The Anatomy of Restoration

Until the 2^nd of April an amazing exhibition is open in Bucharest, Romania. Anatomia Restaurării (The Anatomy of Restoration) is dedicated to 25 years of conservation and restoration conducted at the the Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României  (National Museum of Art of Romania).

If you think that theme is stretch for a bookbinding blog, I hope to prove you wrong.

Exhibition is divided into seven or so rooms. Each of them dedicated to one of the areas of conservation work: paintings, paper objects, cloth, metal, etc.

I bought the ticket only because there was a nice package that included Anatomia Restaurării and the main exhibition of the National Museum of Art of Romania (where you can find 20 or 30 pretty old books displayed). However, I was astonished by the work curators did presenting restoration processes.

The only downside of the exhibition is that it is Romanian language only. All the description notes, titles, etc. are in Romanian. Luckily, I had internet connection on my phone and been able to Google Translate things I didn’t understand.

However, all the materials are organized in almost self-explanatory order. There are series of photos accompanying every art object, showing stages of restoration.

I was so overwhelmed by the exhibition that went for a go-around. A thing, that rarely happens to me. Even if you are not interested in restoration of metal, wood, and stone, other parts of the exhibition (cloth, paper and canvas) should be of a huge interest for a bookbinder and book lover.

Unfortunately, the photography prices at the Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României are insane. I have no images to share with you besides this scan of the exhibition catalog (which is also pretty amazing).

The exhibition is open until the 2^nd of April, 2017. If you are visiting Romanian capital city or may have a detour there, I would definitely encourage you to pay it a visit. It is one of the best tributes to the work of conservators I have ever seen.

Read More

• On the Museum’s web site:
  • Anatomia Restaurării
  • The Anatomy of Restoration
• Some photos at the Radio România Cultural web site
• The 50-year rescue of Vasari’s flood-damaged masterpiece

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