What is restoration?

What Does restoration Mean

This verb comes from a Latin word that is used to describe the action and effect of restoring (repairing, recovering, recovering, putting something back in its original state ). The term has several different uses depending on the context.

At the political level , restoration is the reestablishment of a regime that already existed and that had been replaced by another . It is also about the repositioning of a dethroned king on the throne . When written with an initial capital letter , the concept refers to the historical period that begins after this replacement. For example: "Between 1814 and 1848, the European Restoration took place with the return of absolute monarchies after the Napoleonic wars . " "The Bourbon Restoration in France was a conservative reaction to the Revolution . "

In the field of art , restoration is linked to the processes carried out to preserve or restore the originality of a cultural asset . The restorer must review the work of art in question to make a diagnosis and intervene in order to preserve its original characteristics. If the work is affected by humidity or exhibits other damage, the restoration consists of restoring its beauty as the author conceived it: "The museum will not exhibit its main jewel for several months as it will undergo a restoration process" , " The restoration of the mural was a success ” .
Restoration is also the gastronomic activity and the business of who owns or operates a restaurant : "My uncle works in the restaurant industry" , "Restoration is one of the main attractions of this city" .
The worst restorations in history
Restoring works of art requires great preparation and delicate work. One of the main issues that restorers must take into account is the material with which the works of art have been made; Depending on this, it will be the treatment that the painting or work in question should receive. When they don't take this into account and work with little knowledge, the results can be devastating for works and for art in general.
Throughout history there have been cases of remodeling of paintings and other works that have gone wrong . Here we list some very striking.
* The «Ecce Homo», a mural painting by Elías García Martínez found in a church in the municipality of Borja (Zaragoza). A neighbor in the neighborhood decided that she could restore the mural and the result was disastrous. To such an extent that it received the label of "botched." The image of this restoration circulated around the globe, becoming a trending topic in a few days. Currently, the damage suffered by the work is still being evaluated and the damage caused by this woman who deep down "had a good intention" is still being repaired.

* When we visit Greece we see the ancient statues that give off a cold white that is far from the idea we have of a good work of art; where the observed object reflects emotions, an era, the perception of the artist at a certain moment. However, these statues seem immobile and crude, because the restorers did not know how to do a good job with them.
* Two Leonardo da Vinci paintings were also damaged by restorers in their attempts to clean them. One of them is in the Louvre Museum and is an image of the Virgin and Saint Anne that with the restoration work has clarified and lost part of the essence. The other is a sketch that da Vinci lost in Orpheus and that was spoiled because the restorers soaked it in alcohol.