Course program
Introduction: Restoration in the History of Art and according to Brandi - the role of Chemistry in Restoration - Polychrome works, layered structure - Technique of stratigraphic sections - Constitutive materials: colors (pigments, dyes and lacquers), binders and resins - Binders of mobile works: tempera, oils, mixed techniques - Binders of frescoes - Carbonation of lime - Airborne mortars and hydraulic mortars
The pictorial materials: Pigments, dyes and lacquers (color index, lightfastness, covering power and oil number) - Chemical composition and properties - Use of pigments in various historical periods - Metals and techniques of gilding - Painting binders; chemical and physical characteristics - Proteins: animal glues, egg tempera, casein - Polysaccharides: vegetable gums, starch and dextrin - Hydrophobic lipids and binders: drying oils - Oxidative polymerization - Modern synthetic binders - Properties of paints - Characteristics of natural resins and synthetic resins - Polyaddition and polycondensation resins - Cellulose and derivatives - Natural and artificial waxes - Paints and Protective agents - Adhesives, Consolidants and Fillers
Degradation and cleaning techniques: Phenomenology of degradation - Cleaning of polychrome works - Introduction to organic solvents - Electronegativity and polarity of solvents - Polarity of solvents - Intermolecular forces - Solubility Parameters and cohesion forces - Teas triangle - Solvent mixtures - Feller Solubility Test - Alternative Tests - Integrated Cleaning Approach - Aprotic Dipolar Solvents - Soft Matters - Gelling agents for aqueous solutions - Use of enzymes in restoration
The frescoes and stone materials: Historical phases of wall painting - Mortars based on clay, gypsum and lime - Carbonation, aerial and hydraulic mortars - Humidity and direct and indirect damage - Migration and crystallization of soluble salts - Ferroni method - Characteristics of fixatives - Consolidation and removal of frescoes - Introduction to stone material - Degradation and restoration of stone material - Black crusts - Silicon-based consolidants
Cellulose materials: Structure of cellulose and lignin - Moisture and degradation of wood - Wood restoration - Paper: preparation and characteristics - Paper degradation - Iron-Gallic inks and printing mirror - Foxing - Deacidification of paper
Metals and alloys: Archaeometallurgy and historical epochs - Metal reduction and nobility potential - Coining metals: gold, silver and copper - Tin, lead, iron and alloys - Corrosion of metals, chemistry and electrochemistry - Corrosion products and patinas - Passive and cathodic protection systems
Glass and ceramics: Formation and structure of glass - Chemistry and color of glass - Glass in various historical periods - Degradation and restoration of glass - Raw materials and firing of ceramics - Pottery in history - Attic vases, terracotta and porcelain - Degradation and restoration
Prerequisites
a) Good command of the Italian language
b) Knowledge at high school level of History and History of Art
c) Knowledge at the university level of General Chemistry: atomic structure, chemical bonds, electronegativity, intermolecular forces, saturated and unsaturated organic compounds, functional groups, solution equilibria: acid-base and pH, precipitation, complexation, oxidation reduction and redox potential
Books
The slides circulating among the students ARE NOT DISPENSES AND DO NOT REPLACE A TEXT BOOK but simply represent a schematic support used by the teacher during frontal lessons. The bibliography follows.
Per la parte generale sui materiali artistici:
Luigi Campanella, Antonella Casoli, Maria Perla Colombini, et al.
Chimica per l'Arte
Zanichelli Editore
ISBN: 9788808068538
Per i materiali delle opere policrome (pigmenti, leganti, resine):
Mauro Matteini, Arcangelo Moles
La Chimica nel restauro - I materiali dell'arte pittorica
Nardini Editore
ISBN: 9788840441542
Per approfondire pigmenti e coloranti:
Natalia Bevilacqua, Leonardo Borgioli, Imma Adrover Gracia
I Pigmenti nell’Arte dalla Preistoria alla Rivoluzione Industriale
Il Prato Editore - Collana "I Talenti"
ISBN: 9788863360905
Antonella Casoli, Maria Elena Darecchio, Lara Sarritza
I Coloranti nell’Arte
Il Prato Editore - Collana "I Talenti"
ISBN: 9788863360516
Per i solventi e i metodi di pulitura:
Paolo Cremonesi
L'uso dei solventi organici nella pulitura di opere policrome
Il Prato Editore - Collana "I Talenti"
ISBN: 8887243859
Paolo Cremonesi
L'uso degli enzimi nella pulitura di opere policrome
Il Prato Editore - Collana "I Talenti"
ISBN: 8887243085
Paolo Cremonesi
L’ambiente acquoso per la pulitura di opere policrome
Il Prato Editore - Collana "I Talenti"
ISBN: 9788863361193
Per approfondire gli affreschi:
Paolo Mora, Laura Mora, Paul Philippot
La conservazione delle pitture murali
Editrice Compositori
ISBN: 8877942797
Guido Botticelli
Metodologia di restauro delle pitture murali
Centro Di Edizioni
ISBN: 9788870382280
Per approfondire i materiali lapidei:
Lorenzo Lazzarini, Marisa Laurenzi Tabasso
Il restauro della pietra
UTET Edizioni Tecniche
ISBN: 9788859805434
Per approfondire la carta:
Maurizio Copedé
La carta ed il suo degrado
Nardini Editore
ISBN: 9788840440132
Per approfondire i materiali metallici:
Claudio Giardino
I metalli nel mondo antico – Introduzione all’Archeometallurgia
Editori Laterza
ISBN: 9788842054887
Teaching mode
According to the needs imposed by the pandemic situation
Exam mode
To pass the exam the student must obtain a grade of not less than 18/30. The student must demonstrate that he/she has acquired a sufficient knowledge of the properties of material usend in the works of art, of the origin of their degradation and of the strategies used for their conservation and restoration.
To achieve a score of 30/30 cum laude, the student must instead demonstrate that he/she has acquired excellent knowledge of all the topics covered during the course, being able to link them in a logical and coherent way.
During the course some formative evaluation questionnaires will be proposed.
Lesson mode
According to the needs imposed by the pandemic situation
