Is there anything to be afraid of in Brandi’s “Teoria del restauro”? The paralyzing myth of fear

Abstract

In the last few years we have witnessed the upsurge of publications in the area of conservation and restoration defending the idea that Cesare Brandi´s “Teoria del restauro” has become antiquated and is even impossible to comprehend, due to the identification of inherent contradictions and the difficult reading of its complex form of Italian language. This article aims to discuss some of the points presented by the Spanish author Salvador Muñoz Viñas as contradictions found in Brandi´s theory. Are they really contradictions? Reductionist interpretations end up leading to an polarized debate, that tends to fall into criticism for the sake of criticism. Here we would like to emphasize the need to get over this unproductive dichotomy between “brandians par excellence” and “postmodernists” of conservation. To the development of our argument, we will discuss the concept of restoration, the themes of integrity, authenticity and the brandian concept of potential unity.