RES.7 the Presentation of Wall Paintings
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THE PRESENTATION OF WALL PAINTINGS Views, Concepts, and Approaches Ljubljana, 2020 Original title in Slovenian: Zavod za varstvo kulturne dediščine Slovenije Restavratorski center PREZENTACIJA STENSKIH POSLIKAV – pogledi, koncepti, pristopi Monografska objava prispevkov, nastalih leta 2018 iz referatov z dveh simpozijev: Retuša in problematika prezentiranja stenskih poslikav, Škofja Loka, 27. 10. 2016 in Estetska prezentacija stenskih slik – problemi in rešitve, Narodna galerija, Ljubljana, 3. 10. 2017. RES.7 publikacije ZVKDS Restavratorskega centra Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia Restoration Centre THE PRESENTATION OF WALL PAINTINGS – Views, Concepts, and Approaches Monograph of papers from 2018 based on talks given at the symposia: Retouching and the Issues of Wall Painting Presentation, Škofja Loka, 27 Oct 2016, and The Aesthetic Presentation of Wall Paintings – Problems and Solutions, National Gallery, Ljubljana, 3 Oct 2017. RES.7 The publications of the IPCHS Restoration Centre Issued and published by: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, on its behalf: Jernej Hudolin Prologue: Mateja Neža Sitar Authors: Janez Balažic, Marta Bensa, Ivan Bogovčič, Vlasta Čobal Sedmak, Alberto Felici, Andrej Jazbec, Anita Kavčič Klančar, Martina Lesar Kikelj, Simona Menoni Muršič, Ajda Mladenovič, Minka Osojnik, Robert Peskar, Ursula Schädler-Saub, Mateja Neža Sitar, Ivan Srša, Klavdij Zalar, Gorazd Živkovič Photo credits: see Image Sources Editor: Mateja Neža Sitar Members of the editorial board: Vlasta Čobal Sedmak, Anita Kavčič Klančar, Martina Lesar Kikelj, Simona Menoni Muršič, Ajda Mladenovič, Mateja Neža Sitar Content revision: Ajda Mladenovič, Mateja Neža Sitar Peer review: Matej Klemenčič, Neva Pološki Sources and bibliography: Mateja Neža Sitar, Tanja Dolinar Foreign authors submitted their papers in English and Slovenian authors in Slovene. Translation into English, Slovene, and language editing: Tanja Dolinar Design and layout: Mojca Višner Final revision: Jernej Hudolin Print: Collegium Graphicum, Ljubljana Print run: 100 Ljubljana, 2020 Cover: The detail of the angel from the Allegory of Trade, Crafts and Technology, an oval ceiling painting above the staircase of the Gruber Palace from the second half of the 18th century. It is attributed to Martin Johannes Schmidt, called Kremser Schmidt (photo: Martina Lesar Kikelj 2020) ZVKDS Restavratorski center, Poljanska 40, 1000 Ljubljana Phone: +386(0)12343100, fax: +386(0)12343176 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.zvkds.si The authors bear the full responsibility for the reproduction rights, content and scope of the articles. © ZVKDS Restavratorski center All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or copied in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owners. THE PRESENTATION OF WALL PAINTINGS 4 THE PRESENTATION OF WALL PAINTINGS THE 2016 SYMPOSIUM: RETOUCHING AND THE ISSUES OF WALL PAINTING PRESENTATION France Mihelič Gallery, Kašča, Škofja Loka, 27 Oct 2016 Organisers: Restoration Centre of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (IPCHS), Slovenian Society for Conservation-Restoration, the Association of Conservators of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia Organisational board: Martina Lesar Kikelj, Anita Kavčič Klančar, Ajda Mladenovič, Robert Peskar, Ana Kocjančič, Marija Ana Kranjc Programme: PART I Session 1 (host: Martina Lesar Kikelj) Historical Overview of Different Approaches to the Retouching, Ajda Mladenovič, IPCHS Restoration Centre The Spiritual Component of Medieval Wall Painting – the Issue of Presentation for the Comprehension of Medieval Religious Wall Paintings, Simona Menoni, IPCHS Regional Office Maribor (Re)touch with the Painter. The Role of Understanding the Work of Art, Anita Kavčič Klančar, IPCHS Restoration Centre The Complex Comprehension of the Visual Field, Vlasta Čobal Sedmak, IPCHS Regional Office Maribor Session 2 (host: Robert Peskar) Retouching and Presentation – Issues and Solutions, Andrej Jazbec, IPCHS Regional Office Nova Gorica Aesthetic Reintegration of a Work of Art. Fragments from Personal Practice, Ivan Bogovčič, professor emeritus The Problem of Presenting Decorative Wall Paintings, Damjana Pediček Terseglav, Tjaša Pristov, IPCHS Regional Office Ljubljana (paper not submitted) PART II: Field trip to Rotovž, the Chapel of Škofja Loka Castle, and the Church of St Nicholas in Godešič near Škofja Loka (Anita Kavčič Klančar). 5 THE 2017 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM: THE AESTHETIC PRESENTATION OF WALL PAINTINGS – PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS National Gallery, Ljubljana, 3 and 4 Oct 2017 Organisers: Restoration Centre of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (IPCHS), Slovenian Society for Conservation-Restoration, the Association of Conservators of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia Organisational board: Ajda Mladenovič, Martina Lesar Kikelj, Robert Peskar, Anita Kavčič Klančar, Vlasta Čobal Sedmak, Andrej Jazbec, Simona Menoni Muršič, Marta Bensa, Ana Kocjančič, Marija Ana Kranjc Programme: PART I: 3 Oct 2017; lectures, National Gallery, Ljubljana Welcome and Introduction, Martina Lesar Kikelj, IPCHS Restoration Centre Session 1 (host: Simona Menoni Muršič) Practical Aspects of Restoring Wall Paintings Issues Connected to Aesthetic Presentation of Wall Paintings that Arise between the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and the Restorer Executing the Presentation, Marta Bensa and Minka Osojnik, IPCHS Regional Office Nova Gorica The Aesthetic Presentation of the Stencilled Wall Paintings, Klavdij Zalar, entrepreneur The Problems of Conservators and Their Tasks The Representation of the Oldest Layers of Wall Paintings in Šmartno na Pohorju, Laško and Selo, Janez Balažic, University of Maribor, Faculty of Education On the Influence of Past Restoration Approaches, (Un)Successful Pair Work between Restorers and Art Historians, and the Approach of the So-called Technical Art History Towards the Final Presentation of a Wall Painting, Mateja Neža Sitar, IPCHS Regional Office Maribor Session 2 (host: Ajda Mladenovič) Practices and Approaches from Abroad Retouch and/or (Re)Integration (A Few Notes On Terms), Ivan Srša, Hrvatski restauratorski zavod, Zagreb The Retouching on Wall Paintings in Florence, Some Case Studies of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Alberto Felici, Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence Conservation-Restoration of Wall Paintings in Germany: Issues of Aesthetic Presentation and the Preservation of Historical Authenticity, Ursula Schädler-Saub, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft und Kunst, Fakultät Bauen und Erhalten, HAWK Hildesheim / Holzminden / Göttingen Nearly 170 Years of Systematic Uncovering and Restoration of Wall Paintings in the Koroška Region. How to Preserve Heritage in the Future? Gorazd Živkovič, Bundesdenkmalamt, Abteilung für Kärnten, Klagenfurt/Celovec Session 3 (host: Robert Peskar): round table – discussion PART II: 4 Oct 2017: Field trip to the Old Town of Radovljica and an assessment of the paintings on its facades (Nika Leben), a look at the restored Gothic paintings in the presbytery of the Church of the Assumption of Mary on Bled Island (Jelka Kuret), and partly restored Gothic paintings in the presbytery of the Church of St John the Baptist in Bohinj (Andrej Šebalj). THE PRESENTATION OF WALL PAINTINGS 7 PROLOGUE ‘The business of the restorer is the most thankless one imaginable. At best one sees and knows nothing of him. If, out of his own invention, he has provided something good he has got mixed up with the dubious company of the forgers; and with the despised one of the destroyers of art if what he has done is bad. His accomplishment remains out of sight, his deficiency leaps to the eye. Judgment regarding the performance of the restorers is even more unreliable than that regarding works of art. And that is saying something.’ Max J. Friedländer, On art and connoisseurship, Boston 1942, p. 267 Although remote in time, the introductory quote relevantly captures the problems of the elusive definition of quality restoration work of different periods, locations, and restoration trends. We were reminded of it by Guylaine Ruard, who used the same lines to address his readers in the interesting Restauration, dérestauration en peinture murale: un problème entre histoire et actualité. The research paper focused on the basic principles of restoration (in France) and the differences between theory and practice (Ruard 2007). Max Jakob Friedländer was, surprisingly, not a restorer but an art historian, which illustrates the significance of a professional connection between an art historian and restorer for high-quality interventions. They are the two protagonists of the wall painting protection and preservation, i.e. the main topic of this publication. This issue focuses on one of the most delicate phases among conservation-restoration interventions – the final presentation, which reflects the conditions in Slovenian heritage protection. The current state of the Slovenian professional field mirrors its (unresearched) historical circumstances, structural, organisational, educational, and professional formation, and specific economic, political, and social past. Amidst these changing conditions, the Slovenian conservator-art historian and restorer have walked the over century-long path of heritage protection. At first, they were closely