The Sistine Chapel Restoration Controversy

The recent restoration of the famous Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco by Michelangelo has raised many questions and controversy while creating quite a stir among artists, scholars and critics. The current controversy talks about opposition concerning cleaning of paintings and four decades of debate on the value of scientific restoration. To critics and scholars, a yellow glow, a patina of old varnish, represented a quality that gave a work status. To remove this varnish even with its added layer of soot collected over decades is thought to be defiling the art. One modern opponent of restoration, E.H. Gombrich, opposes cleaning unless it becomes so dark it can no longer be seen and appreciated. In the modern debate, it has been argued that the painters of that time chose their colors taking into account how they would age . They mostly ignored the aesthetic desires of their patrons. The idea is that time mellows and sweetens the work as well. The process of restoring something of this magnitude is a very precise science. There are chemical analysis sessions that are performed by conservators who are trained in chemistry, physics, and a range of other basic sciences. Discolored coatings are removed Layer by layer. The focus is always not to do anything that is irreversible. No matter how thoughtful the criticism is, and because the project is unlikely to be halted when it is half done, undermining the confidence of the conservators is rather unfortunate. This is what some critics are saying about this increasingly heated debate. A visit to this monumental work of art is gaining a new sense of urgency these days , because critics say that a big chunk of the ceiling is being destroyed every day. People are saying that the uncovering...

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...f purposeful respect and not personal desire. There is wisdom to be learned here not to tamper with greatness, and Michelangelo must be rolling over in his grave a bit to see the things that are going on. I am rambling a bit, but the point I think is to consider how the artist would want it to be treated as his legacy.

Works Cited

Muchnic, Suzanne. “CRYING IN THE CHAPEL Is the Cleaning of the Sistine Chapel a Glorious Restoration or a Monumental Sacrilege?” ProQuest Newsstand. 5 April 1987 Tribune Publishing Company. 31 May 2012 http://search.proquest.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/newsstand/docprintview/292526362/Record/

Degregori, Thomas R. “The Sistine Chapel ceiling: Is restoration a good idea?” ProQuest Newsstand. 30 Nov. 1986 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division. 31 May 2012 http://search.proquest.com.proxy.itt-tech.edu/docview/295271493?accountid=27655