Building upon a solid understanding of the execution techniques and constituent materials of canvas paintings, the student will develop the ability to assess the conservation state of such works, identifying both the causes and manifestations of deterioration. An appropriate knowledge of the rheological behavior of the constituent materials will enable the student to design a restoration intervention suited to the actual needs of the artwork. Thanks to a thorough knowledge of restoration techniques and of the materials available on the market, the student will be able to carry out the intervention by selecting the most suitable methodology and the most innovative techniques using appropriate materials.

Lectures: 30 hours; Laboratory: 90 hours.

Contents: Analysis of the rheological behavior of constitutive materials. Analysis of the causes and phenomenology of deterioration affecting the textile support, ground, and paint layers. Theory and practice of the conservation of textile supports: facing, consolidation, and re-adhesion of layers.

Treatment of craquelure. Deacidification and cleaning of textile supports. Comparison of traditional and innovative materials and methods. Presentation of case studies and exemplary restorations. Laboratory activities and exercises on models.

The operations and methodologies will be adapted to the nature and needs of the artworks present in the laboratory and made available for educational purposes and student practice. The listed treatments may be subject to change depending on the execution techniques of the artifacts, their condition, and the directions provided by the course lecturer. In cases where the available works do not exhibit the types of degradation under examination, exercises will be carried out on laboratory-prepared mock-ups.

Fammi sapere se desideri una versione più sintetica o se il testo è destinato a un syllabus universitario.

Students must have completed the previous modules.

The course aims to train the restoration student in assessing the conservation condition of a work of art through the analysis of its execution technique, the identification of deterioration in its constitutive materials, and the understanding of the underlying causes of such degradation. The student will acquire the appropriate skills to correctly design a restoration intervention based on the actual needs of the object.

Thanks to a solid knowledge of restoration techniques and of the materials available on the market, the student will be able to carry out the intervention by selecting the most appropriate methodology and the most innovative techniques, using suitable materials.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The teaching material will be provided at the beginning of the course and will be available for consultation and download on the Blended platform.

Teaching

Lectures and practical laboratory activities.

Attendance

Compulsory attendance.

Course books

1.     Berger, G.A., e W.H. Russell, «Interaction between Canvas and Paint Film in Response to Environmental Changes», in Studies in Conservation, 39 (1994): pp. 73-86.

2.     Borgioli, L., P. Cremonesi, Le resine sintetiche usate nel trattamento di opere policrome, Collana i Talenti, 17, Il Prato, Saonara (Pd) 2005, pp. 138-141.

3.     Borgioli, L., G. Pressi, e S. Secondin, «Valutazione dell’efficacia di prodotti biocidi», in Progetto Restauro, 26, marzo 2003.

4.     Borgioli, L., E. Boschetti, e A. Splendore, «Preconsolidare e velinare : l’opzione ciclododecano», in Kermes, 79 (2010), pp. 67-73.

5.     Borgioli, L., E. Boschetti, e A. Splendore, «Appianamento della pellicola pittorica. Procedure alternative», in Kermes, 79, pp. 63-69.

6.     Bury, M., e Ł. Bratasz, «Development of Craquelure Patterns in Paintings on Canvas». Heritage Science 12, n. 1 (2024): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-024-01493-x.

7.     De Luca, D., I manufatti dipinti su supporto tessile. Vademecum per allievi restauratori, Il Prato, Padova 2021, 3ª edizione, pp. 13-69, 71-92, 100-101, 107-128.

8.     Giordano, A., I magneti come una possibile alternativa ai tradizionali sistemi di chiodatura per l’ancoraggio dei dipinti su tela, in C. Sburlino, C. Lodi (a cura di), Prima, Durante… Invece del restauro, Atti del VI° Congresso Internazionale Colore e Conservazione, Parma, 16-17 novembre 2012, Il Prato, Padova 2013, p. 331.

9.     Hackney, S., «The De-acidification of Canvas Paintings», in C. Sburlino, C. Lodi (a cura di), Prima, Durante…pp. 183-189.

10.  Hackney, S., G. Hedley, «Measurement of the Ageing of Linen Canvases», in Studies in Conservation, 26, 1981, pp. 1-4.

11.  Hackney, S., «Rifoderare, foderare, togliere le vecchie foderature», in Progetto restauro, pp. 34-39.

12.  Hackney, S., T. Ernst, «The Applicability of Alkaline Reserves to Paintings on Canvas», in Preventive Conservation Practice, Theory and Research, Ottawa IIC Congress, 1994, pp. 223-227.

13.  Mecklenburg, M.F., «Meccanismi di cedimento nei dipinti su tela: approcci per lo sviluppo di protocolli di consolidamento», Il Prato, Padova 2007, pp. 11-36.

14.  Mecklenburg, M.F., L. Fuster López, Determining the acceptable ranges of Relative Humidity and Temperature in museums and galleries, in C. Sburlino, C. Lodi (a cura di), Prima, Durante…, pp. 165-181.

15.  Oriola, M., M. Strlic, G. Campo, A. Mozir, A. Nualart-Torroja, e C. Ruiz-Recasens, «pH and DP Studies of Painting Canvases», in C. Sburlino, C. Lodi (a cura di), Prima, Durante…, pp. 201-208.

16.  Padfield, T., N. Padfield, D. S.-H. Lee, A. Thøgersen, A. V. Nielsen, C. K. Andersen, e M. Scharff, «Back Protection of Canvas Paintings». Heritage Science 8, n. 96 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-020-00435-7.

17.  Peacock, E.E., «Deacidification of Degraded Linen», in Studies in Conservation, 28, 1983, pp. 8-14.

18.  Ploeger, R., E. René de la Rie, C. McGlinchey, The choice of consolidating materials: concerns and solutions, in C. Sburlino, C. Lodi (a cura di), Prima, Durante…, pp. 261-265.

19.  Roche, A., «Influenza delle preparazioni sul comportamento meccanico delle tele», in C. Sburlino, C. Lodi (a cura di), Prima, Durante…, pp. 247-260.

20.  Roche, A., «Comportement mécanique des peintures sur toile : évaluation de la stabilité mécanique aux variations d’humidité et de température», dans La conservación de pinturas. I Seminario Internacional. El soporte textil : comportamiento, deterioro y criterios de intervención, Madrid : Ministerio de Cultura, 1987, pp. 189-212.

21.  Borgioli, L., E. Boschetti, e C. Tortato, «I cerotti di Aquazol 500. Una procedura alternativa per la velinatura dei dipinti», in Progetto Restauro, 73 (2016), pp. 3-13.

Assessment

After attending at least 75% of each individual laboratory section, students will be eligible to take the corresponding partial exam during the official exam sessions.

Once the student has passed the partial exams for all four sections, along with the integrative module, the final grade will be recorded during the official exam sessions as a single overall mark resulting from the average of the partial grades. The final evaluation will be determined as follows:

Average of partial evaluations: 95%

Integrative module grade: 5%

PARTIAL EXAM

In order to take each partial exam, students must submit a Technical Report agreed upon with the supervising instructor at the end of the laboratory activities. The document must be submitted by email to the instructors in digital format at least two weeks prior to the exam.

The final grade of the partial exam will be calculated as a weighted average of three components: Laboratory work, Written Report, and Oral Examination. The evaluation criteria are as follows:

Laboratory: 40%

Laboratory activities will be graded as follows:

• 18: if the student meets the minimum attendance requirement

• 19–28: if the student demonstrates good manual skills

• 28–30: if the student actively participates and collaborates with the group

Written Report: 20%

The written report will be graded as follows:

• 18–25: if it covers all the topics addressed in the course

• 25–28: if it uses appropriate technical language and includes relevant examples

• 28–30: if all elements are presented thoroughly and in depth

Oral Examination: 40%

The oral exam will be graded as follows:

• 18–23: if answers are incomplete and lack appropriate terminology

• 24–28: if answers are complete and use proper language

• 28–30: if the student shows the ability to process and interpret acquired knowledge

The oral exam will focus on:

• the operations carried out in the laboratory

• the bibliography provided by the instructors

• a discussion of the submitted report

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered a certification of disability or a certification of Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) with the University’s Inclusion and Student Support Office may request to use concept maps (based on keywords) during the exam.

To this end, students must submit the maps to the course instructor two weeks before the exam date, so that their compliance with the university’s official guidelines may be assessed. The instructor may request modifications if necessary.