10.6092/issn.1973-9494/9233
Il 17 marzo del 2017 Gianluigi Colalucci ha presentato all’Accademia Nazionale di San Luca il suo libro intitolato: Io e Michelangelo.Il volume è stato illustrato alle numerosissime persone presenti da alcune personal­ità del mondo della storia dell’arte, come il Prof. Antonio Paolucci e il Prof. Bruno Tos­cano, e del giornalismo come Nino Criscenti che ha proiettato brani dei documentari girati sui ponteggi della Cappella Sistina durante i molti anni richiesti dal restauro e ha letto brani tratti dal libro.Il tema del volume, infatti, consiste nel racconto, lungo 14 anni, dei ricordi che Co­lalucci ha del restauro degli affreschi di Michelangelo. Dalla piccolissima prima prova di pulitura alla Messa inaugurale che il Papa Giovanni Paolo II celebrò nella Cappella per solennizzare la fine del restauro.Gli oratori hanno sottolineato la solitudine del restauratore nel momento della sua grande responsabilità, e l’autore ha ricordato episodi curiosi e momenti difficili affron­tati nel pulire la testa di Adamo nella Creazione dell’uomo e della testa del Cristo del Giudizio finale, opere tra le più alte mai dipinte. Ma non sono mancati momenti sgrade­voli, da parte di coloro che contestavano il restauro.
application/pdf
1973-9494
9233
en
Gianluigi Colalucci
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo and I
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
18
Articles
2018-12-31
2019-03-18
2018-12-31
2019-11-05
165-175
CSCH
Gianluigi Colalucci
2018/12/31
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/9233
165
Conservazione restauro S.n.c., Rome
1973-9494
Sistine Chapel
en
175
Michelangelo and I
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/9233/9069
18
Interest in the restoration of Michelangelo’s work, carried out between 1980 and 1994,
is obviously understandable, as well as being an absolute truth.
In describing the intervention, the author’s involvement, participation and what it meant
for him, not only in technical terms, but particularly in the intimistic relationship with the
work and the artist’s sublime expression, I felt, indirectly, how and to what extent this
kind of personal attachment can lead to a result that is unique in its excellence, even
in the adverse situations and conditions created by an insistent opposition.
This is what Gianluigi Colalucci and those who participated in the restoration of the
frescoes in the Sistine Chapel experienced. Hence the need, through the publication of
the work in the Journal, to testify to the “motus animi atque corporis” that has marked
the relationship between the restoration and the work and is expressed in the title:
“Michelangelo and I”.

                                                                              Editor-in-Chief
M      ICHELANGELO AND I


    Gianluigi Colalucci*9
    Former head restorer of paintings in the Vatican Museums
    Conservazione restauro S.n.c., Rome, Italy




    Keywords: Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel


    In 2013, after a trip to Georgia, stimulated by the young minister of culture of the
country, I began writing a book in which I brought together the memories, feelings, and
the opposition and satisfaction I experienced in the fourteen long years spent in the
Sistine Chapel restoring Michelangelo’s frescoes.
    At the time, nineteen years had passed since the completion of the restoration, but
interest in the work and above all in the unknown Michelangelo that the restoration had
revealed, was still very high throughout the world. I had noticed, however, that some
of the misconceptions that had accompanied my work persisted, despite the fact that
Fabrizio Mancinelli, the art historian in charge of the restoration, and Nazzareno Ga-
brielli and myself, who were in charge of the scientific research on Michelangelo, had
written a great many essays and articles that provided precise information about the




                                                                                                  CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
work carried out in the Sistine Chapel [1].
    This last observation encouraged me to ponder the situation and to start writing
again about the restoration and Michelangelo, but this time, in a way, that for me, was
completely new.
    I wanted the book to be enjoyable and easy to read, as if it were a long narrative
that springs from personal memories and my close and very personal relationship with
the painting of the Great Master. I therefore excluded any reference to restoration tech-
niques preferring instead to convey a picture of Michelangelo’s extraordinary frescoes.
    It was my desire to transmit to others the essence of Michelangelo’s painting, hav-
ing had the privilege to work face to face with his masterpiece for many years and of
which I knew every square inch by heart (Figure 1).
    Preparing the book for publication and having to obtain permission from the Vatican
Museums to publish some photos of the Sistine Chapel, I invited Antonio Paolucci, an
important art historian and the then director of the Museums, to read the manuscript.
Without hesitating, he decided there and then that the book would be published by the
Vatican Museums (Edizioni Musei Vaticani) and 24 Ore Cultura. The original book, in
Italian, was entitled “Io e Michelangelo” (Figure 2) and was published in December
2015, as well as in Spanish and in English (in 2016).


*   Corresponding author: g.colalucci@virgilio.it

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                                      Figure 1. Sistine Chapel, vault; cleaning the scene of the “Separation of light from darkness”.
G. Colalucci - Michelangelo and I




                                                               Figure 2. Cover of the book “Io e Michelangelo”

                                         After an initial presentation at the Municipality of Foligno (Umbria, Italy), the book
                                      was presented in Rome on March 17, 2017, at the Accademia di San Luca. The great
                                      conference hall of the Academy was packed with people which meant that many of
                                      them standing in the corridor had to be content to listen through the open doorway.
                                         The President of the Academy, Gianni Dessì, had invited several personalities to


                                166
speak: in the field of art history, Antonio Paolucci and Bruno Toscano from the Uni-
versity of Rome; in the field of television journalism, Nino Criscenti from the Italian TV
network, RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana).
   Antonio Paolucci, a great admirer of my book, in his presentation, highlighted some
of the phrases in which I expressed the anguish that took hold of me in the moments
before cleaning the pieces of the painting considered to be at the apex of the art world,
to emphasize an aspect that is often neglected: “the solitude of the restorer “.
   One such moment was during the cleaning of Adam’s face (Figure 3a and b) in the
scene of the creation of man, at the center of the vault in the Sistine Chapel. While
working on the most famous piece of painting in the world and also the most beautiful -
beautiful even under the deposits of dust and grease from candle smoke and braziers,
as well as layers of altered animal glue - led me to reflect seriously and deeply on the
immense responsibility that I myself had assumed and that any restorer has, not only
towards the whole world, but also towards a work of art and ultimately towards one’s
own conscience.




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a) 				                                      b)

Figure 3. Sistine Chapel, vault: a) detail of Adam’s face in the Creation of man;
b) cleaning Adam’s head in the Creation of man.



   It was after a few years into the restoration that I again had to face a very difficult
moment: the cleaning of the head of Christ the Judge in the Last Judgment (or the
Final Judgment). This part of the painting, just like the head of Adam and many other
parts of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine, is one of the most renowned works of
art world-wide.
   When I started the restoration work on this important masterpiece I was aware of
the responsibility that I was taking on, but I was also aware of possessing the prepara-
tion, know-how, experience and the most up-to-date technical means that made me
feel confident I was approaching it in the right way.
   However there is no restoration without risk. Risks can be calculated, reduced to a
minimum, but they remain.




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G. Colalucci - Michelangelo and I




                                      Figure 4. Sistine Chapel, Final Judgment, the head of Christ the Judge after the cleaning. Detail
                                      taken from the book “Io e Michelangelo”.



                                          When you have to work on surfaces, even small ones, where you dare not take
                                      any risks, your conscience comes into play. It is in this particular situation that Antonio
                                      Paolucci sees the solitude of the restorer because before our own conscience each of
                                      us is alone.
                                          When, at the end of this long restoration, which lasted fourteen years (1980-1994), I
                                      had to face the task of cleaning the head of Christ the Judge (Figure 4), I began to care-
                                      fully study each detail of the face. In doing so, I realized that the right eye, the one that


                                168
is visible and forcefully expresses the gaze of a supreme judge, an extremely severe
judge, had been painted by Michelangelo using three short overlapping brushstrokes
of very dark brown ocher. The look around which the composition of the Last Judgment
revolves, therefore, arises from only three short horizontal strokes. When I realized
this, when I understood that even the slightest damage to one of the three brushstrokes
would have changed that look, a moment of panic seized me. I was afraid [2].
    Before actually touching Christ’s eye to start the task, I thought about it for days – for
a long time - then I gathered together all my technical and moral strength and dealt with
the cleaning which, of course, went very well.
    Instead, on the same occasion of the book presentation at the Accademia di S.
Luca, Bruno Toscano spoke of the conceptual differences expressed by Cesare Brandi
and Roberto Longhi on modern restoration; an immensely interesting topic that is fun-
damental in the study of the history of restoration. He stated that according to Longhi,
the work of art had, above all, to be considered from an aesthetic point of view, decid-
ing for each single piece the most appropriate steps to take for its restoration. At a later
date, during his appointment as director of the Central Institute of Restoration in Rome,
Brandi formulated his philosophy on restoration (1950), which was published under the
title “Theory of Restoration”. His theory became well-established in Italy and has since
gained ground in many other European countries [3].
    As one of Cesare Brandi’s students at the Central Institute of Restoration, I have
always used this ‘theory’ as my reference point and it was no different for the restora-
tion of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. This strictly scientific approach,
attentive to the history of the work, respectful of the changes that time may possibly
have had on the original work, was even more rigorous in the recovery of the original
work and left no room for arbitrary decisions or empirical techniques (Figure 5).
    The journalist, Nino Criscenti, presented a selection of excerpts from the three long
documentaries produced for the RAI filmed at three different moments of the restora-
tion [4]. The most prominent figures from the world of art history at that time had been




                                                                                                       CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
invited - André Chastel and Ernst H. Gombrich (Figure 6).
    The first documentary was shot in 1984 and recorded the restoration of the lunettes;
the second was made four years later on the restoration of the vault and the final one
filmed the restoration of the Last Judgment.
    Criscenti also read some passages taken from my book. As I listened to his reading
of the words I had written, magnificently rendered with great pathos, just as a consum-
mate actor would, I felt as if I were reliving those moments; and seeing those early
scenes during the restoration of the lunettes, I was greatly moved (Figure 7)




                                                                                                 169
                                      Figure 5. Sistine Chapel, the Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II for the end of the restoration.
                                      In the background, the Last Judgment.
G. Colalucci - Michelangelo and I




                                      Figure 6. Ernst H. Gombrich (centre) visits the Sistine Chapel during the restoration of
                                      Michelangelo’s frescoes, with Fabrizio Mancinelli (right) and Gianluigi Colalucci (left).




                                170
                                                                                                   CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
             Figure 7. Sistine Chapel, cleaning the first lunette: Eleazar-Mathan.



    Besides, in March 2017, I was recovering from a long period of physical problems
and surgery, so it was a great effort to actually participate in the presentation. How-
ever, when Prof. Dessì asked me to speak to the gathering, I managed to explain the
reasons that had led me to write the true story of this restoration with the variations
regarding Michelangelo’s painting and fresco, without ever falling into the temptation
of using technicalities. I talked about the many moments I had experienced during this
restoration and the various characters who had visited me on the scaffolding: from roy-
al figures, such as the Emperor of Japan to heads of state, from writers such as Leon-
ardo Sciascia to artists, painters and sculptors, to very singular characters like that of
the Italo-American restorer who came from Chicago to offer me $ 30,000 to allow him
to clean the figure of God the Father in the scene of the Creation of Adam (Figure 8).




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                                      Figure 8. Sistine Chapel, vault, head of God the Father in the Creation of man after cleaning.



                                          There were however many who believed that the restoration was damaging the
                                      painting, including the pianist Maurizio Pollini who came to beg me to stop the restora-
                                      tion work that was disfiguring the work of the divine Michelangelo.
                                          The group of critics that was formed during the cleaning of the lunettes never aban-
                                      doned us. Having to withstand the attacks on our work was very trying but I considered
                                      them useful, albeit irrational, because they induced the right amount of tension needed
                                      for the long term job, also because it obliged me to verify the validity or otherwise of
G. Colalucci - Michelangelo and I




                                      whatever argument was brought against the restoration. Naturally, I was not alone in
                                      taking the responsibility for the work that was done because above everyone was the
                                      Director-general of the Vatican Museums, Carlo Pietrangeli and Fabrizio Mancinelli, an
                                      art historian and the director of the works (Figure 9).
                                          But it is I who studied the intervention techniques and worked directly on the paint-
                                      ing, assisted by three of my restorer colleagues, so it was against my person that the
                                      critics spoke out. Many, including several important American, French and German
                                      art historians, were in favor of the restoration but were not as loud as those critics
                                      who wrote entire books and filled the press with such controversial articles they even
                                      touched the conscience of American artists, such as Andy Warhol in primis and other
                                      “old pop art heroes”, as defined by Giuliano Briganti in one of his memorable articles
                                      in defence of our work. For a long time, they inundated the Vatican Secretariat of State
                                      with postcards in which they strongly insisted on suspending the restoration work [5].

                                172
    Although understanding those who declared themselves against the restoration be-
cause they did not want Michelangelo’s pictorial work to be modified by cleaning (“I do
not care if the real Michelangelo is this”, Pollini told me, “I loved it when it was dirty”),
I did not accept the fact that technical, invented or pretentious arguments against the
work were put forward without even listening to our reasons and examining all the
scientific material that supported us in our work.
    Today everyone who visits the Sistine Chapel enjoys the beauty of Michelangelo’s
colorful frescoes. They were recovered through extremely demanding, long hard work
but in return they give us great technical, moral and spiritual enrichment.




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Figure 9. Sistine Chapel, vault. Colalucci (standing) during the cleaning of the nearly-touching
fingers in the scene of the Creation of man; sitting from left to right are Persegati, Marcinkus,
Pietrangeli, Rotondi.


      References

[1]     Colalucci, G., (1986) Tecniche di restauro in: La Cappella Sistina i primi restauri:
        la scoperta del colore. Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, pp. 260-265.
[2]     Colalucci, G., (2015) Io e Michelangelo. Milano, Edizioni Musei Vaticani e 24 ore
        cultura, pp. 208-214.

                                                                                                    173
                                      [3]     Brandi, C., (1977) Teoria del restauro. Torino, Giulio Einaudi Editore.
                                      [4]     1984, first RAI documentary on the restoration of the lunettes; 1989, second Rai
                                              documentary on the restoration of the vault, by Renato Augias; 1994, third RAI
                                              documentary on the restoration of the Judgment, by Piero Badaloni.
                                      [5]     Conti, A., (1986) Michelangelo e la pittura a fresco, tecnica e conservazione della
                                              volta, Firenze, La casa Usher.


                                            Biographical notes

                                         Gianluigi Colalucci was born in Rome in 1929. In 1953 he obtained his Diploma from
                                      the Central Institute of Restoration with Cesare Brandi. In 1960 he joined the Labora-
                                      tory for the Restoration of Paintings of the Vatican Museums and in 1979 became
                                      Chief Restorer. From 1980 -1994 he was the technical manager in the restoration of
                                      Michelangelo’s frescoes and personally carried out the work in the vault and the Last
                                      Judgment, in the Sistine Chapel. In 1991 he received a Degree Honoris causa in Fine
                                      Arts from New York University and in 1995, received a Degree Honoris Causa in Con-
                                      servation and restoration of Cultural Heritage from the Polytechnic University of Valen-
                                      cia. He has restored works by many artists including Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian,
                                      Giotto, Buffalmacco, Caravaggio, Mantegna, Crivelli, Lotto, Cranach, Sartorius, Fer-
                                      razzi, Sciltian, Morandi. He has lectured throughout Europe, India, Japan, the United
                                      States, Canada, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Australia. He has published many
                                      works on the restoration of Michelangelo’s frescoes and on the restoration of paintings
                                      by other authors.


                                          Summary
                                          On March 17, 2017, Gianluigi Colalucci presented his book entitled “Io e Michelan-
                                      gelo” at the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca.
                                          The volume was presented to the many people present by several personalities
                                      from the world of art history, such as Prof. Antonio Paolucci and Prof. Bruno Toscano,
                                      and from that of journalism, such as Nino Criscenti, who projected excerpts from the
                                      documentaries filmed on the scaffolding of the Sistine Chapel during the many years
                                      needed to complete the restoration, as well as reading excerpts from the book.
                                          The book’s theme is the story of the 14 long years and the memories that Colalucci
                                      has of the restoration of Michelangelo’s frescoes. From the first small cleaning test to
G. Colalucci - Michelangelo and I




                                      the inaugural Mass that Pope John Paul II celebrated in the Chapel to solemnize the
                                      end of the restoration.
                                          The speakers emphasized the solitude and great responsibility of the restorer at the
                                      critical moments in the work, and the author recalled curious episodes and difficult mo-
                                      ments faced in cleaning Adam’s head in the Creation of man and Christ’s head in the
                                      Last Judgment, among the most exceptional ever painted. There were however also
                                      unpleasant moments from those who contested the restoration.

                                        Riassunto
                                        Il 17 marzo del 2017 Gianluigi Colalucci ha presentato all’Accademia Nazionale di
                                      San Luca il suo libro intitolato: Io e Michelangelo.
                                        ll volume è stato illustrato alle numerosissime persone presenti da alcune personal-


                                174
ità del mondo della storia dell’arte, come il Prof. Antonio Paolucci e il Prof. Bruno Tos-
cano, e del giornalismo come Nino Criscenti che ha proiettato brani dei documentari
girati sui ponteggi della Cappella Sistina durante i molti anni richiesti dal restauro e ha
letto brani tratti dal libro.
    Il tema del volume, infatti, consiste nel racconto, lungo 14 anni, dei ricordi che Co-
lalucci ha del restauro degli affreschi di Michelangelo. Dalla piccolissima prima prova
di pulitura alla Messa inaugurale che il Papa Giovanni Paolo II celebrò nella Cappella
per solennizzare la fine del restauro.
    Gli oratori hanno sottolineato la solitudine del restauratore nel momento della sua
grande responsabilità, e l’autore ha ricordato episodi curiosi e momenti difficili affron-
tati nel pulire la testa di Adamo nella Creazione dell’uomo e della testa del Cristo del
Giudizio finale, opere tra le più alte mai dipinte. Ma non sono mancati momenti sgrade-
voli, da parte di coloro che contestavano il restauro.




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




                                                                                              175
