<論文>近代イタリア修復学と《マドンナ・ピカソ》--1972 年「フィレンツェ・レスタウラ(フィレンツェは、修復する)」展を中心に

Abstract

This report focuses on the Firenze Restaura, an exhibition of restored paintings held in Florence (Italy) in 1972, to examine how art restorers and art historians in Florence played leading roles in the field of art conservation and restoration of that era, as well as how they resolved various problems related to the authenticity of artworks, which eventually lead to the problematic ethics of altering artworks. A wide variety of restoration techniques have been developed in Florence since the modern era, and this exhibition featured the compilation of their achievements. A painting of the Madonna and Child was displayed at the first venue as a symbol of the exhibition. Commonly referred to as the Madonna Picasso or the Madonna del Restauro, the painting seemed at first glance to be randomly divided into multiple parts. In fact, each part was of its three layers actually belonged in three different eras. That is, not only were the original layer preserved, but also the remaining two layers on top of the original have been preserved as well; the two upper layers which were added in subsequent eras were left unremoved. Restored art exhibitions are commonly acknowledged as to display works that have been cleaned, re-painted, and then newly re-coated with varnish. However, although only about half of the Madonna and Child had been cleaned, Umberto Baldini (1921-2006) and other art experts asserted the painting as a restored artwork. The painting's unique, collage-like appearance drew a great deal of attention as the icon of this exhibition, the Firenze Restaura, meaning, "Florence restores", since this restoration policy of attempting to visualize layers from different eras precisely demonstrated Florence's unique approach to restoration. The process of cleaning and modifying artworks have been frequently discussed in Italy since the 17th century, and the debate grew livelier since the National Gallery of London began their cleaning of paintings in 1844. As X-ray technology evolved, additional painting layers that had been painted over the original panel paintings of the 13th century were successively discovered. Thereafter, repeated attempts were made to restore artworks by "cleaning" them, which, in fact, cleaned them by removing the additional coats of paint to reveal the original. This type of alteration, referred to as "di rivelazione" by Antonio Paolucci (1939-), were practiced on works by both well-known and unknown artists. However, the alteration method were criticised because not only did it require irreversible damages on the artworks' paint layers, but also generated the undeniable risk of destroying the artworks' "tempo vita." The Firenze Restaura exhibited artworks that had been restored, yet signified the historical value of every work of every layer, and thus avoided "di rivelazione" of the added layers over the original painting. Thus, this exhibition could have been viewed as a response to Restauro Filologico, a restoration theory that tried to evaluate and conserve artworks as active historical documents. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Baldini's restoration theories, which have been almost completely ignored by previous studies, and also to focus on the meaning and value of overpainted layers that, even today, are frequently discovered in old paintings. This attempt may be able to present valuable references to analyze the "living (Vita)" history of an artwork, and ideally provide an opportunity to reconsider the significance of conservation and restoration as important elements of art history.