Restoration of The Sistine Chapel Frescoes - Response To The Restoration - Issues Raised By Critics

Issues Raised By Critics

That part of the restoration in the Sistine Chapel which has caused the most concern is the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo. The emergence of the brightly coloured Ancestors of Christ from the gloom sparked a reaction of fear that the processes being employed in the cleaning were too severe. Despite warnings, the work on the ceiling proceeded and, according to critics such as James Beck, their worst fears were confirmed once the ceiling was completed.

The cause for dissent lies in the analysis and understanding of the techniques utilised by Michelangelo, and the technical response of the restorers to their understanding of those techniques. A close examination of the frescoes of the lunettes convinced the restorers that Michelangelo worked exclusively in "buon fresco"; that is, the artist worked only on freshly laid plaster and each section of work was completed while the plaster was still in its fresh state. In other words, Michelangelo did not work "a secco"; he did not come back later and add details onto the dry plaster.

The restorers, by assuming that the artist took a universal approach to the painting, took a universal approach to the restoration. A decision was made that all of the shadowy layer of animal glue and "lamp black", all of the wax, and all of the overpainted areas were contamination of one sort or another: smoke deposits, earlier restoration attempts and painted definition by later restorers in attempt to enliven the appearance of the work. Based on this decision, according to Arguimbau's critical reading of the restoration data that has been provided, the chemists of the restoration team decided upon a solvent that would effectively strip the ceiling down to its paint-impregnated plaster. After treatment, only that which was painted "buon fresco" would remain.

According to critics, the inherent problem with this approach is that it relied heavily upon an assumption that Michelangelo only painted buon fresco, that he was always satisfied with the result at the end of the day, and that in four and a half years spent on the ceiling, he stuck exclusively to one approach, and never made small alterations or added details. Arguimbau, on his website, quotes Colalucci, the head of the team, as contradicting himself on this matter.

A summary of the relevant statements of Colalucci, in the order that they occur in the Appendix entitled Michelangelo's colours uncovered is as follows:

The elderly restorers who had taken part in the restoration of the 1930s were interviewed as part of the preparatory process. They claimed that Michelangelo worked over the frescoes a secco using velature or glazes as a binder. Colalucci rejects this, stating that Michelangelo worked exclusively in buon fresco. Colalucci then contradicts this by stating that Michelangelo had worked a secco, but "to a minimal degree" and "not at all in the lunettes".

Colalucci then talks of Michelangelo's "rigorous maintenance" of buon fresco technique, contradicting this by describing the a secco retouchings that Michelangelo made to the shoulder of Eleazar and the foot of Reboam, both of which are in the lunettes. He then says that Michelangelo worked in buon fresco with "no pentimenti proper", (pentimenti means the changes) but only small corrections in fresco.

The on-going criticism has been that the restorers presumed to know what end result the master was seeking to achieve in every separate case across the ceiling, and by what method he sought to achieve it. The disagreements about this have been vociferous and are unresolved.