Restoration, the art of restoring art to its splendor

JANUARY 22-27, CONSERVATOR-RESTORER WEEK

On January 27, 2017, the Escuela Superior de Bienes Culturales de Galicia celebrated the Conservator-Restorer's Day commemorating the 203rd anniversary of the birth of. Eugéne Viollet-Le-Duc. This year, the celebration is again proposed together with ACRE.

#27eRestorer'sDay #OrgulloRestaurador #WeekCR

(Video of the restoration of the Holy Ark of the Cathedral of Oviedo)

From Granda, which has an experienced Restoration Department, we want to transmit what it consists of, since our commitment to art is not limited to the creation of new works, but extends to the creation of new works of art. preservation and conservation of the Historic and Artistic Heritageespecially those related to the Church.

OUR CATERING DEPARTMENT

In our workshops, we have the knowledge and handling of handicraft techniques that is applied to each work on which it intervenes, making it possible to study it not only from the academic point of view, but also from the technical point of view. This implies a advantage in diagnosing the best intervention and is a great support for the Conservation and Restoration Department.

In addition, our professionals are trained to make replicas of the highest quality and fidelity.The aim of the project is to develop preventive conservation studies, oriented to protect the heritage in a correct way, thus avoiding the need for restoration intervention.

The Restoration Department, created in 1999, carries out interventions on all types of goods, of all dimensions, techniques and materials, always taking into consideration the criteria for the recovery and conservation of the original work and complying with the legal regulations on this matter depending on the country in which the intervention takes place.

In the case of Spain, we have the N5D level 5 classification, which enables us to carry out public procurement projects. And we carry out work in both Preventive Conservation and Restoration. Our clients include the Ministry of Culture, I.P.C.E., the Junta de Castilla y León, the Junta de Extremadura, the Comunidad de Madrid and Patrimonio Nacional.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS

Our team is formed by experts - restorers, art historians, chemists, architects, designers, cabinetmakers and carpenters, and goldsmiths experts in restoration. The commitment of all of them to this work provides all the technical and scientific guarantees that this activity requires.

Large format workssuch as the Chamber of Doña Sancha or the Custody of the Cathedral of Toledo, are restored in situThe company has all the necessary materials and technological resources to carry out its work.

The department also carries out other tasks complementary to the restoration process, such as the preparation of the pieces for shipment, the development of supports and exhibition and protection media to explain the restoration process and address the full revaluation of the restored property, as well as public programs.
to ensure accessibility to the parts being worked on.

The common aim of preventive conservation and restoration is to preserving cultural property from external factorsThe restoration treatments will be carried out when the pieces show damage and aggressions that can be harmful and alter their structure in some way, keeping them in an appropriate environment to prolong their existence and improve their physical conditions as much as possible. The restoration treatments will be carried out when the aggressions and the damages that show the pieces show it.
claim.

OUR PRINCIPLES

All restoration must be carried out in the minimal intervention and indispensable on the object to be treated according to the following criteria:

- Legibility of the interventions carried out: the restored part must be distinguishable from the original historical part, so as to avoid falsification.
- Reversibility of treatmentsAny added material must be able to be removed from the historical piece without damaging it.
- Stability of applied materials in the restoration: The materials used should not cause damage to the piece, maintaining a lasting balance between the two.

THE WORK METHODOLOGY

The methodology of the restoration work is structured on a scientific basis: it starts by making a preliminary analysis of the state of conservation of the pieces, identifying and carrying out a study of the construction materials and researching their historical and documentary sources.

Once this work has been done, an interpretation of all previous studies and a work proposalwith individual solutions for each case.

(Christ of the Battles, restored in Talleres de Arte Granda)

It is essential to documenting and justifying interventions carried out on the pieces. Restoration work should never be improvised, in order to avoid false history and to leave a record of the products used during restoration.

To facilitate the work and data collection, a technical data sheet model is used, which is adapted to the specific needs of each type of object.

PREVENTIVE CONSERVATION

Almost more important than restoration is preventive conservation. If we keep the work in the necessary conditions, investigating how the materials that compose it are and providing it with the most appropriate environmental conditions, we will be able to guarantee the optimal conservation of the piece and avoid its later restoration.

SOME OF OUR PROJECTS

Our restorers have worked on numerous heritage restoration projects, such as the Chamber of Doña Sancha, at San Isidoro de León, The Holy Ark of the Oviedo Cathedralor the Monstrance of Arfe of Toledo Cathedral.