10.6092/issn.1973-9494/5446
Initially the holistic value of art work and the synergy between art and science have been highlighted. The second part is dedicated to dealing with some emblematic case studies, which represent the result of historical-artistic and technical-experimental competences.
application/pdf
1973-9494
5446
2
en
Salvatore Lorusso
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
Cultural Heritage
Critical Heritage in Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Interdisciplinarity, Internationalization and Social Media in Cultural Heritage: Some Case Studies
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
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Articles
2014-12-30
2015-09-24
2014-12-30
2018-03-27
99-124
CSCH
Salvatore Lorusso
2014/12/30
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/5446
99
Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Ravenna
1973-9494
2
Cultural Heritage
en
124
GOVE H. E., 1988, Radiocarbon-dating the Shroud, Nature, 333, p. 110.
Critical Heritage in Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Interdisciplinarity, Internationalization and Social Media in Cultural Heritage: Some Case Studies
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/5446/5159
14
C  RITICAL HERITAGE IN CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES.
   INTERDISCIPLINARITY, INTERNATIONALIZATION AND SO-
CIAL MEDIA IN CULTURAL HERITAGE: SOME CASE STUDIES

   Salvatore Lorusso
   Dipartimento di Beni Culturali
   Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna (sede di Ravenna), Italy


   1. Introduction

    First of all, my greetings go to all the personalities and people present, with a special
thank you to Professor Luo Weidong, Vice President of the Zhejiang University, for in-
viting me to this International Conference “Critical Heritage in Cross-Cultural Perspec-
tives”, organized by this University in collaboration with Hangzhou, Urbanology Re-
search Council and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies and other Institutions.
    I am honoured by this invitation also with regard to the objective announced by
the Organizing Committee, concerning a significantly important theme at international
level and closely related to my field of interest “Art and history, culture, heritage”. My
greetings also include Professor Zhang Gangfeng, who during these past months has
given me some good advice and suggestions from an organizational point of view.


   2. Art and science: art is science

   The first assertion is: “art and science are two different ways of reading reality”. This




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
concept “reading reality” is very important for us and for the study of Cultural Herit-
age. In fact “read” is synonymous of this path: knowledge, interpretation, evolution of
art work. This sequence is carried out by historians for subjective evaluation, and by
technicians for objective evaluation. These dual possibilities represent the “core and
nucleus” of my Conference and, correspondently, the study of Cultural Heritage. [1-3]

    In relation to “art”
    It is true that many ways and many means are used for artistic products, which however
determine different sensations for users, when their “reading” is possible and clear, that is
their conservation state is good. One of the greatest and most versatile geniuses in the his-
tory of humanity – Italian artist and many-sided personality – Leonardo da Vinci underlines:
    in Italian: “La sapienza è figliola della sperienza… E la sperienza non falla mai, sol
fallano i nostri giudizi”;
    in English: “Wisdom comes from experience... And experience never fails, only our
judgments do”.
    I highlight these keywords: “Wisdom”, “experience” and “judgments”, that is experi-
ence and consequent wisdom determines judgments. This fundamental concept is at
the basis of the present topic.

   In relation to “science”:
   It is true, however, that “science”, as an extension of technology, is always in pro-

                                                                                                99
                                                                         gress and causes a sense of incompleteness. Another Italian, physicist but also a
                                                                         versatile personality, Galileo Galilei points out:
                                                                            in Italian: “L’Universo è scritto in lingua matematica, e i caratteri sono triangolari,
                                                                         cerchi, ed altre figure geometriche, senza i quali è impossibile intendere” ;
                                                                            in English: “The Universe is written in a mathematical language, where the charac-
                                                                         ters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which it is impossible
                                                                         to understand things”.
                                                                            Again in this case, I underline these expressions: “mathematical languages”, “geometri-
                                                                         cal figures” and “understand things”, because they are fundamental to the same topic.

                                                                            In relation to these concepts:


                                                                                For art:                                   For science:
                                                                                Leonardo points                            Galileo
                                                                                out that experience                        points out that the language
                                                                                                                           of mathematics and geometrical
                                                                                                                           figures



                                                                                determines
                                                                                knowledge or wisdom




                                                                                which determines                           permits knowledge of the world
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                                correct and complete




                                                                                                       it can therefore   be said



                                                                                                         ART and SCIENCE
                                                                                          are two ways of narrating the history of the world:
                                                                                             not two subjects in contrast with each other



                                                                                             but two different ways of “reading reality”.




                                                                   100
    From this mutual relationship between art and science, the position and the as-
sertion by Giulio Carlo Argan, Italian art critic, politician, academic, manager, ensues
in the 80s: “All works of art are artifacts, but not all artifacts are works of art”. And, in
relation to the previous assertions by the geniuses Leonardo and Galileo, Argan added
that the judgment of artistic value depends on the mental process and, therefore, on
the method. This involves specific parameters outside the aesthetic pleasure or the
emotions determined in the spectators. Judgment, on the other hand, derives from
experience and, consequently, the question: “How is it possible to speak of a mental
process, of method, of judgment without referring to education and, therefore, teach-
ing and research?” “Method” from “methodology” that is “study of methods” includes
the various operative steps of this path concerning the complete intervention on the
work of art: history, diagnosis, restoration, conservation, prevention and, consequently,
knowledge of the material typology of the art object.


   B. Cultural heritage as economic heritage

   The art object, because it is of a material nature, involves economic aspects. But
a number of immaterial values, such as previous sensations and aesthetic emotions
with consequent intellectual enrichment, are undefinable and difficult to quantify in
economic terms. [4] It is possible, therefore, to define the art work:

   • scarce: because it is unique, not reproduced and it deteriorates;
   • useful: because it satisfies the enjoyment of the individual and, at the same time,
the need of culture for the community which identifies itself in the art object;
   • durable: because its presence and meaning remain through time for generations
and their identity;




                                                                                                      CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
   • meritorious: because, satisfying the previous needs, it justifies public and private
financial support;
   • a refuge: because in this particular period of economic crisis it represents an al-
ternative investment.


   C. Art between price and value

   In relation to the holistic value of art work, that is composed of different as-
pects, now it is important to underline the economic, financial, mercantile and
marketable aspects: in fact “everything in art must have a price”. It is necessary
to distinguish the price from the value: the price is what is paid; the value is what
is obtained. The price quotes of an art object represent a big cultural calamity
in the current art market. [5-6] But, in truth, the value, which derives from an art
work and the consequent moments of intensity and dialogue of the user, is an
important aspect not referable to a method but to an individual sensitivity and,
previously, to a single artist. This phrase by William Blake is emblematic: “If the
parts of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is, infinite”. It is
the artist who permits the interaction between user and art work that: is percep-
tion and sensitivity. And, in relation to the holistic value of art work, this is a set of
values connected to different scientific areas:


                                                                                                101
                                                                            • historical-humanistic area (cultural, historical, artistic, aesthetic);
                                                                            • philological-philosophical-social area (symbolic, spiritual, social);
                                                                            • technical-economic-managerial area (technical, economic, financial, mercantile,
                                                                         marketable);
                                                                            • legal-identity making area (of identity, of authenticity, of interdisciplinarity, of inter-
                                                                         nationalization).


                                                                            3. Interdisciplinarity and internationalization in the study of cultural heritage

                                                                             Interdisciplinarity
                                                                             The study and the approach of the various and integrated scientific experiences and
                                                                         competences are fundamental for “the good of cultural goods”. [7-8]
                                                                             In this manner the answer to the wide-ranging and complex problems related to the
                                                                         authenticity, protection and valorization of cultural heritage, is complete and correct. But,
                                                                         at the same time, interdisciplinarity is necessary for the training, teaching and education of
                                                                         the professional figure in this sector and for competing at a national and international level.
                                                                             In the past this aim was random and fragmented, but now it must be the result of a
                                                                         more specific and comprehensive form of research.


                                                                             Internationalization in culture and research
                                                                             The evaluation of research is both a current and difficult topic, because various
                                                                         theories and criteria determine various results. An emblematic example is the annual
                                                                         compilation of the best Universities in the world. There are various classifications from
                                                                         different studies of:
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                             --Taiwan Ranking;
                                                                             --QS World University Rankings;
                                                                             --Times Higher Education;
                                                                             --Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) of the Jiao Tang University of
                                                                         Shanghai.
                                                                             In relation to the last Institution, the American Universities (Harvard, Stanford,
                                                                         Berkeley) are the best, after come English Universities and then Italian Universities
                                                                         (Bologna is the first or among the first): there are criticisms and controversies in re-
                                                                         lation to arguable and partial criteria. In the case of Shanghai, the methodology is
                                                                         concerned fundamently with scientific and not humanistic publications, with studies in
                                                                         English and in favouring the important academic Institutions.
                                                                             In the case of the sector of Cultural heritage this evaluation is very hard and difficult,
                                                                         because the evaluation of the publications must necessarily be considered interdis-
                                                                         ciplinary scientific products. Consequently, there is an evaluation by technicians and
                                                                         another evaluation by historians, and – there is worse to come – an evaluation by a
                                                                         person who is not a researcher in this specific sector, even if just occasionally: this is
                                                                         the current and confused situation, because the specific expert is rare.
                                                                             However, without doubt, the perseverance and enthusiasm of the researchers in
                                                                         Cultural heritage and the meaning, deriving from art work in its role of joy, contempla-
                                                                         tion, enjoyment, sadness, pathos are always present.
                                                                             These qualities, not quantified and not classified, go beyond local and national con-
                                                                         fines.


                                                                   102
   4. Cultural and Environmental Heritage in relation to social media


   This topic includes two fundamental aspects which will be the object of discussion:
   • The first is related to the importance of education and research in the “system:
artifact-environment-biota”. I would like to remind you about the necessity to consider
this system for the strict interrelation between artifact and environment both in external
and confined areas, with the aim not only of protecting artifacts but also safeguarding
human health.
   • The second aspect is connected to the various means with which currently social
media express their potentialities referred to cultural and environmental heritage.
   In relation to the first point, these are the various operative steps of the methodologi-
cal path for the protection and valorization of the “system: artifact-environment-biota”: [9]

   For the protection the phases are:
   • Historical anamnesis
   • Diagnosis
   • Interventions of restoration and/or maintenance and/or conservation
   • Prevention
   • Monitoring


   For the valorization:
   • Management
   • Fruition

   keeping in mind the ethical aspects.




                                                                                                      CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
   In relation to the second aspect, that is the interrelation between the environmental
and cultural heritage and ongoing change of social media, the question is: “What is
the connection between “Environmental and cultural heritage and social media?”. In
relation to the ethical aspects of the environment, which must be considered cultural
heritage, there is currently a conflict between “nature and science”: it talks about the
defence of the environment, that is “environmentalism” as an alternative to technology.
On the contrary, ethical principles are fundamental for the use of technology in environ-
mental safeguard, that is “e-environmentalism”, and for those who are subjected to the
actions of technology, not for those who employ it for their own interest.
   Another aspect is related to “information bulimia”, concerning the large quantity of
data and consequent memorization of knowledge: the resolution is connected to the
appropriate tools for understanding and transmitting this data. And this assertion can
be reproposed for different scientific areas:
   “What is the use of hundreds of lines and links on chemistry on a page of Wikipedia, if I
have to stop at the third line, because I don’t understand anything?”
   From this derives the importance of clarity, restraint and correctness of the information.




                                                                                                103
                                                                            5. Education and research


                                                                            Initially, I think that the following assertion is pertinent to our life and, in particular, to
                                                                         cultural and environmental heritage: “Our past is part of our future through our present”.
                                                                            This truth is applied in art, because the various artistic expressions, conceptions and
                                                                         productions are linked to each other and to the history of man. But the same truth also
                                                                         represents the basis for education and research conducted by me at the Department of
                                                                         Cultural Heritage, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Ravenna Campus, Italy,
                                                                         founded in 1998.
                                                                            In relation to this, the concepts and aims, connected to interdisciplinarity and interna-
                                                                         tionalization, are realized with the historical and technical-experimental strategies and
                                                                         methods for the protection and valorization of cultural heritage.


                                                                            Education
                                                                            I mention two book series directed by me:
                                                                            --Book series: “Cultural Heritage and Environment”
                                                                            --Book series: “Training and Research in the sector of Cultural and Environmental
                                                                         Heritage”
                                                                            The first book series includes 11 volumes and deals with various topics concerning
                                                                         the various and complex problems of work of art: characterization of material typolo-
                                                                         gies, evaluation of conservation state, authentication, scientific methodologies, resto-
                                                                         ration, valorization, art market: both general and specialist subjects.
                                                                            The second book series includes the first volume with the interventions of experts
                                                                         from Universities, Organizations, Ministries, from different scientific extractions and
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                         competences, who participated in several Study Days, organized by me on training
                                                                         and research in the sector of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, with the aim of
                                                                         presenting numerous and critical aspects of the situation and condition.
                                                                            The second volume, concerning the technical and legal aspects in indoor areas
                                                                         (Museums, Libraries, Archives, art Galleries) is in print.
                                                                            In relation to my didactic and managerial activity, there is the Master in “Planning
                                                                         and Promotion of Artistic and Cultural Events”. The content is related to technical,
                                                                         legal, economic, financial, of internationalization aspects and is directed at post gradu-
                                                                         ates who will represent the professional figure for the management of cultural and
                                                                         artistic events: in this manner demand and offer are met in the work market. Involved
                                                                         are: Cultural and Production Units, Ministries, Research Centers. Next year the Master
                                                                         will be in English, becoming international.


                                                                            Research
                                                                            • The Diagnostic Laboratory for Cultural Heritage
                                                                            It has been indicated as an “Institution of excellence” among public Italian Institu-
                                                                         tions and Universities by Change Performing Arts, an international company which
                                                                         organizes artistic and cultural events, by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and
                                                                         Activities and by the National Institute for Foreign Trade.
                                                                            The Laboratory has various diagnostic-analytical technologies for the study and
                                                                         monitoring of the “system: artifact-environment-biota” for the corresponding themes


                                                                   104
connected not only to historical anamnesis, knowledge, conservation, authenticity, vir-
tualization, restoration, conservation, cataloguing of artistic, archeological, archival,
book, musical, architectonic, monumental, demoethnoantropological artifacts, but also
to monitoring and preserving the environment: the aim is the protection and valoriza-
tion of artifacts and also safeguarding human life.
    This slide shows the sequence of diagnostic-analytical technologies:
    -- for environmental monitoring, for example, to measure illumination, quantification
of the dusts PM10, 25, 1, etc.
    -- for monitoring artifacts. The instruments are used in relation to different material
typologies: documentation and cataloguing of images, morphological and mineral-pet-
rographic analysis, qualification and quantification of degradations, chromatic altera-
tions, determination of chemical elements, etc…


    • Themes of research
    I quote my research themes concerned not only with indoor and outdoor areas of
collocation-conservation of art works, but also with problems of authenticity and suit-
ability of products used for restoration, conservation, maintenance of cultural heritage:
    1.     Appropriate methodologies and analytical techniques for the characterization
of cultural heritage;
    2.     Air pollution and deterioration of monuments and historical and artistic envi-
ronments;
    3.     Micro and macroclimatic monitoring in confined spaces: Museums, Libraries,
Archives
    4.     Art diagnostics and verification of authenticity;
    5.     Evaluation of the suitability of products used for restoration, conservation and
maintenance of cultural heritage.




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
    • Historical-artistic Journal “Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage”
    The Journal is available in hardcopy and online. It was founded in 2001 and edited
by my Department and various Italian and foreign Universities, Research Centres and
Academies, among these I point out, with great pleasure, the presence of Zhejiang
University and the introduction of Luo Weidong and Zhang Gangfeng as components
of the Advisory Committee.
    In respect of the principles and aims of internationalization and interdisciplinarity,
the Journal has several international certifications and is present in various websites
and platforms that is: EBSCO Publishing and Wilson Company (USA) with numerous
Institutional links from all over the world.

   •     Historical-technical Journal “Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage” avail-
able in hardcopy and online




                                                                                              105
      Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




106
   6. Case studies
   The second part of my conference is dedicated to some emblematic case studies,
chosen appropriately, and related to: “St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome” [3, 9] (Figura 1) and
“Gioconda with columns” [10] (Figura 2).




               Figure 1. St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome




                                                                                                   CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




                        Figure 2: Gioconda with columns




                                                                                             107
                                                                           6.1 “Restoration project for the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome”

                                                                             On this occasion I was invited by the Italian President of the Academy of Sciences
                                                                         to talk about this restoration, carried out by ENI – Technologies (a large Company: Na-
                                                                         tional Hydrocarbon Board). The occasion was one of great significance for Christianity
                                                                         and for the world: the Jubilee year 2000.
                                                                             The objectives of this restoration project are:
                                                                             1.    Study of the artifact, which includes its historical anamnesis and technical
                                                                         phases of restoration
                                                                             2.    Analysis of the environment
                                                                             3.    Collection and documentation of historical and technical results on a database


                                                                            General aspects
                                                                            It is scientifically significant to underline the various competences involved in this
                                                                         project with a synthesis of archival, bibliographic and iconographic knowledge together
                                                                         with technical, material and environmental aspects.
                                                                            It was possible in this manner to carry out the intervention of restoration with the
                                                                         various operative phases related to: cleaning, consolidating, filling, reconstruction of
                                                                         missing parts and protecting.


                                                                            Historical-aesthetic aspects

                                                                            On this occasion I also made some objections in relation to the colouring of the
                                                                         façade under the dirt, reproposed in the 1700s, that is:
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                            --the columns and the attic are white;
                                                                            --the façade is ochre(Figures 3-4);
                                                                            --the Benediction Loggia is partly red and partly green (Figures 5-6).




                                                                           Figure 3. The façade and columns before       Figure 4. The façade and columns after the
                                                                           the intervention: with the layer of dirt      intervention: with the various parts cleaned




                                                                   108
     Figure 5. The Benediction                             Figure 6. The Benediction Loggia
     Loggia before the intervention:                       after the intervention: with red
     with the layer of dirt                                and green colors




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




Figure 7. The specific parts of the Basilica with the various possibilities of colour




                                                                                              109
                                                                            Objective scientific proof established these colours as those used in the 1700s,
                                                                         highlighting the correct intervention of “cleaning” and not “repainting”. At the same
                                                                         time these stratigraphic examinations have shown, under the layer of colour used in
                                                                         the 1700s, the colourless plaster used in 1612 by Maderno, who realized, in a very
                                                                         distinguished and well-balanced manner, the various shades of colouring of the whole
                                                                         façade, determining pictorial effects with the movement of the masses:
                                                                            --White columns;
                                                                            --Light ochre attic, façade and Benediction Loggia.
                                                                            The consequent question is: “Why not repropose the colours used by Maderno,
                                                                         which would probably create a more harmonious effect?”
                                                                            This in respect of two fundamental principles on the basis of correct intervention of
                                                                         restoration, that is: the historic instance and the aesthetic instance. But, at the same
                                                                         time, there is another need connected today with pollution which determines the layer
                                                                         of dirt and consequent problem of conservation. And, therefore, the necessity for a
                                                                         light layer of dirt to remain, with the purpose of protecting the façade which determines
                                                                         contemporarily an “ancient patina” representing the passing of time: the conservative
                                                                         instance. Finally I think that the result of these needs should be a meeting between
                                                                         baroque and present aesthetics, causing a well-balanced soft colouring (Figure 7).


                                                                             Study of the artifact

                                                                            The various steps of the methodological path employed for the restoration of the
                                                                         Basilica are:
                                                                            Before:
                                                                            --photogrammetric examination, for documentation and recording;
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                            --diagnosis of conservation state, for stone degradation, stratification of chromatisms;
                                                                            --thermography and georadar, for information on geometry and body of façade, for
                                                                         presence of different materials.
                                                                            After:
                                                                            -- restoration - for cleaning with JOS technique (which consists of spraying bidistilled
                                                                         water delicately over the surface of the facade)
                                                                            -- for filling with traditional mortar (slaked lime + powdered travertine and not cement +
                                                                         rubber as in a previous intervention of 1985-86)
                                                                            -- for biocidal treatment, for biological pollution and corrosion of metal (brackets, clamps).

                                                                             Analysis of the environment

                                                                            For the analysis of the environment, a Mobile Laboratory was used with automatic
                                                                         instruments which qualified and quantified the chemical pollutants: carbon oxide, ni-
                                                                         trogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, total suspended particulate. The Optical system with
                                                                         Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) was also used for the characterization
                                                                         of materials and study of chemical bonds.

                                                                             Creation of a database

                                                                            As I mentioned before, all data related to diagnostics, intervention techniques, res-
                                                                         toration documentation and environmental monitoring are collected and processed on
                                                                         a database, with the aim to repropose the same methodological path over time.

                                                                   110
    Considerations
    In my final comments on the restoration project of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica,
I underlined:
    a.    the correct methodological path;
    b.    the dilemma related to the colouring of the Basilica façade, that is the respect
of Maderno’s decision in 1612 or the successive intervention in the 1700s, which con-
stitutes a historical, aesthetic and conservative problem;
    c.    in relation to this last aspect, the absence in the sequence of analytical
data of a significant parameter, that is “the index of greying or fouling”, to fol-
low the evolutional trend of the degree of alteration-degradation of the Basilica
façade.


   6.2 “The historical-artistic and diagnostic-analytical study of the painting “Gi-
   oconda with columns”

   The reference to the art work “Mona Lisa - Gioconda”, one of the best art works in
the world, by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest geniuses of humanity, is natural. In
relation to these paintings, that is “MonaLisa-Gioconda” and “Gioconda with columns”,
there are three theories:
   a.     the opinion of some historians is this: the painting “Mona Lisa Gioconda” by
Leonardo, considered a “universal art work” deprived of the two columns to make a
“pendant” for a smaller painting;
   b.     but another theory is related to the addition of these columns after either by
Leonardo or by other artists;
   c.     again another hypothesis concerns the “Gioconda with columns” as the sec-
ond painting by Leonardo or a copy.




                                                                                                   CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
   These different possibilities, in relation to our painting “Gioconda with col-
umns”, require this question related to its attribution: “Is our painting, artistically
very fine and refined, by Leonardo, or by one of his followers, or a copy of the
original, or a second art work by Leonardo or a copy of the latter?”
   The subjective and objective evaluation represents the aim of this case study,
directed at the identification of the material components and characterization of
the pictorial technique of the painting. The historian, the diagnostician, the re-
storer, the physicist contributed in reaching a correct and complete resolution, in
respect of the fundamental criteria: interdisciplinarity. [11-12]


   Diagnostic-analytical investigations
   The analyses are carried out on the painting in the private Museum of St. Pe-
tersburg, where it is conserved, and also on the samples taken from the artifact
in the Diagnostic Laboratory for Cultural Heritage of the Department of Cultural
Heritage of Bologna University (Ravenna Campus) using diagnostic-analytical
technologies.

   These are the investigations with the various analyses and the most important cor-
responding figures:



                                                                                             111
                                                                         •      macroscopic analysis (Figures 8-9);
                                                                         •      evaluation of conservation state (Figures 10-11);
                                                                         •      characterization of the support (Figure 12);
                                                                         •      radiocarbon dating of the support (Figure 13);
                                                                         •      characterization of the preparatory layer of the support (Figure 14-15);
                                                                         •      characterization of the binder (Figure 16);
                                                                         •      characterization of the primer of the support (Figure 17-18);
                                                                         •      identification of the pigments (Figure 19);
                                                                         •      definition of the painting technique (Figure 20);
                                                                         •      definition of the sfumato (Figure 21-22).

                                                                               Macroscopic analysis
                                                                               --In figure 8, the photograph in the visible of the painting;
                                                                               --In figure 9, the wooden support and the two supporting canvases of the painting
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                             Fig. 8. Photograph in the visible              Fig. 9. Detail of support made of two
                                                                                                                            canvases nailed to wooden frame




                                                                             Evaluation of conservation state
                                                                             -- In figure 10, the image, using raking light, which made the pictorial surface uneven and
                                                                             -- In figure 11 the different reintegrations (retouching and repainting) made over time using
                                                                         ultraviolet fluorescence.




                                                                   112
                                            A                               B




Fig. 10. Image using raking light left (A), right (B)




                                                                                      CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




                            Fig. 11. Image using ultraviolet fluorescence




                                                                                113
                                                                           Characterization of the support
                                                                           • In figure 12, the weave of the linen canvas using scanning electron microscopy
                                                                         (SEM) and its dating (figure 13) using radiocarbon.




                                                                                               Fig. 12. Sample of canvas observed using SEM
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                                  Fig. 13. Radiocarbon dating of the support




                                                                   114
Characterization of preparatory layer
--In figure 14, the composition of different layers using electron microscopy;
--In figure 15 the identification of chemical elements with XR Diffractometer (EDX).




           Fig. 14. Photograph using electron microscopy (250x)




                                                                                             CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




           Fig. 15. EDX spectrum of red layer of preparation




                                                                                       115
                                                                            Characterization of the binder
                                                                            --In figure 16, the chemical composition of the binders with Fourier Transform infra-
                                                                         red spectrometer (FT-IR); [13]




                                                                                      Fig. 16. FTIR spectrum of preparatory layer




                                                                            Characterization of the primer
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                            --In figures 17 using SEM and 18 using FT-IR, the chemical composition of the
                                                                         primer in relation to compounds; [13]




                                                                                      Fig. 17. Scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis: spectrum
                                                                                      of the primer



                                                                   116
              Fig. 18. Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry: spectrum of the primer


   Characterization of the pictorial layer
   --In figures 19 the identification of pigments using XRF,
   --in figure 20 the definition of the painting technique in infrared spectrometry and
   --in figures 21-22 the definition of sfumato through the study of colorimetric values
using colorimetric spectrophotometer.




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




     Fig. 19. Sample n. 5, dark area of neck:
     burnt sienna or burnt umber mixed with
     white lead and presence of copper to
     give the pigment a brown shade

                                                       Fig. 20. Detail of hands in infrared
                                                       spectrometry: absence of preparatory
                                                       drawing




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                                                                                                      12345




                                                                                        Fig. 21. Points of spectrophotometer colorimetric
                                                                                        analysis: the brightness decreases from the
                                                                                        lightest parts to the darkest by means of the
                                                                                        coating of the pigments
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




                                                                         Fig. 22. Colorimetric value of the flesh tones and chromaticity diagram.




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Final considerations and comparison with Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa – Gioconda”


      1. In relation to the support:

   a.    in our case it is linen cloth: this kind of support spread throughout Europe from 1450;
   b.    the woven texture of the linen cloth appears irregular and coarse;
   c.    the size of the support is compatible with “standard” ones used from the be-
ginning of the 1600s in the Flanders area.
   On the contrary: the Louvre “Mona Lisa-Gioconda” is on wood.


      2. The colored preparation in our case is constituted by:

   • organic binder: drying oil
   • white component constituted by calcium carbonate (white clay type ‟Spanish white”);
   • ed-brown component: iron aluminosilicate hydrates, minium (Pb3O4) or litharge
(PbO). The use of colored preparations started at the beginning of the mid-1500s
   On the other hand:
   --this preparation is a German-Flemish practice;
   -- the presence of baryte in the preparation, which permits a lesser quantity of pigment
to be used with consequent economic saving, can be traced back to a period from 1620 to
1680 in the Paris area;
   --Leonardo used a preparatory layer of plaster;
   --the use of calcium carbonate in the preparatory layer was very rarely used in Italy
until 1520-1530 and used in a limited manner later, while it was usually used in North-
ern Europe from the second half of the 1400s.




                                                                                                         CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
      3. In relation to the primer

   The colored primer above the bole preparation was used from the second half of the 1500s.


      4. In relation to the drying oil

   The presence of litharge in drying oil became widespread in Northern Europe from
the end of the 1500s and later on in Italy.


      5. In relation to the dating

   The dating of the canvas support (68% between 1520 and 1660) excludes the pe-
riod of Leonardo’s life and work (1452-1519).

   Conclusion

  The complete information is illustrated in Figure 23, comparing the resulting time
spans with the period of Leonardo’s life. [14]



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                                                                                      Dating
                                                                           The painting “Gioconda with columns”, attributable to a period between 1590 and
                                                                         1660, is a copy of the artifact “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo.

                                                                                       Chromatic Rapresentation
                                                                            The very fine, elegant and expressive painting of the “Gioconda with columns” how-
                                                                         ever lacks the full color of Leonardo’s landscapes: in the painting under examination
                                                                         there is, therefore, an evident chromatic representation quite different to Leonardo’s
                                                                         usual representation. Another distinctive element is the modest design.

                                                                                         Technical Execution
                                                                             A further specification is related to the technical execution, which is of Nordic derivation, in
                                                                         particular German-Flemish influenced by the French school: the assertion derives from the
                                                                         presence of baryte as an additive in the preparation. From this, the importance of the charac-
                                                                         terization of the material components, which represents the basis of the objective evaluation.
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                 Figure. 23 Temporal collocation of the work in relation to the period of Leonardo’s life (in red) and possible
                 compatibility with the temporal findings related to the analyses performed (in green).




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                                                                                7. Conclusion

                                                                             The last thought is this:
                                                                             “Beauty outside us, is beauty inside us”.
                                                                             In relation to this assertion, I report, my words in the opening of the Journal “Con-
                                                                         servation Science in Cultural Heritage”.
                                                                             “And this is true, if it is true that:
                                                                             Perhaps, the greatest challenge one must face up to is that of beauty.
                                                                             Because individùality, difference, superiòrity, excellence is beautiful,
                                                                             while everything that is standardization, number, quantity, dullness and normalìzation is ugly.
                                                                             How can we have economic development with the beautiful?
                                                                             How can we conserve the beautiful, which the past has left us?
                                                                             How can we continue to create the beautiful, choose the beautiful, dìffuse the beau-
                                                                         tiful and educate people to respect the beautiful?
                                                                              I think that we can if, from the beginning, there is beauty inside us”.


                                                                               Acknowledgements

                                                                           The present paper was translated into English by Angela Mari Braida, who has
                                                                         shown a profound knowledge of the themes related to the sector of Cultural Heritage
                                                                         and I kindly thank.


                                                                               References
Salvatore Lorusso - Critical heritage in cross-cultural perspectives




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                                                                         [2]     LORUSSO S, MATTEUCCI C, NATALI A, APICELLA S., (2013) Traditional and
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[8]    PIVA G., 2007, L’Arte del Restauro. Il restauro nei dipinti nel sistema antico e
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      Summary

   Initially the holistic value of art work and the synergy between art and science have
been highlighted. The second part is dedicated to dealing with some emblematic case
studies, which represent the result of historical-artistic and technical-experimental
competences.




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