification and characterisation of the materials. With such a full auditorium this was a successful initiative and I hope it will be continued in the future. It is also an indication that relevant research in conservation or conservation related fields is being made. Apart the formal conservation training, universities are centres of knowledge and it is important that these researches are spread into the community. This will help, in Portugal but also on European level, to the reinforcement of the statute of the conservator-restorer in the society.
Note: All presentation titles except one were in Portuguese, thus the English titles in this text are free translations from the originals.
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