Project description
Studying the history of durability in art
Many materials are affected by age. Some stand the test of time a lot better than others. What about historical artefacts? Artisans have worked stone and metal and created dyes and pigments that never fade. They have also made surface coatings to protect more brittle materials. The EU-funded DURARE project will investigate the impact of the artisan and patron’s ambitions to craft durable objects in the realm of visual and decorative arts. The project will also map the social practices influencing durability and how humans learned about the stability and behaviour of materials over time. The findings will help advance methods of cultural heritage conservation.
Objective
Our cultural heritage comprises many art objects that are hundreds, some thousands of years old. How did they survive this long? While many factors determine if and how art can be preserved, one has fundamentally impacted its long-term survival: the desire to make and own artefacts that withstand the test of time. This project—DURARE—will undertake the first comprehensive study of the impact of the artisan and patron’s ambitions to craft, own and theorize durable objects on the long-term development of the visual and decorative arts. To achieve durability, artisans have worked stone and metal, created dyes and pigments thought never to fade, made surface coatings ensuring the protection of more brittle materials, and transformed soft clay into long-lasting ceramics. Patrons coveted physically stable objects; yet stability does not always ensure durability: culturally fragile gold can be melted and re-used. Beyond how the durable was made, DURARE will map the social practices influencing durability. We will also establish how, through artistic and social pursuits for durable art, humans acquired knowledge of the stability and behavior of materials over time, thus impacting knowledge traditions outside art history. Finally, we will elucidate the created practices and institutions facilitating durability, such as cultural heritage conservation and museums. Studying the history of durability in art requires hands-on experience with the materials and processes used to make and explore permanence. This project therefore uses an innovative methodology, combining historical research into art objects and textual sources with hands-on reconstructions of materials and techniques. DURARE will achieve a fundamental understanding of durability in art by charting: 1. Variations and concepts of durability in art and patronage; 2. The role of durability in the development of art and craftsmanship; 3. The impact of artistic expertise in durable materials on the history of knowledge.
Fields of science
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Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands