Preservation Of Art Research Articles

Alexandre Lenoir and the Musee des monuments francais during the French Revolution

Little is left today of the work to which Alexandre Lenoir devoted twenty-six years of his life, his Musee des monuments francais. Nevertheless, visitors to the Ecole des Beaux-arts in Paris will see, on entering the first courtyard, a section of the facade of the chatteau of Anet attached to the wall at the right, and until recently three bays of the facade of the chatteau of Gaillon formed a screen between this courtyard and the cour d'honneur in front of the main school building. The walls of the court itself are encrusted with bits of sculpture, and other pieces could, at least a few years ago, be found in the rather ragged garden, lying forlornly in the grass. These are, or were, the remnants of what seems to have been the Revolution's most popular cultural institution, and the reasons for its popularity are important for an understanding of the effects of the Revolution on the French mentality. Lenoir and his museum have received little serious attention from students of history or the arts, though these students have sometimes referred to them in passing, often in tones of disparagement. The museum is frequently dismissed as a popular attraction without serious artistic organization or merit, and critics have claimed that many of its exhibits were denatured by careless or deceptive reconstruction or restoration. Lenoir himself is criticized as having been careless in dating and attribution, having practiced outright deceit, and having been more interested in attracting crowds than in the preservation of art. He is accused of having been ignorant of art, even uninterested in it, and of having caused great destruction through his plundering of France's monuments and his

From the Studio into the Street

I am delighted that the Art Journal openly acknowledges the need to look at topical issues in the visual arts. Historians of art all too often excuse their neglect of today's art. Either they contend that the timeliness of such art prevents them from assuming an allegedly appropriate historical distance/perspective, or they point out that the topical is not their concern but rather a job for art critics. As art historians, they adamantly maintain, they should deal with art of a bygone era. Much to my chagrin, however, this academic apologia often ignores the art works themselves; after all, the discipline of art history affects the preservation of art. Those cautious art historians who look mainly to the past should not be surprised to find that a bygone era can also mean a bygone art, which at best can be reconstructed archaeologically. Can the history of art afford so circumspect or exclusive a purview?

Comparison of the Efficiency of Ultraviolet Absorbing Compounds

For many years people concerned with the preservation of art and cultural objects have been aware of the importance of controlling the type and intensity of lighting used in their exhibitions. Thomson (1) discusses in some detail the level of illumination recommended for displays and also the need for filtering out the damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation of illuminants. Not only does this awareness exist in the museology field, but bookstores, libraries, and department stores also use UV filters.

The Igbo-Ukwu Bronzes

t gives me great pleasure to record the part played by Kenneth Murray in the recovery of the Igbo-Ukwu bronzes, and to pay my tribute to him as a friend for whom I had the greatest admiration and respect, as one of the moving spirits behind the creation of the Nigerian Department of Antiquities, and as the first Conservator of Antiquities. He never pretended to be an archaeologist and did not always appreciate the archaeological dimensions of things; yet he was largely responsible for setting up an organization which has done much valuable archaeological work. No one who knew and worked with him could fail to appreciate the single-minded zeal with which he devoted himself to the collection and preservation of Nigerian traditional art.

Prehistoric Paintings: Preservation and Perpetration

This journal article discusses problems associated with protecting and preservation of prehistoric rock art (rock painting, pictograph) sites in South Africa from vandalism, and questions the authenticity of some cave paintings in southern Rhodesia and the Dordogne region of France. Three sites, at Lascaux, Rouffignac and Cairnsmore are described. This article would be of interest to anthropologists, speleologists and to curators and conservators of primitive rock art sites.