Art Conservation in Venice: An Inside Look with a Restorer with Sara Grinzato
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Visitors to Italy marvel in front of masterpieces that have miraculously survived for centuries, sometimes still in situ. The sensory experience is so overwhelming that viewers forget to consider how these works have been preserved. Join fine art restorer Sara Grinzato to learn the science and technique behind the conservation and restoration of Venice’s artistic treasures. Drawing on first-hand experience working in the field, we'll learn about the challenges and triumphs of this profession.
This seminar will introduce us to the world of restoration of oil painting on canvas and polychromed wood statues, according to the most recent theories developed in Italy. Using examples of artworks from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, we will discuss what it means to clean a painted surface, to stretch a canvas, to consolidate paint flakes, to line or reline a canvas, to retouch with different methods, to treat a biological attack, to guarantee lasting protection to the works. Some examples of recent restoration projects carried out in Venice will help us to understand the essential phases of the conservation process.
Led by a restorer and expert on Venetian art, Sara Grinzato, this seminar will capture the attention of art lovers. Designed to inform curiosity and future travels, participants will come away with an increased awareness of art conservation and an appreciation for the professional efforts that are constantly advanced to preserve Venice’s artistic heritage.
Sara Grinzato is a professional art historian, conservator and expert in the Venetian art. She is active as an independent scholar, researching on the arts of Venice from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century.
This conversation is suitable for all ages
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
Sara Grinzato provided a comprehensive overview of art conservation using Venice, her workplace. The presentation is well organized for lay people and covers many concrete examples using revealing photos. She was able to answer expert as well as non-expert questions. The presentation was eye-opening regarding the challenges and resources that are involved behind the scenes.
If this topic interests you, don't hesitate to sign up. This was truly a detailed, inside look at the causes of deterioration and damage to Renaissance art in Venice, at the restoration methods, with before and after comparisons. Sara Grinzato is a lovely, professional, deeply knowledgeable expert. The slides were also excellent.
I loved every minute of Sara Grinzato's lecture on Art Conservation. This was a fabulous lecture! Not only was it fascinating, but Grinzato accomplished something which is darned difficult to do, let alone do so well: she struck the perfect balance between obscure facts, little-known methods, and general understanding. By so doing she made me as a listener comfortable with a world which I know exists, but into which I've had no entré, till now. As well, Grinzato is the rare lecturer who is able to delineate and to synthesize in a way that pulls her listeners along without pandering one moment to our own minimal knowledge of her field. Her presentation style is lively and clear. I loved every minute.
This was a very interesting seminar. Having a chance to see what the process is for restoring these old paintings, sculptures really is, gives me new insight into how this art survives and is preserved. Traveling to Italy often and looking at the gorgeous works of art, I have wished I knew more about the "behind the scenes" work of conservation and restoration! Now I know more.