Controversies in Art Restoration: Last Supper and Sistine Chapel

This essay delves into the controversies surrounding the restoration of two iconic artworks: Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling. It examines the damages these paintings have undergone due to environmental changes and human use, highlighting the challenges faced by art historians and restorers. The essay discusses the restoration efforts, the debates that arose, and the importance of preserving the original quality and authenticity of the artworks. It focuses on the controversies related to the Sistine Chapel's restoration, including the grime and dust found on the surface, which led to questions about proper care. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of art restoration in maintaining the beauty and historical value of these masterpieces.

Running head: RESTORATION CONTROVERSY USING ART
Restoration Controversy Using Art
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RESTORATION CONTROVERSY USING ART
The Last Supper is a late 15th Century mural painting which was painted by the one of
the most well-known painters of all times, Leonardo Da Vinci. The painting represents the
scene of the last supper of Jesus Christ along with his apostles as had been mentioned in the
book of John. The painting had undergone numerous environmental changes as well as
human use due to which very little of the original painting have been restored by the Art
historians. The Sistine Chappell Ceiling was a painting which was painted by Michelangelo
between the years 1508 – 1512 and is considered to be one of the biggest examples of high
Renaissance art style. There has been controversies relating to the restoration of the art forms
which had been rescued.
The purpose of this essay is to describe the restoration controversies of the
pictures of the Last Supper and the Sistine Chappell Ceiling in the recent times.
Fig: The Last Supper
Painter: Leonardon Da Vinci
The reastoration of The Last Supper by the painter Leonardo Da Vinci was completed
in the year 1999. It has been stated that the paingting has undergobne damages due to the
internal human use as well as the number of envitronmental changes on the painting itself.

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Thus, it can be said that the restoration attempts are being made to impriove the paiunting so
that it could be brought back to its earlier glory.
Fig: Sistine Chappell Ceiling
Painter: Michaelangelo
The restioration of the Sistine Chappell Ceiling is considered to be a controversial
one. This is because the Sistine Chappell is saiud to undergo a long and elaborate restoratiobn
scheme which was to be sponsored by a Japanese television Corporation and was to be done
by well-known Itralian experts. The main controversy in the case resulted from the
amountodf grime and dust which were found on the surface of ttyhe chappell which led to the
controversy that the chappell was not properly looked after by the makers of the churcgh
itself. Therefore, it is considered to be one of the most controversial restoration programs as it
involved in the restoration purposes (De Clerq: 265). It is because of these reasons that the
restorations have been called as controversial.

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After the restoration of the workmhad been completed, it has been flounds by the
experts that the work was truly authentic and it belonged to the original artists who had
painted the works themselves. So, the artists were considered to be authentic with their
works.
It has been found after the restoration that the paintings suffered from damage which
had destroyed the original quality of the images produced in the paintings itself. Thus, these
images need to be restored by the art restorers in such a way that the paintings remain
accurate in the same manner as they had been when the artists painted them (Grabon: 25).
From the above statements, it can be concluded that it is indeed important for the arts
to be restored so that they wouold renmaibn as beautiful as they were when they were made
by the artists themselves.

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Reference List
De Clercq, Rafael. "The metaphysics of art restoration." British Journal of Aesthetics 53.3
(2013): 261-275.
Grabon, Michel, et al. "The Sistine chapel: New HVAC system for cultural preservation."
ASHRAE Journal 57.6 (2015): 20-29.