Antiquity Restored: Exploring Trends and Changes in Art Restoration

Description

What does it mean to restore a piece of art? Art restoration has changed over the centuries, partly due to changes in what private collectors and the greater public preferred to see on display. Featuring a particular focus on the restoration of Greek and Roman sculpture, this art history event at the Thomas More Institute will include a lecture by art instructor Anita Grants, and a visit to the Permanent Collection at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). 

From the time of the late Renaissance, collectors showed a preference for “complete” sculptures, resulting in very different restoration techniques than those of the nineteenth century, which favoured preserving fragments of antiques. We will discuss these changing attitudes to the restoration of antique sculpture, and consider how our own responses to a work might be affected by knowing it has been restored. This will be followed by a break, during which refreshments will be available at the Institute. Participants will then make their own way to the MMFA, where the class reconvenes in the afternoon for a chance to expand on our lecture by observing real-life examples.

It is a 15 minute walk from the Thomas More Institute (3405 Atwater Ave.) to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Alternatively, the 24 bus line on Sherbrooke Street can be taken to the museum.

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