Cesare Brandi (Siena, 8 April 1906 – Vignano, 19 January 1988) was an art critic and historian, specialist in conservation-restoration theory.
In 1939 he became the first director of the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (Central Institute for Restoration, now the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro) in Rome.
His main books on art interpretation are Le due vie (1966, Bari), and Theoria generale della critica (1974). Le due vie was presented and debated in Rome by Roland Barthes, Giulio Carlo Argan and Emilio Garroni. The philosopher he felt mostly closer to was Heidegger, although their positions didn't coincide; for this, he felt also closer to Derrida, their common Heidergarian base. He said that Derrida's enunciations couldn't be neglected, particularly his theorization of Différance.
In 1963, his important essay Teoria del Restauro (Restoration Theory) was published.