A copy of the works of Murillo suffered at the hands of Amateur restorer in Spain
ARTinvestment.RU   23 июня 2020

Experts-реставраторы call on the authorities to tighten laws on the restoration work

The author of one of the most unsuccessful restorations — frescoes, now known as "Fluffy Jesus", has another follower. And if the attempt the restoration of the fresco "Ecce Homo" in one of the churches of the Spanish town of Borja were made free from the desire to help, the author of "restoration" copies of famous works of Esteban Murillo's Immaculate conception sued the owner of the painting account for €1.2 thousand.

Information about another tainted picture appeared in the media at the end of last week. As I write, the owner of the painting, collector of Valencia, gave a copy of the works of Murillo at the hands of the restorer, specializing in furniture restoration, so he cleaned the picture. Usually, it refers to the removal of paint work dust deposits and dirt using special tools or removing the old yellowed varnish and replace it with a new transparent layer. But, obviously,-то happened: a layer of paint work was badly damaged and attempts to restore the image (there were two of them: dissatisfied with the result of "restorer", the owner of the picture asked him to fix made) led to the complete destruction of the Central part of the work, where it was shown the face of the virgin Mary.

News of another the destruction of works of art in the "restoration" resonated in art-среде Spain. Experts-реставраторы and art-эксперты appealed to the authorities to tighten the regulation of the restoration work and to define more precisely the concept of "restorer".

Fernando Carrera, Professor at the School of conservation and restoration of cultural heritage of Galicia, said that such cases highlight the need to perform work only trained restorers. In comments to The Guardian, he said: "I don't think this person — or these people — should be called restorers. Let's be honest: they are crooks who ruin everything. They destroy things." Carrera also said that the current legislation in Spain allows you to participate in the restoration of people without the necessary skills. "You can imagine that a random person is allowed to operate on other people? Or he is allowed to sell drugs without a pharmacist license? Or anyone-то who is not an architect permitted to design buildings? ...Although the restorers are much less important than doctors, ...their actions should be strictly regulated in the name of cultural history of Spain" — he added.

Vice-президент the Professional Association of restorers and conservators (Acre) Spain, Maria Borja in , comments for Spanish press said, "unfortunately, such cases are much more common than you think. We learn about them only when people report about them in the press or social networks, but there are many other cases when the restoration is performed by people without special skills. ...Lay interference mean that works of art suffer, and the damage which they apply, may be irreversible." The main idea of the experts expressed in one of theinterview with Fernando Carrera: "We must invest in our heritage, but before talking about money, we need to make sure that people who do this work were taught".

Given the frequency with which Spain has in recent years confronted with cases of damage and destruction of cultural property in the result of unprofessional restorations, it is likely that the initiative of the Spanish experts will find understanding from local legislators. However the experience of Spain, could be worth a look and the rest of the countries in which the provision of restoration services is not among the most transparent, or at least regulated.

the Material was prepared by Maria Kuznetsova AI

Source: theguardian.com