T
to the structural conservation of
panel paintings described in this article, the author believes that it
may be more useful to chronicle a single, complex intervention
rather than catalogue the range of technical solutions employed for
specific problems, because he considers the decision-making process
related to a particular intervention to be the most critical factor determin-
ing its success. Obviously, an accomplished level of woodworking skills,
knowledge of the properties and behavior of wood, and a general techni-
cal and mechanical versatility are important, but ultimately they are not
enough to ensure the suitability of a proposed treatment.
The danger of approaching a structural intervention (or any
restoration) from a purely technical point of view is that of unwittingly
causing some kind of aesthetic shift inappropriate to the work of art in
question. Many transfers, for example, can be considered technically suc-
cessful but may have been executed at the expense of certain textural qual-
ities in the surface. Conservators have sometimes been unqualified to
judge the extent to which these subtle shifts compromised the overall aes-
thetic of the object and, ultimately, much of its meaning. Critical aesthetic
judgment should be an essential component ofany conservation project,
as it provides the only means to evaluate the appropriateness of a pro-
posed treatment in proper context. This ability is continually developed by
broadening one’s general art-historical knowledge, by closely examining
and comparing similar works of art (particularly those in excellent states
of preservation), and by learning how to predict the natural aging behav-
ior of materials under various conditions. Building this kind of knowledge
sharpens one’s ability to deduce the fabrication methods and treatment
history of an object accurately, prior to intervention; it also helps in pro-
jecting what kind of improvement can reasonably be expected.
Conservators who believe that aesthetic choices are subjective and
therefore inappropriate relinquish their responsibility to understand the
object in a larger context. Because visual acuity and the complexities of
cultural context are limitless, one’s current level of understanding is always
inadequate; consequently, there is a danger inherent in all interventions.
Since any intervention can potentially disrupt the aesthetic and physical
integrity of the object, conservators are bound to consider both of these
aspects in order to minimize the risk of causing some inappropriate shift.
In general, post-treatment environmental conditions should also
be a factor in deciding the extent ofa proposed treatment. For example, a341George Bisacca
Structural Considerations in the Treatment of a
Nativity by Francesco di Giorgio Martini