Mastering the techniques of figurative and academic art is directly related to the study of the technique and technology of painting, the method of copying the old masters. And also with the study of restoration skills of easel paintings and fresco painting. The old masters not only made paints, varnishes and other materials but also used them masterly. Our students study a complex method to learn not only the skills of drawing, painting, composition, copying, but also the theory and practice of the total complex of restoration and conservation works. To become a professional artist, you must be fluent in all the tools of the fine arts, such as the science of colour, perspective, optics, chemistry, etc. This will extend your professional skills and help you to determine the direction of your art in the future.
The Academy collaborates with restoration artists, museums and restoration centres to learn the basics of restoring works of art and copying old masters. Under their supervision we can study the basics of the art restoration profession and see the restoration process. The students are also trained in their first basics under the guidance of experienced restorers.
Objective of a course
Students’ field of activities includes:
Detection and attribution of the object of material culture, determination of its artistic and historical value and also a category of conservation
Organization and implementation of the research and archive findings and selection of the optimal model of restoration (conservation and reconstruction);
Organization and implementation of the restoration works complex;
Preparation of the scientific accounting documentation.
Easel paintings are considered to be the object of study
Target of a course
Students who participate in a year-long course in Restoration of Easel Paintings are involved in the following activities:
Conservation and restoration
Scientific research and scientific-methodic activities
Scientific research and projects
Expert
Concrete specification of professional activities is chosen together with the Academy’s responsible staff and the students.
Students who attend a year-long course in Restoration of Easel Paintings and Icons should be ready to deal with the professional challenges listed as the objectives of the course.
Principles of content selection and management of didactic material
Step-by-step sequence of developing a course from easy to hard, including a practical use of skills required for implementing the scientific research and project work
Detecting and emphasizing the targets of the course in a didactic material
Enhancing the volume of practical assignments under a constant control of professors
Main criteria of didactic material content selection
Correspondence to the targets of the course
Correspondence to the individual possibilities
Correspondence to the material possibilities
Quality control of the knowledge assimilation:
- Testing an control of the theoretical knowledge assimilation and methodological guidelines in practical easel painting restoration assignments;
- Step-by-step guidance and control of the methodology of realizing the restoration processes;
- Midterm attestation;
- Negotiation and approval of the self-training assignments in conservation and restoration processes;
- Consulting and guidance on preparation of the scientific accounting documentation.
Requirements for presenting the practical assignments report:
- General culture and understanding a role of restoration in a complex of sciences and arts;
- Understanding the importance and social value of their profession, main problematic of the disciplines, determining a concrete field of work, ability to see its connection with the integrated system of knowledge;
- Ability to develop and choose the methodology, technology and materials for conservation and restoration;
- Ability to justify the chosen technical solution for implementing the conservation and restoration works;
- Ability to choose the technical tools and technologies according to the ecological impact after its use;
Scientific research and scientific-methodic activities:
- Ability to apply the modern research methods in studying the objects of cultural heritage;
- Ability to define the main objective and targets, connected with the realization of professional functions;
- Readiness to examine the scientific and technological information, domestic and foreign practice;
- Readiness to work on the improvement of methods of conservation and restoration.
Project work :
- Ability to maintain the technical documentation on the realized work, including the graphic design and work ethics register book;
- Ability to develop scientific and project documentation together with the scientific and production documentation;
- Ability to design the technological processes.
Final attestation:
- Final attestation of the painting practical assignments quality is performed in a form of exam.
Main contents of the course
Introductive discussion about the course’s goals and challenges.
Technological analysis of the easel paintings:
- Basis: canvas, wood, less frequently metal, cardboard, paper;
- Stretcher: defining the type of wood, level of conservation, signs of secondary use, etc.
- Primer: finding out the quantity and color of the primer’s layers, analysis od the bridging primer in order to ascertain when the artwork was realized;
- Colorful layer: tones, craquelure;
- Varnish coating as an independent layer in a structure of a painting;
- Texture analysis of a painting.
The main goal of the research is to find out the time of creation, confirm or reject the painting’s author name. In order to meet this goal it’s necessary first to analyse the stylistic characteristics of an artwork and only then to begin implementing a physic-chemical research.
Materials: binocular stereoscopic microscope, scalpel or probe, notebook or album, graphite pencil HB and B2, eraser, ruler.
- Chemical technologies of restoration. Use of synthetic adhesive, copolymer dispersion;
- Optical physics research;
- Biological research. Concept of complex damage diagnosis of the artworks;
- Chemical physics research. Importance of the laboratory analysis in studying the technology of painting;
- Exploring the parameters of microclimate.
Is to examine all the types of artworks’ research. Studying a summation of different types of research – stylistic analysis, optical physics research, chemical and radiological research, different photography, etc.
Didactic material, visits to the laboratories
- Preparation and maintenance of the scientific restoration documentation for an artwork’s passport
- Scheme with a description of an easel painting’s preservation;
- Composition and evaluation of a plan for conservation and restoration processes
Preventive adhesive restoration. Preparation of an adhesive. Studying different recipes, depending on the painting’s state of conservation. Sealing with a tissue-paper. Solid and fragmented sealing.
Strengthening the color layer. Choosing the concentration of the adhesive. Open method.
Breakthrough reparation. Preparation of a painting. Stages of bonding. Specifics of work. Analysing the necessity of creating new edges, techniques of creating new edges.
Elimination of the surface contamination. Choosing the compositions for eliminating the contamination from the varnish film. Specifics of work with the icons.
Elimination, thinning and alignment/harmonization of the overprint varnishes. First step is considered to be as an analysis of the varnish film’s condition and a painting’s state of preservation. Luminescence of a varnish in filtered ultraviolet rays, the nature of varnish, the techniques of painting. Test on solubility and necessity of the further interferences.
Working with the restoration soil. Composition and recipe. Method of working with the restoration soil.
Varnishing. Requirements to the restoration varnish films. Techniques of applying the varnish. Safety precautions.
Tinting the loss of painting. Specific rules and techniques of implementing the tinting. Types of tinting. Artworks’ reconstruction. Craquelure imitation.
The main goal is to understand the difficulty and diversity of the restoration processes and to know the possibilities of its applying in concrete situations. Understanding the necessity of rendering the scientific accounting documentation unique on each stage of restoration.
Materials: restoration tools, solutions. Passports of the easel paintings that should be restored
- Step-by-step work on a restoration of the easel paintings with the different levels of difficulty. All the processes are executed under a control of professor.
- Autonomous work on developing a project-plan of conservation and restoration of the painting.
- Detection of the required technical analysis in order to define the painting’s condition and state of conservation.
- Compilation of the painting’s restoration passport.
The main goal is to master the simple and moderately complex conservation and restoration techniques in practice. Consolidation of the skills aimed at preparation and compilation of the technical project documentation.
Materials: restoration tools, solutions.
Copying old masters paintings in order to get acquainted with different manners of painting. - Understanding the multi-dimensional style of painting allows to replicate the losses of the paint layer with a better accuracy.
studying the old masters’ technique reveals the understanding of the technological processes in paintings restoration.
Our laboratory has restored works for private collections and museums.
Gallery:
Museo di Arte Sacra e Religiosità Popolare “ Beato Angelico”. Vicchio di Mugello (FI).
Santa Lucia, del XVII sec.Tela. Pittura ad olio.The work was supervised by Stefano Garosi, Natalia Parenko.
Raffigurante battaglia con cavalieri.del XVII sec.
Raffigurante la Madonna con Bambino e Santi.del XVII sec.The work was supervised by Stefano Garosi, Natalia Parenko.
Castello dei conti Guidi Poppi (AR).The work was supervised by Stefano Garosi, Natalia Parenko.
Monastero di Camaldoli.The work was supervised by Stefano Garosi, Natalia Parenko.
Private collections of Rome, Paris, Germany.
Let’s Get in Touch
Contact details
Phone: +39 055 035 1530
E-mail: info@florusart.com
Address: Piazza della Libertà, 2 – 50129 Firenze
Monday — Friday 09:30 – 18:00