Stratigraphy (art history)

This article deals with the "stratification" in art history and building research. For other meanings of the term see stratigraphy .

The stratigraphy (also stratigraphy ) in art history and Construction forms the basis of the restoration and is a method for the relative dating of color resolutions of art.

method

When examining the colored versions of works of art, the sequence of paint layers is a central aspect of dating. This includes genres from oil painting and other impasto painting techniques , through the color design of sculptures , frescoes and other wall paintings to the analysis of the history of architecture of buildings.

In addition to pure dating, the main purpose of stratigraphy is to determine a specific version to which the work can be traced. Every exposure is judged extremely critically as a destructive measure in the restoration : The overlying layers are lost forever after exposure, and although they may be art-historically worthless or of inferior rank, they are part of the history of the object: The "resetting" Strictly speaking, an “original version” is not just an act of interpretation, but actually a falsification of the object's history. Therefore, a detailed strategy and version documentation is seen as a minimum requirement of modern monument preservation .

Basic first measure the restoration stratigraphy is the layers staircase is cut in on the object in an inconspicuous place small fields (fingernail to postage stamp size) in depth, via the original version addition to knowledge of any signatures and the technology of the original paint layers to win. The uppermost strata, colloquially the "old age dirt", are summarized as patina , secondary paintings of lesser rank as overpainting . However, further layers of great value, called second versions , present the restorer with a dilemma. In this case, modern restoration always opts for the less invasive technique.

For absolute dating, one uses X-ray analyzes of the layer structure, X-ray fluorescence analysis, as well as chemical and mass spectrometric analysis of the painting medium , in order to be able to make statements about the age of the pigments used. In recent times, wooden art works u. U. can also be dated with the help of dendrochronology .

With the exposure itself, the restoration today not only includes the actually valuable painting, but also includes the original zero surface of the layer that formed the original conceptual background of a painting. Any flaws then run into the area and thus also document the damage pattern, which can be used to explain the current state of preservation.

Research history

• Renaissance: In the tradition of Vitruvius and Pliny , the paradigm of the pure white marble statue is formulated. Numerous historical finds are roughed up. The polychromy of antiquity was only recognized after 1815 ( Ingres , Hittorf , Semper )
• 1830s: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc , the “father of restoration” propagates the restoration of the perfect original condition : The result is the romanticizing stone-sightedness of medieval buildings, which is only recognized as a mistake in the late 20th century
• 1840s: In response, John Ruskin formulates the goal of preserving the state of preservation - excesses of this counter-movement are, for example, excessive growth of frescoes and an equally romanticizing paradigm of " tenebrismo ", the darkening patina
• 1964: The Venice Charter formulates the entire wealth of authenticity as a moral obligation for the preservation of monuments: Since then, respect for the history of objects as cultural heritage has been the primary goal, and the paradigm of "shining in a new splendor" has been rejected; stratigraphy gains its documentary component
• 1980–1994: Restoration of the Sixtina in the Lateran - with a media impact, Michelangelo's frescoes are stripped of their patina and restored to their original colors, and after lengthy discussions and expressly relativising the Venice Charter, the trouser painter's secondary layer is only removed occasionally

literature

• Cesare Brandi: Teoria del restauro. Rome 1963. German theory of restoration. Translated by Ursula Schädler-Saub, Dörthe Jakobs, Siegl, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-935643-32-0