A new aesthetic proposal for “Men at arms” by Donato Bramante

  • Marie-Claire Canepa Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)
  • Michela Cardinali Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)
  • Marianna Ferrero Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)
  • Alessandro Gatti Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)
  • Cristina Quattrini Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan (Italy),
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37558/gec.v18i1.857
Keywords: history of conservation, reintegration, lacuna, mural painting, Donato Bramante

Abstract

During the refurbishing of the “Lombard Art of the XV-XVI century” department at the Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), concluded in 2018, the Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale” had the opportunity to study and restore the famous pictorial cycle of Men at Arms by Donato Bramante (1488-89).
The paper aims to present the methodological approach and the results obtained with the last conservation treatment, aimed at a new and updated aesthetic proposal for the pictorial cycle. The main objective was to re-establish the unity of the images, compromised by the numerous lacunae left visible by previous treatments, respecting at the same time the material features of the paintings and the evidence of their particular conservative history.
The interdisciplinary work group* has reconstructed the complex conservative history of the detached wall paintings, thanks to the technical observation of the surfaces and the scientific characterization of the constituent materials. The results were compared with the available historical documentation, in particular with historical photographs. The project allowed us to retrace the profound changes that the concept of pictorial integration has encountered over time, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day. The conservation treatment also originated from the need of the Pinacoteca di Brera to update the aesthetic presentation of the works, facilitating the reading of the fragmented images due to numerous lacunae. d images due to numerous lacunae.

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Author Biographies

Marie-Claire Canepa, Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)

Graduated in 1998, she is a conservator specialized in mural paintings and stones, paintings on canvas and panel. Since 2006 she works in the Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale” and since 2010 she is the Head of the conservation laboratory of stones, mural paintings, stuccoes and decorated architectural surfaces. She also works as a Teacher for the Master’s Degree Program in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (University of Turin).

Michela Cardinali, Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)

Graduated and specialized as conservator of painted surfaces on several supports and on lithic materials (Istituto Superiore Centrale per il Restauro, Rome); she got the Degree in Conservation of Cultural Heritage at the University of Tuscia. Since 2006 she works in the Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale” (CCR): first as a conservator specialized in the field of natural stone artefacts, mural paintings and paintings on canvas and panel and as a teacher in the Master’s Degree Program in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (University of Turin); in 2012 she become Director of the Conservation Laboratories and since 2013 she is Head of the Center’s Advanced Training School.

Marianna Ferrero, Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)

He is an art historian and she works in the project management department of the Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale”. In particular, she deals with conservation projects and activities of the Paintings on canvas and panel Conservation Laboratory. She graduated in Art History at the University of Turin and she got a post-degree specialization at the University of Genoa.

Alessandro Gatti, Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale”, Turin (Italy)

He is a paintings conservator with a Degree in Conservation of Cultural Heritage (University of Milan). Since 2006, he works in the Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale”: he is specialized in Venetian, Lombard and Piedmontese Renaissance paintings. He also works as a Teacher of execution techniques and conservation of canvas paintings for the Master’s Degree Program in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (University of Turin).

Cristina Quattrini, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan (Italy),

Graduated and post-graduated at the University of Milan, she got a PhD in Art History at the University of Turin and a post doc at the University of Padua. Currently she is the curator of the Lombard and Piedmontese Renaissance paintings department at the Pinacoteca di Brera and she also deals with the Umbria, Tuscany and Marche Paintings department. She was among the curators of the Bramante’s exhibition in Milan (2014).

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Published
2020-12-10
How to Cite
Canepa, M.-C., Cardinali, M., Ferrero, M., Gatti, A., & Quattrini, C. (2020). A new aesthetic proposal for “Men at arms” by Donato Bramante. Ge-Conservacion, 18, 375-383. https://doi.org/10.37558/gec.v18i1.857
Issue
Vol. 18 (2020): Ge-conservación Nº18
Section
Suplemento
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