sharma_1999_the transformation of aura through restoration_case studies in thailand and italy

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THE TRANSFORMATIONOFAURA THROUGH

RESTORATION:

CASE STUDIES

IN

THAILAND

AND

ITALY

by

ALEXANDRA

DEBORAH SHARMA

thesis

submitted

to the Department of

rt

in conformity

with the requirementsfor

the

degree

of

Master

of

Arts

Queen s

University

Kingston, Ontario,Canada

November,

1999

copyright

Alexandra

DeborahShana 1999



National

Library

I I f C a n a ~

Bibliothèquenahianale

du Canada

Acquisitions and cquisitions et

ibliographie Services senrices

bibliographiques

395

Welington Street

395. rue

Wetüingtcm

OttawaON K I A M OllimaO K 1 A M

anada

anada

The author

has

granted a non-

ex lusive

licence dowing

the

National Library of Canada to

reproduce, loan distributeor

seil

copies of this thesis in microfom,

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or

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The

author retains ownership of the

copyright in this thesis. Neither the

thesis

nor

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extracts

fiom

it

m y

e printed

or

otherwise

reproduced without the author s

permission.

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iicence non

ex lusive

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a

la

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nationale du Canada de

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des copies de cette thèse sous

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L auteur conserve la propriété du

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Ni

la

thèse

ni

des extraits substantiels

de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés

ou autrement reproduits sans son

autorisation.



ABSTRACT

This thesis applies Walter Benjamin's ideas on aura as outlined in his text, The

Work of i t in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' to art restoration. In this

study, I reat restoration as a form of what Benjamin calls manual reproduction.

examine how Benjamin's

views

on the decay of aura relate to specific

restoration practices in Thailand and Italy. I argue that Benjamin's ideas on aura

do not

apply

universally, but rather that social and cuitural factors corne into play.

o

illustrate this

point discuss two projects

from

the 1980s: the

restoration of the

vihan

in the Buddhist temple

Wat

Suthat in Bangkok and the

restoration of the

Camera

degli

Sposi

n the Castello San Giorgio in Mantua.

I argue with reference to social and cultural contexts, that Benjamin's

ideas on aura seern more applicable to the project at the Camera

degli

Sposi

than at Wat uthaf in Thailand. Whereas in the Camera restoration diffuses the

aura of the original, at Wat

Suihat

restoration takes on a

orm

of ritualistic

renewal, tied into th8

v iy

mythologies and cultural foundations of Buddhism.



CKNOWLEDGMENTS

This thesis has been an adventurous and a rewarding enterprise in many

ways.

In the process of writing it confronted rny Gennan hentage through Benjamin.

ventured into new territory with my discussion on the ethics of restoration, and

widened my intellectual and spiritual horizons tremendously through

my

research

in Buddhist Thailand.

The

diverse topics of

my

thesis made this joumey quite stimulating and

thank Dr. CathleenHoenigeifor

her

bright

suggestions.

amicable conversations,

and patience. I

am

indebted to

Dr.

Bhesham Shanna

for

his insurnountable

support in discussing stumbling blocks along the way and for fighting with,

editing, and clarifying

my

sornetimes confusing sentence structure.

During my research in Thailand,

I

was ovemihelmed by the unseMish help

received. My thanks go to

my

aunt and uncle, Heidrun and Roland Schmid,

Khun Jarunee, Curator of the National Gallery in Bangkok, Khun Yod, Restorer at

the Fine Arts Department, the Gennan Ernbassy in Bangkok, and Chuo Khun

Suntom, Deputy Abbot

of

Wat Suthat, who provided me with extraordinary

insights into Buddhist principles.

Special thanks

go

to rny loyal friends, Stephie Beniveger and Claudi

Koranda of Stuttgart as well as my colleagues and friends at Queen s, Hillary.

Kiystina, Andrea and Annabel, and the

v ry

helpful librarians in the art library.

Finally, I thank my wonderful parents, Horst Schmid and Ursula Schmid-

Weigold. who encouraged

my

career change, and supported

me

in fulfilling my

dream to study ait.



To Bish

my Russian Coach



TABLE OF

CONTENTS

ist

of

Illustrations..

v

ntroduction..

1

Chapter

One

Walter Benjamin and

the concept

of

'auran

as

outlined

in

his essay The

Worù of Art in

the

Age

of Mechanical

Reproductionn.

.... .............................. 5

Chapter

Two

The murals in the

vihan

of

Wat

Suthat, Bangkok,

hailand and their restorations.. .A2

Chapter Three

Andrea

Mantegna's

murals

in the Camera

de@

Sposi Mantua, ltaly

and

their restorations 7

onclusion -48

ibliography..

52

Appendices.. 5 8

Illustrations..

63

Vita.. 92



LISTOF

ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1:

Fig.

2:

Fig. 3:

Fig. 4:

Fig. 5:

Fig. 6:

Fig.

:

Fig. 8:

Fig.

:

Fig. 10:

Fig. 11

:

Fig. 12:

Fig. 13:

Fig. 14:

Fig.

15:

Wat Sufhat vihan: Example of birdvs-eye-viewand painting

style

Buddhavamsa (author)

Wat Sufhat vihan, detail of mural: Buddhavamsa rom the

legend of the

10

Buddha Padumuttara author)

Wat Suthat vihan,

det il

of mural: wonder of the fivefold apparition

of the Buddha

-example

of mudras taken from Wat Suthat

Ein

Beispiel deutscher Kulturhilfe, title page)

Major sites of attraction

in Bangkok (taken

from Visif

Wat

Suthat, lntelectual Services

Ltd.,

Bangkok no date, pp.

1

2)

Wat Suthat vihan

:

Phra Sisakayamuni, the giant bronze Buddha

author)

Plan of Wat Suthat taken from Visit Wat Suthat,

lntelectual Seivices Ltd., Bangkok- no date, pp.

1

1

12

Wat

Suthat

vihan:

exterior author)

Wat Suthat vihan: painted columns author)

Wat Suthat vihan: date inscriptions underneath the murals

author)

Wat Suhat vihan: protector deities on a door author)

Wat Suthat vihan: framed muralsatop a door author)

Wat Suthat viham bats hanging from the ceiling before

restoration) taken f rom Wat Suthat-

€in

Beispiel deutscher

Kultuhilfe,

p. 168)

Wat

Pho

estoration project June

1998);

application

of

protective

layer

author)

Wat Suthat- estoration project; fixation,

cleaning,

consolidation,

and in-painting taken from Wat Suthat

€in

Beispiel

deuts her

KuItuhiIfe

pp.

1

56-1

57)

Wat Suthat- estoration project; reconstniction of missing pieces

taken from Wat Suthat-Ein

eispiel

deutscher Kultumilfe, p. 152)



Fig. 16:

Fig.

1

7:

Fig.

18:

Fig 19:

Fig.

20:

Fig. 21

:

Fig.

:

Fig. 23:

Fig. 24:

Fig.

25:

Fig. 26:

Fig. 27:

Fig.

28:

Fig.

29

WatPhu estoration project (June 1

998 ;

reconstruction of

missing pieces (author)

Plan of the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua (taken from Giovanni

Paccagnini,

Mantegna La Camera degli Sposi

(Milan: Fratelli

Fabri, 1968).

p.4.

Camera degli Sposk splay of

northwest window: the date of

commencement painted in mock

gr ffit

(taken from Cordaro, p.13)

Camera degli Sposi

view of the north and west walls (taken from

Cordaro, p.70)

Camera degli Sposk

view of the east

and

south walls with rnock

drapes (taken from Cordaro, p.15)

Camera

degli Sposi

part of west wall: the painted tablet with the

dedicatory inscription to Ludovico and Barbara,

Mantegna s

signature

and

the date 1474 (taken from Cordaro,

p.

l5O

Camera degli Sposi:

view of the norîh and west walls and

v rious

elements of the ceiling (taken from Cordaro, p.14)

Camera

de@ Sposi

Octavian Augustus (taken from Cordaro,

p.

60

Camera degli Sposi:

Arion on the Dolphin (taken from Cordaro, p.

68)

Camera degli

Sposi:

the vault with the oculus (taken from Cordaro,

P*

56)

Camera

degli

Sposi view

of the

north w ll with

the

court scene

(taken from Cordaro, p.73)

Camera degli Sposi:

view of the west wall with the meeting scene

(taken from Camesasca, p.47)

Camera degli Sposi:

example of applied

trateggio in

the meeting

scene (taken

from

Cordaro,

p.

161

Camera degli Sposi

disappearingn Magi

in

the meeting*

scene

(taken from Lightbown, p.89)



INTRODUCTION

Walter Benjamin's essay, The

Work

of Art in the Age of Mechanical

Reproduction, has been discussed extensively. His daim that reproduction

withen away original artworks' aura has often been evaluated in political and

literary

studies as

well as in art

history.

No

one

owever, has yet explored how

Benjamin's views on reproduction might relate to art restoration.

In this thesis, I treat restoration as a fonn of

what

Benjamin calls manual

*

reproduction.'

I examine

how Benjamin's views on the decline of aura relate

to

specific restoration practices

in

Thailand and Italy. s

I

argue, Benjamin's ideas

do

not apply to these Eastern and Western contexts in the same manner

because of diverse social and cultural factors.

In my paper, I focus on two mural restoration projects from the 1980s.

the

vihan (chape1 and Buddha's dwelling place) of the Buddhist temple Wat uthat in

Bangkok, Thailand (restored in the years

1982-85 ,

and Andrea Mantegna's

Camera

degli Sposi

in the Ducal Palace

in

Mantua, ltaly (restored in the years

1984-87).

My

thesis

shows how differences of culture and function corne

into

play. In this study

I

agree with Benjamin-that mural restorations diffuse the

original's aura. On the other hand, against

Benjamin, I

argue that reproduction

in the form of restoration can also add other layen of aura.

1

See

for example Susan Buck-Morss, Aesthetics and Anaesthetics: Walter Benjamin's

Artwork

Essay

Reconsidered,

October

62 (1992 , 3-41

Wolfgang

Kemp, Fembilder

Benjamin und die Kunstwissenschaft, in WalterBenjamin

im

Kontexf ed. Burkhardt

Lindner, Konigstein: Athenaeum, 1985, pp.224-257.

David Freedberg, The ower of Images (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989 ,

pp.230-235, applied Benjamin's ideas on reproduction

and

the decline of aura

to

wax

works arguing that

w x

woiks have the

same

potentiality

as

photographs of living

beings. Perhaps Benjamin's views a n be applied to other forms of art reproduction.



The fimt chapter discusses Benjamin's concept

of

aura and explains his

unique use of ternis such as: manual reproduction, mechanical reproduction,

authenticity, and authority. Benjamin's ideas are considered in relation to the

mural restorations in the vihan of Wat Suthat in Chapter Two. I explain the

murals' subject matter and the murals' use

in

a Buddhist environment, and in the

process.

I

discuss Thai restoration practices, and how they relate to Buddhism,

and

to

Benjamin's ideas

on

aura. The

next chapter

fo uses on the latest

restoration of the Camera egli Sposi. t includes a discussion of the history of

restoration, as well as the ethical, cultural, and economic factors underlying the

restoration

and

thair relation to Benjamin's ideas on manual reproduction.

The

conclusion examines the applicability and value

of

Benjamin's thoughts with

regards to the contrasting restoration projects.

The amount

of

secondary literature on

these

topics varies. The literature

on Benjamin is extensive and, at times, contradictory. This is certainly the case

with Benjamin's notion of aura as presented in The Worù of Art in the Age o

Mechanical Reproduction.

s

Howard Caygill and Alex Coles rightly daim: 'The

Work of

rt in

the

Age

of Mechanical Reproduction' is perhaps Benjamin's best-

known but often misunderstood~ o r k . ~

lan Knizik. for instance, accuses Benjamin of using blurred

and

unclear

~oncepts.~et, Benjamin's very intention in wnting as awhole

was

to reclairn the

Howard Caygill, lex Coles, and

Andrzej

Kiimowski Walter Benjamin for

eginners

(Duxford.

UK:

lcon

Books.

1998), p.132.

lan Knizik, Walter Benjaminand the MechanicalReproducibility of

rt

ork Revisited.

British

Journal ofAesthetia Vo1.33,4 (October 1993), 358.



subtleties of language nd the opacity in nature that elude rational and

writing. s Benjamin States in The Onginof

the

eman

TragicDrama

empirical

Just as mosaics presewe their majesty despite their fragmentation into

capricious particles, so philosophical contemplation is not lacking in

momentum. Both are made up of the distinct and the disparate. and

nothing could be more testirnony to the transcendent force of the sacred

image of truth itseL

.

.For by pursuing different levels of meaning in s

examination of one single object, it receives

.

the incentive to begin

again

. .

5

There

are other

discrepancies. Caygill and Coles daim that Benjamin's

ideas

regarding aura are incorrect. They state that:

mass

reproduced availability

has in fact multiplied the aura of [the work of

art's]

cash-value

and

has

redistanced

it

to the remote region

of

the uniquely price~ess. ~ aygill and Coles

fail to recognize that Benjamin makes a distinction between false aura and

'Yrue

aura. False aura is the attribution of greatness to a work of art that does

not desewe it of its own merit. Sometimes woks can be charged up with the

artist's name- ike a brand name.

The

artist's name suffices in creating an aura.

A false aura is also created by concealing the handiwork of restoren under the

guise

of

the original artist. ûften, a restored work ispresented as authentic.

True

aura emerges from the knowledge of past restorations and also from the work

itself. The name of its creator is of secondary importance.

5

Walter Benjamin,

The Own of

the

Geman Tragic Drarna.

trans. John Cummings

(London: New

Left

Books

1977), p.29.

Fellow colleague of the Frankfurt School.

Theodor

W.

Adomo, summarizes Benjamin's writing style:

His

statements appealed not

to revelation but to

a

type

of

experience that

was

distinguished from ordinary experience

in

failing

to

respect the restrictions and prohibitions to which ready-made consciousness

norrnally submits.... Benjamin does not

derive

the relationship to the Absolute from

concepts but instead s8eks it in bodily contact with the materials. T. W. Adomo,

Notes

to Literature, vo1.2, trans. Shieny Weber Nicholsen

(New York

Columbia University

Press, 1991), p.221.

CaygiII, et.

al.

p.140.



Dealing with translations is also problematic. I have relied on Benjamin's

original Geman text, and

have

retransfated the moût pertinent passages in

order to clarify discrepancies. Das Kunstwerk im Zeitaker seiner technischen

ReproduUerbarkel, will

be

the primary source from which will define

Benjamin's

ide s

on aura. y discussion of Benjamin's concept of aura in

Chapter One will function as

a

point of departure for later discussions in Chapters

Two (Thai case study) and

Three

(Italian case study).

Much has been wntten on Mantegna and his Camera egli Sposi.

My

primary source on the restoration of the Camera will be the 1993 Electa book,

edited

by

Michele Cordaro,

which

documents the recent restoration

and

also

outlines the history of restoration.

Unlike the

Camera

restoration, there is no authoritative work on Wat

Suthat. Perhaps the closest to such

a

text is Wat Suthat Ein Beitrag zur

Kultufiilfe,published in 1985.* It documents the restoration but does not provide

any historical

or

related insights necessary to satisfactorily evaluate Benjamin's

ideas. Along with pamphlets gathered at the temple. will rely

on

information

obtained from field work one in Bangkok and at

Wat

Suthat Chapter Two

includes cornmentaries and sumrnaries from interviews conducted with several

individuals whose knowledge of the murals exceeds mine.

My

intewiew with the

deputy abbot of Wat Suthat regarding the murals provides an insider's view on

the

perception of the murals and their restoration. This forms the basis

from

which to evaluate Benjamin's ideas on aura.

icheleCordaro,

ed. Mantegna s

Camera degli posi Milan:

Electa.

1993 .

Wat Suthat-

Ein

Beispiel

deutscher

Kulhrmlfe Bangkok: Thai Visuel Co Ltd. 1985).



CHAPTER

ONE

Walter Beniaminand the conceDt of aura as outiined in his essw The Work of

Art in the Aae of Mechanical Re~roduction

In

1936.

three years before the outbreak of World War II the

Gemian

literarycritic Walter

Benjamin (1892-1940)

published the essay The Work of

Art

in

the

Age

of Mechanical ~eproduction. This

essay

discusses historical, social,

and aesthetic processes that are intertwinedwith the mechanical reproduction of

artworks.

In the essay, Benjamin argues that fine art initially found

its

expression in

the seMce of cult rituals

irst

in

magic

then in religious practices.

Before

the

photograph, art maintained its authonty

and

authenticity. Each work of fine art

existed as the original and authoritative woik in one specific place. The ritual of

viewing this particular

wor

added to its

aura.

The Aual

of

experiencing the

ait

object

continued until the photograph.1°

Reproductions, like photos, dissolve the aura of the original. An original.

however, can only exist with the presence of reproductions. To Benjamin. an

original work is defined

by

the natural

history

it has endured, its presence in time

and

space,

its unique existence at the place where

it happens to be. Should

9

The essay 'The Work of Art in the

Age

of Mechanical Reproductionn

was

originally

published in French in the Frankfurt lnstituteJournal (by then operating in exile in the

United

States),Zeitschrift

ürSozhiforschung, vo1.5,

1

(New York:

1

936).

The

English

version is taken from Hannah Arendt

ed.),

Walter Benjamin, Illuminations(London:

1973),

pp.219-253.

This version

is

slightly modified.

The

original Gerrnan version

used

in the footnotes

is taken

from Walter Benjamin. Das Kunstwerk imZeitalter seiner

technischen

Reproduaérbarkeit

(Frankfurt/Main: Edition Suhrkarnp, 1977), pp.7-44.

O Benjamin,

Kunsiwerk im

Zeitdter

p

16

Ibid., p 11

:

Noch

bei der hbhstvollendeten Reproduktion

fMt

eines aus: das Hier

undJem des Kunstwarks sein einmaliges Daseinan dem Orte,

an

dem es sich

befindet.



natural damages occur, the work is still an original, albeit in impeifect condition.

In contrast, reproductions diffuse the aura of the original through their availability.

According to Benjamin: that which withers in the age of mechanical

reproducibility is the aura of the work of artnt2

Although he focuses on

photography and film, his discussion ismeant to apply to two general types of art

reproduction: manual nd mechanical. Manual reproduction goes back to

ncient

ümes

Another

could reproduce

whatever

one

human

made.

s

Benjamin explains: replicas were made by pupils in practice of their craft, by

rnasters for diffusing their works, and, finally, by third parties in

the

pursuit of

gain. 13 Mechanical reproduction also has its roots in the ancient world,

specifically Ancient Greece with the mass production of coins and bronzes.

Later, in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, artwoiks were reproduced in

the

form of woodcuts, engravings, and etchings.I4 In the lgmcentury, mechanical

reproduction recurred with the invention of photography (ca.

1860s).

While mechanical reproduction involves technology or machines,

manual

reproduction requires handiwork. Therefore, in the figurative sense, the

restoration of paintings is

a

f om of rnanual reproduction. In restoration,

however, the reproduction of the original does not take

place

on a separate

ground but on top of the original.

In the

following passage, Benjamin deems

manual reproduction

a

forgery : The original usually branded manual

reproduction

as

a forgery. hile the original maintains its full authority, the

l lbid., p.13: %as im

Zeitalter der technischen Repmduzierbarkeit

des Kunstwerks

verkümmert,

das

ist

seine

Aura.

l bid., p.10: Solche Nachbildungwurde auch ausgeübt von Schülem zurÜbung in

der

Kunst.

von

Meistern

zur

Verbreitungder Werke, endlich von gewinnlüstemen

Dritten.



mechanical reproductiondoes n~ t . ' ~ ut, in

would be an original and a forgery in one.

seem

to

be an oxyrnoron.

Mechanical reproduction

iffers

from

Benjarninian ternis, a restored work

In short, a restored original would

manual reproduction because it is

done mechanically as in photography, or film. Benjamin highlights the difference

etween mechanical reproduction and manual reproduction in the following

way.

Whereas the prerniere of Goethe's Faust in Weimar

is

the original, a

performance in, for instance, a provincial theater is a manual reproduction, and

the film Faust is the mechanical reproduction.

Further

whereas the film has lost

al1 tradition, the manual reproduction still cames some traditional substance?

The premiere has the original's aura. Tradition supplants the kaleidoscope

of aura now diffused through repetition.

s

Benjamin explains: The uniqueness

of the work of art

is

identical with its beingembedded in the context of tradition.

A

Shakespearean play, for instance, cardes some aura. The same however.

can not be said of a mechanical reproduction. Mechanical reproduction tums

three-dimensional objects into two dimensions as in the photograph and the film.

It displaces choirs from the context of the church and places

them

in a

~ivingroom.'~ 0th manual and mechanical reproduction engender an alteration,

l

Ibid

''

Ibid., p.12: Wahrenddas Echte aber der manueflen Reproduktion gegenüber als

Fiilschung abgestempelt wurde, seine volfe Autoritat bewahrt, ist das der technischen

Reproduktion gegenübernicht der Fall.

l6

Ibid., p.13.

17

lbid., p.16: Die Einzigartigkeit

des

Kunstwerks ist identisch mit seinem

Eingebettetsein nden

usammenhang

der Tradition.

* Ibid. p.13.



a decline of authority and authenticity, finally resulting in the diffusion of the

original's aura. In Benjamin's concise phrase: authenticity

is

not reproducib~e. '~

To

understand Benjamin's meaning of aura, it is necessary to

explore

his

use of the ternis authenticity and authority that define aura?' Authenticity is the

original artwork's most sensitive nuc~eus. ~'

t

is the original artwork s

genuineness and uniqueness. Benjamin further describes authenticity

as te

essence of

al1

that

is

transmissible from

its

origin. ranging rom its material

duration to its testimony to the history which it has e~ ~e r ie nce d. ~~ven cracks in

a painting tell something of

its

history. Were someone to paint over or repair

an

original, the work would not

be

genuine;

it

would

no longer

be

authentic. Hence,

in relation to the wall paintings, Benjamin's ideas seem to

imply

that restoration.

i.e. cleaning, in-painting, displacement from its initial context, etc., alters

the

original

and its aura for it is

an intrusion onto the

very

sphere of the

artwork s

uniqueness.

Authority is another

term

often used

by

Benjamin to explain aura. Authority

is the respect given to a

work

or artist. This respect for the artist can influence the

reception of

a

work positively and negatively. glance at an

artwork s

label in

a

museum

might make the beholder stand in awe in front of a masterpiece

by

l

bid.,

p.12:

Gerade weil die Echtheit nicht reproduzierbar ist.

...

20

Marleen Stoessel in her book

Aura

-

das

v rg ss n Menschliche(München: Carl

Hanser Verlag, 1983. p.12). points out further definitions

of

aura. She notes that the

Greek

cal1aura air, the Romans breath, mile in medicine aura

is

regarded as the

harbingerof

an

epileptic ffi The anthroposophist Rudotf Steiner

(1861

1925) describes

it

as a

gleam of light surrounding the human

body.

Conternporary PSI-researchers

sometimes even successfully ban this phenornenon on celluloid.

21

Benjamin, Kunstweik im Zeitalter, p.13: eh empfindlichster

Kem

berührt, den so

verletzbar kein natiirlicher hat.

Das ist

seine Echtheit.

lbid

Die

Echtheit einer

ache

st der Inbegriff alles von Ursprung

an i r

Tradierbaren.

von ihrer materiellen

Dauer

bis

u

hrer geschichtlichen Zeugenschaft.



Picasso, Renoir, or Matisse even if the painting itself is uninspired. Sometimes.

the

actual impact of the painting

can

be distorted

by

the artist's name.

If one overiooks the

essence of

a work focusing instead on the name of a

famous

artist,

there is

the

possibility of misconstniing mediocre

art

for great art.

As Benjamin explains: 'ln the viewer's imagination, the onginality of the work of

art's

appearance is increasingly forced out by the empirical originality of the artist

or his

or

her

artistic

a~hievernent. ~ ven th word masterpiece refers

back

to

the artist, not to the arhvork and

its

effect on the beholder. Sometimes, authority

can be falsely attributed to artists through the canon and art museurns and

galleries whose survival depend on reworked pieces of great masters

by

anonymous but highly skilled restorers.

This

attribution creates

a

'Valsenaura.

In a

1930 essay

entitled Über

Haschischn

(About Hashish),

Benjamin

contrasts

conventionaland banal theosophical ideas with the concept of true

aura.

Truen

aura diffen from similatedH or false aura in three ways. First

t e aura occurs in al1

objects

Second,

?ruen

aura changes with

every

[temporal or spatial] movement of the object. Third, ?rue aura impacts on the

individual in a unique way.

It

diffen from the spruced up spiritual magic

of

light

often described and represented in vulgar and mystical books.24 Benjamin

Ibid. p.17:

'lmmer mehr wird die Einmaligkeit der

irn

Kultbilde waltenden Erscheinung

von der empirischen Einmaligkeit des Bildnersoder seiner bildenden Leistung in der

Vorstellung des Aufnehmenden verdrangt.

24

An

extract

of

Benjamin's essay

Über

Haschischn s published in

Stoessel. p.12:

Und ich stellte

-

wenn auch gewiss nicht schernatisch

-

n dreierfei Hinsicht die echte

Aura

in Gegensatz

zu

den konventionellen banalen Vorstellungen

der

Theosophen.

Erstens encheint die echte Aura an allen Dingen. Nicht nur an bestimmten, wie die

Leute sich einbilden. Zweitens

andert sich

die Aura durchaus und von Grund

auf

mit

jeder Bewegung, die das

Ding

macht, dessen Aura sie ist. Drittens kann die echte Aura

uf

keineWeise als der

geleckte

spiritualistische Strahlenzauber gedacht werden,

als

den die vulgaren und mystischenBücher sie abbilden und beschreiben.



alludes here to

popular

fom s o f Western and Eastem mysticism such

as

horoscopes, faithhealen,

and

mystical societies, such as Madame Blavatsky's

Theosophists, as well as the Freemasons that

had

gained notoriety dunng the

1920s and 1930s ~

'Tnie aura distinguishes itseif as

an

ornament,' to use Benjamin's words,

an omamental encirclement

in

which the object or being

Iies

fimly sunk

as

within a case.'26 To further highlightthe concept of aura, Benjaminwrites:

We

define the aura of [natural objects] as the unique phenomenon of a

distance, however close it

may

be If, while resting on a summer

aftemoon,

you

follow with your eyes

a

mountain range on the horizon or a

branch, which casts its shadow over the resting penon, you breathe the

aura

of

those

mountains, of

that

branch?

25 The Theosophist de Purucker. for instance, descnbes aura

s

an 'invisible essence or

fluid that ernanates from and surrounds not only beings and beasts but also plants and

minerals

...

Sensitives have frequently described

it

in more or less vague terms as a light

fIowing from the eyes or the heart..

.

Excerpt from

G.

de Purucker,

ccultGlossary

http~/~~~.theosociety.orglpasadena/~~~los/ag a.htm.

26

Benjamin as cited in Stoessel. p.12: Wielmehr ist das Auszeichnende der echten

Aura:

das

Ornament

eine ornamentale Umzirkung in der

das

Ding oder

Wesen

fest

wie

in einem Futteral eingesenkt liegt.

The idea of objectç' cases refers back to Charles Baudelaire who 'hurnanized'

products

by giving them a house in fo m of

a

case. See Benjamin's theory of the enchantment of

products cited in Reiner Dieckhoff,M'ho und oderne

Über

die

verborgene

ystk

n

den

Schriften

Walter

Benjamins,

(K6ln: Janus Presse), p. 118.

z

Benjamin, Kunstwerk im Zeitalter, p.15. Es empfiehlt sich, den oben

für

geschichtliche Gegenstande vorgeschlagenenBegriff der Aura

an dem

Begriff einer

Aura von natürlichen Gegenstanden tu llustrieren. Oiese letztere definieren wir ls

einmalige Erscheinung einer Feme, so nah sie sein mag. An einem Sommernachmittag

ruhend einem Gebirgszug am

Horizont

oder einem Zweig folgen,

der

seinen Schatten

uf den Ruhendenwirft das hei tdie Aura dieser Berge, dieses Zweiges atmen.

The dialectics of closenessand distance occur earlier

in

Benjamin's writing. In

EinbahnstraBe,' for example, he

writ s

about a glance,

so

incomparably and

so

unregainably that distance resonates in its strictest bondwith closeness. Cited in

Dieckhoff, p.107. Dieckhoff ties this ethereal idea to the influence of Ludwig Klages

Vom

kosmogonischen Erosw1

922).

PP. 105-1

09.

Benjamin, Kunstwerk

im

Zeitalter, pp.18/19.



True aura versus false aura,

and

manual reproduction versus mechanical

reproduction become important polemics when we examine the Thai and ltalian

restorations. As w ll show, the Thai practice of restoration is part of a traditional

ritual associated with Buddhism. Issues of authenticity and authority seem less

applicable; the paintings and their creaton take a secondary role

to

the

messages they present.

The

Italian restoration, although ritualistic in a

very

different sense

is based

on

th

rep iring nd

preservation

of

Mantegna s

work

for aesthetic and economic reasons. Audiences consider Mantegna, rightfully o r

wrongfully, as the authority. The work is presented as authentic. Restoration in

this case superficially conserves traditional works for those who overiook or

are

led to believe in the authenticity and authority of the work.

Now that Benjamin s use

of

the terni aura has been highlighted, will

take

a

closer look at

the

two restoration projects. First, will examine Buddhist mur ls

at

Wat

Suthat

then Mantegna s murals in the Camera

degli

Sposi ln each

case,

w ll

use the restoration project to evaluate Benjamin s claims conceming aura.



CHAPTER

TWO

The murals in the

vihan

of Wat Suthat. Banakok. Thailand and their restorations

This chapter htroduces restoration practices in Thailand and focuses on

the restoration of the vihan s

w ll

paintings at Wat Suthat To understand the

Thai restorers' transformation of the murals in

Wat

Suthat as it relates to

Benjamin's ideas on authority and authenticity, it is necessary to outline

the

historical changes that ffected the murals.

A national style of Thai Buddhist mural painting can be detected in the first

Thai kingdom of Sukhothai (13 k 1

m

centuty). The

Ayutthaya

period

(1

4m-18m

century) and the Rattanakosin or Bangkok period

(lgm

century

to

present)

fo~lowed?~fter 1925, however, there was vely little interest in creating

traditional rnura~s.~'Arphorn Na Songkhla States that traditional Thai painting

was an

idealistic art fom much [sic] derived from other styles of oriental

painting.& Traditional Thai painting emerged from the influences of the arts of

lndia, China, Buma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Persia.

From about 1870 to

1925, Thai mural painting was influenced

by

Westem painting styles.

This was

largely the result of King Rama

IV

(1851-1868) who took

a

great interest in

Westem art. The temples he commissioned employed certain Western elements

such as perspective, inclusion of Western buildings, and pigments enhanced by

28 See a list of

art periods

in Thaiknd in

the

appendix. p.58.

*'sonia

Krug

The Developmentof Thai Mural Painting, in The Altistic

Heritage

of

Thailand (Bangkok: Craftsman

Press

1979), p.

184.

1925 marked

the

date of a

n w Thai

niler.

Rama

VI1 ascended the thrown. See a k t of

the dates

of

th

Chakri dynasty

in

the appendix, p.57.

Arphom Na

Songkhla.

n i e

Standardof Conservation of Mural Paintingand Sculpture

in Thailand, in finalReport SPAFA-ICCROMSeminar on Conservation

Standards in

Southeast Asia, Bangkok, Thailand. December 1

1

6 1989. pp.77-79.



synthetic materials. Many of the paintings frorn th Bangkok and earlier periods

have

since vanished, Most of those that survive can be found on the walls of

ordination halls, pagodas, palaces, and temples.

In the temples, wall paintings maintain their strong religious

and

educational function.

Sombat

Plainoi outlines six categories of murals' subject

matter one can find in Thailand.

''

Murals depict:

The Lord

Buddha s

or

the

lives of his 24 predecessors;

The Jataka stories of the past lives of the Lord Buddha comprising

547 texts;

customs and ceremonies;

histoncal records;

stories, proverbs, and old sayings;

literary

works,

such

as

the ~amayana?~

K. 1 Matics points out that although not al1 the visual aids were Buddhist

in

nature, each story assisted

the

monks in explaining

the

Buddhist doctrine to the

The subjects portrayed tend to be easily identifiable due to

the simple

yet

omaten style in which the paintings are executed. Matics assumes that

this

simplen style also enabled the layperson to recognize farniliar themes

when a

monk

was

not present? Perhaps as a retention of lndian art, one can find two

dimensionafity, the use of perspective without a single fixed vanishing point,

''

Sombat Plainloi,

ural

Paintings Bangkok: Office of the National Culture

Commission,

1985), pp.1-9.

The Ramayana is an epic of lndian

origin

written

by

Valmiki over

2000

years

ago. In

Thailand

the

Ramayana

is

called

Ramakien.

The

most

complet8 Thai

version is

the one

of

King

Rama

1

1782-1

809) and is at the very cote of

Thai

culture. See one

of

the many

written

venio ns of

the Ramayana, such

as

J. C. Shaw. The Ramayana

Through

Western yes

Bangkok:

raftsman Press Ltd.,

1988).

or others.

K.

1 Matics. Introductionto th ThaiMua1

Bangkok: White Lotus,

1992).

p.2.

34 Ibid



linear outlines, and

an

overall flatness in

the

Thai style [fig. Il3

The

images

depicted also have

a

Ylar quality which anses from the omission

of

light and

shadow as well as from

a

brownish linewoik that shapes the outlines of figures.

The Buddhas' and deities' garments and their horses and carts are skillfully

and

deftly decorated

with

gold and rich colorful omamentation. [fig.

2

The figures

also include several mudras (gestures) which have different meanings such as

rneditating

and

t e a ~ h i n g . ~fig. 3

These images add to the overall sanctity and place of womhip at the

temple. Within the confines of today's chaotic and polluted cities

such

as

Bangkok or Chiang Mai, temples are places of meditation and sanctity.

Bangkok is the city inwhich Wat Suthat is located. Commissioned by King

Rama

(1

782-1809) in 1807, the groundbreaking for Wa t Suthat began at a site

called Sao Ching Cha in the center of the river slope Bangkok is built on. [fig. 41

As the temple's centerpiece, King Rama had a 6.25

x 8

m bronze Buddha

image

Phra

Sisakayamuni brought down from Sukothai, the former capital of

Thailand. It was the main Buddha of the old capital?

The

vihan

or

main

sanctuary of Wat Suthat was built around the gigantic Buddha. [fig.

51

This

image remains the most signlicant figure in the temple.

See, for example,

J.C.

Harle. The

Art

and Architecure

of

the lndian Subcontinent

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994 , chapter

25.

atics, 95.

37

Sukothai -as mentioned earlier was the first independent

Thai

kingdom. founded

at

the expense of the Angkorian power that hadoccupied the country since approximately

the beginning of the tweifth century. Towards the late

13*

century, Sukothai became

independent and fonned a center of Buddhist culture and ah In 1438. the kingdom w s

incorporatecl into the kingdorn of Ayutthaya. ee Jean Boisselier, ThaiPainting, trans.

Janet Seligman (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1976). p.244.



The monastery covers an area of 44,980 square meten.

[fig.

61 The

temple grounds are

divided

into

two

main zones: the buddhavas (seats of

Buddha images such as the vihan and the ubosot, nd the monks' quarters?'

The vihan is a large structure of five sections, having an overall length of

126.25

m

and

a

width of 25.84

m.

[fig.

]

There are

two

levels of pediments and three

doors each for both front and back entrantes for the main vihan with five

windows on each si e

of

the building. Sunounding the main chape1 are 32 outer

and

8

inner columns supporting the chapel's roof.

The

inner columns are large

and four-comered in forrn. Each face and wall are adomed with murals. [fig. 81

The

second

part

of the temple grounds, the monks' quarters, consist of

the

kuti

(monks' dwelling places. beds, and seats), sermon hall, bel1 tower, monk's

school, and libraries.

The vihan's murals were initially painted during the reign of King

Rama

(1824-1851).

An

exact

date is not known and the murals' origin

is

not

documented. The subject matter consists of the lives of 24 Buddhas, also called

the ~uddhavarnsa The Buddhavamsa contains the names and the legends of

38

lt is older and larger than any other bronze cast Buddha image in Thailand. According

to the Dynastic Chronicles, the Buddha was created in 1361. Benton Pandito, Wat

Suthat-

Thepwaramm The Palace of Indra

(Bangkok: Liang Chiang Press,

1997 ,

p. 1

8.

39

The

ubosot is the sanctified area for fomal cts of the order of monks. t functions as

the ordinationhall and isconsidered the most hallowed place in any wai (temple).

4

The Buddhavamsamentions only24 predecessors, other texts

give

larger numbers.

See

Boisselier,

p.

1

98.

The vihan s walls

in

Wat Suthat depict

27

Buddhas. This number is unique. Wat Suthat

is the only temple in Bangkok that has this text in murals. Kongdej Praphathong even

cl irns that it is the only depiction of this kind in any Thai temple. Wandmafereien im

Wat Suthat, in Wat Suthet €in erSpel deulscherKu turhi fe Bangkok: Thai Visuel Co.

Ltd,

1985 ,

p.86.



the Buddhas who preceded Buddha au ta ma.^ Their life-stories strongly

resemble

each

other, since

al1

attained Enlightenment through meditation, and

later taught. Slate inscriptions installed beneath the scenes help to identify the

~ u d d h a s . ~ ~fig. 91 These slates also include short descriptions of the paintings.

Early to mid-1

9m

century Thai script is

used?

Higher on the walls of the

vihan

are the various vimam or celestial

mansions. n these rnurals contempor iy chamcten of the nineteenth century

including Chinese or Malaysian marchants are depicted. The columns are

adomed with scenes from TS humor Traibhumikatha (lhree Worlds - Heaven,

Earth, and Hells). an ancient Buddhist cosmology.

The

doors and window panels

are painted with protector deities.

[fig.

101

Above

these doors, framed murals

can be

found which were popular from the early to the mid-lgmcentury. [fig. 111

Generally, monks used al1

the vihan s

murals to outline history for

the

illiterate

nd to

teach

Theravada Buddhism. the Thai fonn of ~uddhisrn.

41 SiddharthaGautama

ca.

563-483 BC), a native of southem Nepal, was the last of a

long lineage of Buddhas. Followinga pend of asceticism, penance, and meditation in

the Indian ungle, Gautama claimed he had found peace in the tnith of Me's unreality

and

in the necessity of causing the cessationof the desire to Iive. Gautama

sserted

that he

became

the Buddha, the Fully Enlightened One. For

45

years he taught and preached

as he traveled nd developed

n

order of monks among his followers. See May

Kyi

Win

and Harold E. Smith, HistonCal Dictionary

of

mailand (Lmham Scarecrow Press,

f 9 ),

p.18.

42

Praphathong, pp.84-85.

Kongkaew Veeraprachak. 'Die Steininschriften. in Wat Suthet

p.108.

Theravada - the oldest schoolof

Buddhism.

which exists today - is a devotional. gentle

form

of

Buddhismwit emphasis on generosity. Its teachings are based upon tolerance,

mindfulness, morality, and insight, which lead to ~isdorn.ompassion, and libration

from suffering. See Diana and RichardSt. Ruth. Simple Guide to Theravada Buddhism

(Folkstone, UK: Global Books, 1998),p.9.



For the Thais, such murals were pnmarily a medium to gain knowledge

about the life and the teachings of Buddha, a visual support to enhance the

knowledge of the texts. Wenk writes about how in the past:

[Murals] were

a

substitut8 for the illiterate believer's study of the canonical

scripts. In this respect, murals looked upon as an artwork were left out of

consideration and a mural was not held in a higher regard than palm leaf

rnanuscripts. oth were seen as Buddhist equipment, and replaceable.

Today, such wall murals in

a

temple context still function as a means to explain

and reinforce Buddhist beliefs. Through illustrations, not only do Thais

leam

of

Buddha, but also of their ancestors' sacred and secular history. As Jean

Boisselier explains:

If we bear in mind, too, that religious inspiration is always paramount and

that works designed to be educative

and

formative

must

be easily

intelligible to anyone with an elementary knowledge of Buddhisrn and of

the worfd as seen through Thaï eyes hen we have in a nutshell the main

features we need to define the originality

of

Thai painting?

Although the murals are old, they continue to function

as

a means to inspire,

guide, and instruct devotees by portraying scenes derived f rom religious history

and well-known texts.

Thus, rather than being the central focus of the temple, they are but part of

the setting. Rather than being revered as aitworks in themselves, the messages

they convey are more important than the aesthetics.

Unlike the Camera

degli

Sposi

where the focus is on Mantegna's 'masterpiece, the wall paintings in the

vihan are but part of the educational apparatus.

The

focus on the illustrations and

the meaning in relation to the paintings

imbue

these objects with aura. The

* KlausWenk Wandmalerei inThailand,

in Wat

Suthat p 58 Translation

by

the

author.

6 Boisselier,

p 71



individuals who pahted these works -

n

Benjamin's text, the authorities are

of

little importance. As Matics confins: 'ln general. the rnuralist was an anonymous

monk or a dedicated layman with religious sentimentsd7

Thus, significantly, the first pahters of the murals in the vihan are not

known. Later, anonymous artists simply painted over the murals,

or they were

left to deteriorate. Throughout time, some of the paintings

in

Wat Suthat

were

lost due to factors

such

as

th

r iny

season

(June through

Septernber) which

brings an enonnous amount of rain to the ground, dampness, and floods. In

addition, humidity (which is high year round in Thailand), pollution, dust, srnoke

from incense bumen, soot, greasy accretions, insect nests, human vandalism.

and bats have destroyed parts of the paintings. Throughout the various periods,

rnonks decided which paintings to conserve. Artists from various generations

restoredn

he paintings.

At

at

Suthat, the murals of the

vihan

and the ubosot

were

first restored

in the Fouith Reign

(1

851 1868). Most parts were painted over. In the Fifth Reign

(1868-1910)

an extensive architectural restoration

was

needed to fix

several

47

Matics,

p.3.

Wannipa

Na

Songkhla, Conservation of Mural Paintings,

in Wall Paintings

of

lndia

-

A

Histon al Perspective,

O.P.Agrawal, ed. (no place and date).

bid.

p.120.

At Wat Suthat, batswere responsible for most of the

damage

to the murals.

Hundredsof

sheath-tailed bats took up residence in the temple hall prior to restoration. Throughout

the day, these bats hung from the ceiling, by night they moved to the walls. The

act

of

hanging with their sharp claws damaged the paintings

nd

gouged the walls.

The

bats'

excreta also affected the paintings. As a result, the bats had to be removed without

killing

r

harming them. Naphtalene, an odorous substance better known

as

moth

powder, was sprayed in the early 1980 s at the affected

wall

area. The bats vanished

to

avoid the

srnell.

Cracks andwall openings were insulated to block the re-entrance of the

bats. [fig. 121

For

a

detaileddescription of bats and

their

removal in Wat Suthat see Heinz Felten

Ü

ber Fledennause, in Wat

Suthat,

pp.

68-1

76.



parts of the temple. The vihan s top omaments had deteriorated. Roof tiles,

pieces of timber, as well

as

the ornaments on the edging and rafter had to be

replaced. In the book, Wat

Suthat

Dhepwararam, No Na Paknam cites an old

report on the status of the restoration, which recounts:

the roof has been tiled, but plaster work for the

ridge

has not yet begun....

Plastering for the intenor and exterior wall was completed. However, at the

supporting post of th gallery, the rain has washed out the slaked lime and

the plastering work will have to be executed again?

Combined with this architectural restoration, the murals were also repaired

(which involved overpainting), resulting in a f o n of manual reproduction.

Because of Thailand's limited financial resources, support fram other

countnes was often the means through which conservation

was

made possible.

t Wat Suthat, in light of Bangkok's 200-year celebration of the Chakri dynasty in

1

982,

the Geman govemment partially sponsored a restoration project for the

murals in the vihan. This restoration took place in the yean 1983-85.

The relatively good exterior condition of the temple hall made such

a

difficult and large-scale

project

possible. During the course of the restoration,

existing paintings were cleaned, damages were repaired, and the deteriorated

parts were renewed. Initially, the flaking and loose paint layers had to be mended

before cleaning. Small pieces of hand-made paper

were

fixed ont0 the

surface

with water and pressed with

a

brush or cotton wool. The papered sections

were

NO

Na

Paknam, 'Mural Paintings in the

Ubosot

of Wat

Suthat

Dhepwararam, in

Wat

Suthat

Dhepwararam(Bangkok:

Muang Boran Publishing

House, 1996),

pp.181-183.

There

is

inconsistency among scholars conceming the documentation of this restoration.

Winfried

Schlote, for

instance.

daims that this firstbig restoration projed executed

during the reign of ama V

(1868-1

910)was not documented at all. See

Kulturhilfeprajekt

Wat

Suthat,

in Wat Suolat p 24



then sponged with sponges soaked in solvents, usually aicohol or ammonia. in

order to clean the murals through the paper. After the removal of the paper, a

cotton swab was used to clean off the remaining

diit.

For the application of

mortar on the

lost

parts,

a

mixture of slaked lime, glue, and sugarcane juice

was

used.Third,

the

lacunae were cleaned and filled

with

rnortar and a new ground

layer (e.g. lime or white clay mixed

with

glue

of tamarind seed w s applied.

Then,

reintegration

or in-painting was

made

only in

the

lacunae. The last step

involved the application of a protective coating to stop further deterioration and to

seal the restored area. thin transparent film was applied to the surface of the

painting.

Effort

was taken to chose

a

vamish which would not tum brownish or

yellowish with time or alter the underlying pigments.

It

was also important that the

process

be

revenible and, therefore, a removable vamish

was

chosen

.

[figs.

Junior restorers, students of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design

Colleges in Bangkok, carried out the restoration. The Thai project leader,

Wannipa Na Songkhla, assigned

70-150

students to their task.

Conservaton and students could have used the unobtrusive trateggio

method that would have allowed the reconstruction of the murals' lost partsu

Before restoration. however, the abbot and the monks of

Wat

Suthat requested

1

Recent Thai kings have

hadstrong

ties ta Germany. King Rama

Vl l l

was,

in fact, born

in Heidelberg.

*

W. Na Songhkla, Conservation

of

Mural Paintings,

p.122.

Using

the

trateggio

method, the loss of original color

is

filled with thin parallel

lines

of

a pure

hue.

Under the estof circumstances, the lines resolve at a distance into a

neutral color or

a

color

that

blends inwith

the

original. See Cathleen Hoeniger, Wall

Painting, I. Survey of Techniques, II Conservation, in The

Dictionary of

rf (London:

MacMillan, 1W6 , vol. 32, pp.802 810.



that the lost paintings be replaced.

Without

any previous photographic

documentation, restorers reconstructed the losses following similar depictions in

other parts of the decorative program that were still complete. [figs. 1581

61

The abbot's decision for full reconstruction was based on Buddhist principles.

They include the belief that everything is impermanent and replaceable. Although

in

a

Western context a decision like the abbot's may have proved highly

controvetsial, in this instance the abbot's judgment was

totally

acceptable.

Furthemore, the decision to renovate the paintings reveals much about how

these images are perceived.

Indeed, presetvation of the briginal handiwork of the artist

is

of little

concem in Thai devotional contexts. Among the legacy of artists and restorers

the paintings are meaningful because of religious beliefs. The

paintings

crystallize their devotion to

Buddhism.

The distinction between artist and restorer

becomes bluned. In this case, the painting and its educational value. not the

creator, is of paramount importance.

It is important to realize that unlike

European artists, the original Thai painters did not seek explicit recognition for

their work. In the past, the Thai painter was called changkhien

(a

craftsman who

paint~).'~

he

act of painting was an act of devotion and most painters dedicated

their work to the service of ~uddhism. As Boisselier writes

the

Thai painter

54

W. Na Songkhla, Konservieren, Restaurieren, Dokumentieren, in

Wat

Suthat p.154.

Na Songhkla notes that many

Thai

people prefer to have their damaged paintings

repainted. Although there

is

no need for consewators to

do

so

many owners will find

painters to do the repainting

in

a non-professional rnanner. Therefore, to prevent the

original frorn being destroyedor overpainted, most consewators do in-painting.

Conservation of Mural Paintings, p.

122.

55 Wenk, p.60.

6

Kmg

pp.171-184.



was

never concemed to assert his personality by resoiting to an original

technique or even establishing a personal style. 5T The original handiwork

and

the restorations of the murals at Wat

Suthat

took place collectively and over time.

Today, Buddhist principles continue to play a major role in the life of Thais.

Along with the monarchy and state. Buddhism foms one of the three official

pillarsn of the nation. The major characteristic of Theravada Buddhism is its large

body of rnon s (Sangha). AI Thai males generally assume the role

of

a monk for

at least

14

days. Thus, because of fervent religious belief and education, one

can assume that most.

if

not all, of the painters of the academy would have been

familiar with the Buddhist stories depicted in the murals.

s

Boisselier contends:

where a Western observer would see only the fruits of a strange imaginationand

fantasies inspired by

a

somewhat academic sunealism, every Thai, and more

generally speaking, every Buddhist, would be able to identify scenes

and

characters at a g~ance. ~'

Judging from the communal, devotional, and anonymous

way

in

which

such

murals were painted, we can

see

that Benjamin's concept

of

authority

is

somewhat inapplicable in this context. Whereas at the Camera

egli

Sposi,

authority

is

attributed to Mantegna, at

Wat Suthat,

authority is attributed to no

one.

The anonyrnous approach to the authonhip of mural paintings in Thai

temples such as Wat

Suthat,

together with the context of Buddhist beliefs, may

also help

to

explain the evidentîy relaxed approach

to

preseivation.

The

Boisselier p.71.

KyiWin

nd

Smith

p.19.



restorations that are performed are often loosely controlled and often

preservation is neglected and murals left to deteriorate. Boisselier explains that:

in a Buddhist context every thing is 'imperrnanent' and subject to destruction for

the very reason that it

is

'made' or 'put together,' and. since detachment is a

virtue, there is really no reason to trouble about the preservation of works of

art. 60

What restoration work is done has the rational of keeping murals alive

for

their spintual and educaüonal purposes r ther than

for

aesthetic reasons,

even though the exotic paintings tend to be attractive to Westem viewers.

In an interview with the deputy abbot of Wat Suthat, Phra

Pipitthammasuntom (Chuo Khun Suntom), discussed Thai Buddhist restoration

practice and its difference from Westem practice? Chuo Khun Suntom

explained that although one loses the original through restoration, one

nevertheless has a responsibility to the originally painted images.

e

egards the

deteriorated paintings in Wat uthat as sick family mernbers. One must help

them to avoid death through repainting. In Chuo Khun Suntom's own words: The

wall painting is like a beloved person. You have to take care of them. We have to

restore the wall

painting and then we try everything to maintain the wall

painting. 62The abbot sees the conservator/painter who restores

as a

doctor who

has a duty to cure the murals.

The

abbot insists, however, in not overpainting a

lost face. The monk identifies the face as the one factor of the painting that

Boisselier, p.139.

Ibid

p.217.

The in te ~e w

as

conducted on June 30, 199 8 in WatSuthat Although

huo

Khun

Suntom spoke English, he requested the support of twa school teachers from a nearby

school who acted as translators. See the interview s unabridged version in the

appendix

p.59.



maintains the greatest authority. t is possible that the abbot desires to exhibit

elements of the murals' age and history through a lost face.

The cote of the interview with Chuo Khun Suntom reveals how he feels

about restoration. To hirn. and perhaps to other monks, restoration is

a

necessary part of the life of the mural. To Buddhist monks, the murals develop

an

aura through time and through

their devotional meaning. They re for

contempl tion nd becorne like parents or grandparents.

s

Chuo Khun Suntorn

explains:

1

love the paintings in my temple like grandmother and grandfather. In

Thai society, parents are nurtured and respected for their wisdom. As

Hema

Goonatilake states:

Looking after parents, particularîy during their old age continues to date

and is considered an important duty of children in the Buddhist tradition.

If

a

daughter or son fails

to

do so, it is considered

a shame.

Parents are

considered to be Brahmas and are said to be irst teached4

Therefore, the ritual of over-painting becomes an affirmation of

caring,

similar to the canng

of

children for their revered eldedy parents. The process

of

restoration is one of renewal, of taking on

a

new life. Restoration is an essential

means

to keep these paintings functional. and, thus, alive.

The Buddhist beholder, who contemplates the images of Buddha

Gautama and his predecessors is reminded of the Buddhas' stniggle for

enlightenment, including their

virtues,

teachings, and ideals. The spiritual

See

interview.

p 60

This

stands in contradiction to the abbot of Wat

uthafs

decision in

1983 to

fully

restore lost

pieces including

faces

It is

possible

that

a

flawless

result

was

preferred in

Iight

of

the restoration spublicity.



quallies of the images help to stimulate in the viewer a %am heait and a pure

mind? Additionally, the viewer perceives the power in the images. Thus, the

subject matter of the paintings infuses the viewer with an internalized, deflected

aura to religion and not to a Yetish over the mural or its painter. In other

words, the images s rv to rernind the viewer of their own religious and social

beliefs. Tharavada Buddhists believe that

the

image of Buddha holds power.

aivey explains th t those images used in devotion for centuries are believed tu

be charged upn with spiritual ~ o w e r . ~rom

a

Benjarninian perspective, the

beliefs of the Thais provide the work with its magical power. t is almost inelevant

whether the work

is

authoritative or authentic. Such elements are secondary. Of

primary importance are the signs that elicit appropriate social and religious

reactions among the Thais.

Although the restored murals in the

vih n

of

Wat

Suthat have not

maintained their initial authenticity and onginality, they have preserved their initial

purpose

as

a means to facilitate the Buddhist beholder to proceed one step

closer to

nimna.

Several painten produced these murals. They are painted for

th

people

by a

collective and historical egacy of aitists. Wntten in the very ethos

of these works is that they will always be repainted.

Thus, they are never

finished.

Each restorer is a Buddhist and their handiwork is as valid

as

the

previous.

64

Hema

Goonatilake,

Women

and Family

in

Buddhism,

in

Buddhist

Perception for

Desirable Societies

in the

Fuiure ed. Sulak Sivaraska (Bangkok: Thai nter-Religious

Community for Development. 1993 , p 227

65

Peter Harvey, An Introduction to

Buddhism-

Teachings

Histoty and Practices

New

York: Cambridge University Press. 1993 .

pp 179-1

80.

Ibid. 179.



Considering the crucial issue of spirituality taking precedence over

physicality, and communality over individualisrn, one cannot apply Benjamin's

principles to evaluate the works. t is not the woiks themselves that are the focus

but rather the meaning of the subjects and the viewers' knowledge of Buddhism

that fiIl the images with aura. Furthenore,

it

is almost certain, that a new aura

emerges from the restored work. Restoration in the Buddhist world keeps the

murals in a cycle of renewaî. Restorations

of

Buddhist murals help the faithful

beholder in prayer and meditation. Restoration becomes in one sense a form

of

reincarnation.

Thus, the process of manual reproduction is not considered

a

violation of

the original but rather a necessary ethos in the space within the temple. Painting

over a masterpiece never comes into question.

The

essence of a work is

renewed by the handiwork of devotees through

time.

New artistic input

s

a part

of the process of renewal.

Thus

aura cornes from the authority of a different source, a religion that is

highly personal.

rt

becomes a means through which the essence

of

Buddhisrn

is

relayed. Authority comes from the monk's teachings.

Paintings, despite their

respect, act as illustrations of the Buddhist Me, not as symbols of greatness or

artistic mastery in themselves. Authenticity comes from the legacy of the

religion, the setting within the temple and its décor, and the knowledge and

affirmation of personal beliefs that the murals provide.

But while Benjamin's ideas

s m

largely inapplicable in the case of the

murals in Wat

Suthat,

they seem more appropriate for the Camera degli

Sposi



CHAPTER

THREE

Andrea Manteana's murais in the

Camera dedi SDOS~.

antua. ltalv and their

restorat ons

This chapter will focus on the history of the restoration of Mantegna's

Camera

degli

Sposi

n

Mantua's Palazzo San ~ i o r g i o . ~ ~O provide context.

I

will

also briefly discuss the

Camera s

history and

its

subject matter.

As

in the case

of

the previous chapter on mural paintings in Thailand and their restoration, these

examinations

of

restoration history

and

approach will

serve

as

a

basis from which

to

evaluate the applicability of Benjamin's ideas on aura. Although Benjamin's

thcughts do not

seem

to work well with the restoration of anonymous sacred

wall

paintings in a Thai

Wat,

they

may

prove more convincing

in

the case of attributed

secular murals

in

an ltalian

Palauo.

Indeed, sociat context and purpose

markedly influence the aura and reception of this famous room.

Many

art

historians including Ronald Lightbown

and

Ettore Camesasca

regard the mural paintings

in

the

Camera

degli

posi

as Mantegna's

masterpiece?

Fritz

Knapp aven claims that

it

is

the most monumental

achievement of

quattrocento

fresco painting?' And yet, because of

the

long

restoration history of th murals - ncluding extensive repainting by

a

sequence

of restorers supposedly to preserven

the

frescoes

-

how

much

remains

of

Andrea Mantegna's onginals is subject to debate.

The

name of the famous painted chamber varies. According to Ronald Lightbown. the

room's

earliest name

was

CameraPicta or

Camera

Depinta. Only in the 17 century the

more

specific

name of Cam era degli Sposi due to one of its

functions

as

a

wedding

cham

ber, was established. Ronald Lightbown.

Mantegna

Oxford:

P

haidon Christie s.

1986 .

p.99.

* Ettore Camesasca, Mantegna, Firenze:

Harper

and

Row 1981)'

p.33; and Lightbown.

p.117.



The originals were executed in a combination of fresco and secco

techniques?' Mantegna

was

well versed in both. In previous woiks,

for example

the frescoes in the Ovetari

Chapel

in the church of the Erernitani in Padua 1448-

1457),

Mantegna already demonstrated the

use

of both techniques. Thus, he was

well prepared for the task in Mantua, where he was commissioned

by

Ludovico

Gonzaga

to

decorate the

Camera degli

Sposi. Mantegna painted al1 the

Camerab walls and the ceiling

a

fms o

ex ept

the

'court

scene on

th

north

wall, which w s executed entirely a

secco.

For the frescoed areas, finishing

touches were also added

on

the dry p~aster.~ ' sing these skillfully executed

painting techniques, Mantegna succeeded

in

creating

a

symbol of the Gonzagas'

sovereignity. To evaluate the elements in Mantegna's painting through

Benjamin's ideas, it is first necessary to provide a brief history of the characters

depicted in the paintings.

69

Fritz Knapp,

Andrea

Mantegna Des Meisters

Gemalde

und Kupferstiche

(Stuttgart:

Deutsche Veriags-Anstalt, n.d.), p.X.

O

The

technique of buon fresco requires wet plaster. First, the wall is brushed and

dampened; then, a layer of coarse plaster (arkcio) s spread on; next, the composition

is sketched in charcoalon the anfccio and then gone over in sinopia (red pigment) with a

brush; next, fresh, wet lime plaster (intonam) s applied in pieces of a size which the

artist

can

finish before night

(giomate);

inally, pigments are dissolved

in

water and

applied ont0 the wet intonaco.The paint penetrates the surface and solidifies while

drying. The result is a fine and transparent surface layer. Conversely, the a secco

technique requires dry plaster. First, the surface of a wall is covered with hard plaster;

then, the wall

is

rubbed and smwthed down until it loses almost al1 its porousness;

finally, colors are applied ont0

the

dry surface. Unlike buon

fresco,

the pigments do not

submerge into the plaster but adhere

to

it as a separate layer.

For a

more detailled description of the execution of fresw paintings. see Gianluigi

Colalucci, Fresco. in

The

Dictionary ofAH ed. Jane Turner, v.11, pp.761-764; and

Cathleen Hoeniger, Wall Painting, 1 Survey of Techniques. II Consenration,'

v.32,

.802-81

O.

Michele Cordaro,

The

Most Beautiful

Roam

in the

Worfd:

in

Mantegna sCamera

degli Sposi916.



From the eariy

1 4 ~

entury, the House of Gonzaga had mled successfully

in

Mantua? Besides establishing their political strength, Guido Gonzaga (niled

1360-69) had

started the

Gonzagas' promotion of scholamhip and art.

A s

a lover

of poetry and literature, he founded the extensive family

library

Furthemore, he

welcomed scholars including Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374). Advised

by

the

poet, Guido's

son

Ludovico (ruled

1370-82)

extended the libraiy. From then

on,

the

liter ry treasure chamber attracted m ny

scholars

nd

humanists. Because

Mantua had no university

at

that time, the court functioned as the cultural

enter. ̂

Marchese Ludovico

II

who niled from 1444-1478, followed in the legacy of

his predecessors. Perhaps kindled by his tutor, the famous humanist educator

Vittorino

da Feltre, the marchese's interests were diverse. Ludovico

Il's

success

as

both

politicianand

wamor

complernented his humanist achievementd4

David

Chambers descnbes

him as

a

model patron whose profound respect for

humanist values led him to collect books, employ scribes and scholars as well as

architects and artist~.'~~ndeed, Ludovico sponsored several artists

of

paramount importance. In the years

144748,

Pisanello was commissioned

to

decorate the main reception hall

of

the Castello di San Giorgio for ~udovico.'~

For a

detailled description of

the

Gonzaga family see Kate Simon.

Renaissance

Tapestry

-

The

Gonzaga

of

Mantua (New York:

Harper

Row,

1988).

73

David Chambers,

Jane Martineau, and

Rodolfo

Signorini, Mantegna and

the

Men of

Letters, in

Andrea Mantegna, ed.

Jane Martineau (London: Tharnes and Hudson,

1992 ,

~ 1 5 .

Ludovico's marriage to

Barbara

of Brandenburg established politically

beneficial links

to the

Geman Empire.

75

76

Chambers

et. al.

p 16

For

n extensive discussion of

Pisanello's

paintings

see

Joanna Woods-Marsden,

The

Gonzaga ofMantua and Pisanello

3

Rhudan Frescoes

((Princeton,

NJ:

Princeton

~niversity

ress,

1988).



After Pisanello'sdeath in 1455, the marchese sought a substitute as court painter

and decided upon Mantegna. LudovicoIIalso employed Leon Battista Alberti as

his architectural consultant and designer for his most important commissions.

A

close tie to a flourishing court guaranteed Mantegna's financial stability. From

May 1460, Mantegna was

a

permanent resident of Mantua working exclusively

for the Gonzaga court?

In the

second half

of the 15'

centuiy the Gonzaga s Castello

di San

Giorgio, onginally a fortified castle used for military purposes, was restructured

and

convertad into a city residence. [fig.

7 The

remodeling included

architectural alterations to

an

existing chamber, which

was

later to be painted

by

Mantegna.79 While the Camera, located on the first floor or piano nobile of the

north-east tower of the Castello, was kept

in

its cubic fonn (ca.

8.05 x 8.05

m), its

ceiling was raised (to

6.93

m) and itswindows relocated.

In 1459, the

Gonzagas

moved into their new palace.

The restructured and unpainted

Camera

was then used to store

govemment and farnily documents. In1462, it acted

as

the cerernonial place for

the wedding of Ludovico's eldest son Federico to Margherita of

avaria.

Later,

Jack M. Greenstein, MantegnaandPainting

as

Historical Narrative (Chicago and

London: University of Chicago Press,1992),p.60.

Giovanni Rodella, Noteson the Castello diSan Giorgio and the Architecture of the

Camera

Picta, in Mantegna'sCamera degli

Sps i , p.224.

79

The decoration

of

rooms

nd

spaces in public buildings or noble residences wasa

common enterprise in ftaly from the1 4 ~entury

on

Cordaro also mentionstwo other

exarnplesof courtlymur ls around that time: the

Camera picta

in the Ducal Palaceof

Urbino painted

by

occati

around

1458-60

and the Salone dei Mesi n the Palazzo

di

Schifanoia in Fenara, painted between

1469

and

1470.

Cordaro, Beautiful Room,

.23-24.

biodella, p.224.

81

Ludovico and Barbara of Brandenburg had10children: Federico(1

441

84),

Francesca 144-4-83},Gianf rancesco 1

446-96).

Susanna 1447-61), Dorotea (1449-67).



after being painted, the chamber functioned as Ludovico's bedroom, sitting room,

storage room. and audience-charnber simultaneously. Cordaro

assumes

that the

room

was

also equipped

with

a headboard, carpets, chairs, and a chandelier?'

Completely furnished, therefore, the decorated room assumed a

dual

role

as

both a pnvate and 'public space: a resting place as well as a ruling place.*

Mantegna cornmenced his mural decoration in the

Camera

in

1465 ~

t

is

almost certain that Ludovico

L nd

other

rnernbers

of the court

chose the

decorative scheme, leaving sorne room for Mantegna's artistic creativity and

freedom. Lightbown believes that Mantegna had to invent scenes according to

thernes suggested

by

Ludovico 1 1 Opinions on the iconographical programme,

as a whole, Vary. Claudia

ien

Via sees the unifying theme in the architectural

structure of the room.

In her view, the

Camera

resembles a Roman

atrium.

The

atrium

combines intimate, domestic functions o the house, with ceremonial and

social ones. Cieri Via claims that Mantegna applied this classical concept with

Alberti's help

-

o the

~arnera?

According to Camesasca, other unifying

themes

include

friendship between the Sfonas and

the

Gonzagas

as

well as

a

general

celebration

of

domestic

p e a c d 7

Similarly,

Lightbown claims that

the

Cecilia (1

451

-78 , Rodolfo 1452-QS , arbara 1455-1SOS , Ludovico 1460-1 51

1

and

Paofa 1463-97). See a Gonzaga family tree in the appendix, p.61.

Cordaro, 'Beautiful Roorn, pp.1û-19.

83 Ibid.,

p.19.

84

This date is substantiated by Ludovico

II's

request

for a

consignment of lime in flakes,

that should be fresh and good... asw wish to use it to paint our chamber in the castle

and Mantegna's completion of the CastelIo's chape1

in

the

same

year.

A

scratched date

in a windowcomer saying

465,

d. 16.

unir

which Lightbown and Camesasca believe

to

be

by the artist, acts as the most convincingargument

for

this date. Lightbown, p.100;

and Camesasca,

p.37.

[fig. 181

85

Lightbown, p.111.

86

Claudia Cieri Via

as

stated

in

Cordaro, 'Beautiful Room, p.21.

87

Camesasca, p.42.



iconographical programme focuses on the depiction of the Gonzaga family with

their intimate householdperse 88Daniel

Arasse,

on the other hand. advocates a

matrimonial therne:

By consecrating the room to the Gonzaga husband and wife,

t

[the

dedicatory tablet] makes clear the matrimonial theme that underlies the

decoration

...

From the keystone of the decorative structure to the painter's

signature, Ludovico's

mamage with

Barbara is proclaimed

as

one of the

cycle's main themes, as one of the wonden of the political glory of

the

Gonzaga farni~y.'~

All themes, however, refer back to the Gonzaga and their unique position in

Mantua.

Ludovico's commission aimed to immortalize himself and his family.

It

took nine years to transfomi a simple, unadomed square

room

into

a

breathtakingly decorated charnber. In

1474

Mantegna completed the adomment

of the

Camera

degli Sposi,

a

magnificent symbol of the Gonzagas' status.

[fig

The murals on the north and west walls of the

Camera degli Sposi

depict

scenes of

the

Gonzaga family. Painted architectural components such as pillars.

vault, and o ulus accompany these scenes. The remaining walls to the east and

south are elaborately decorated

with patterns

rendering

a

heavy velvet wall-

hanging. Those walls were restored prior to the eariy

2om

century. then left to

Lightbown.

p 102

Daniel Arasse as stated in Cordaro. BeautifulRwm, p.23.

The

Latin text on

the

plate hel by pun reads as

follows: ILL(USTRISSiM0)

LODOViCO II MM PRINCIPI OPnMOAC FIDE INVECTlSSIMO

ET

ILL(USTRIMAE)

BARBARAE €JUS COhVUOl MULlERUMGLOR(I0SA

E

INCOMPARABILI

SUUS

ANDREAS MANTUVIA PATAVUS OPUS HOC TENUE AD EORUM DECUSABSOLVIT

ANNO MCCCC~IIII.

ee

Knapp, p.XXVI. For

the

English translation

see

Lightbown.

p.104:

For the most illustrious

Lodovico,

second

Marquis

of Mantua, a prince most

excellent

nd

of

a

faith most unbroken,

and

for

the

most

illustrioos Barbara,

hisspouse,

glory

beyond compare of women, their Andrea Mantegna of Paduacompleted this poor

work to

do

thern honour in the year

1474.

flig.

211



deteriorate. [fig.

201 The

ceiling consists of painted

ribs

simulating a vautlike

structure.

[fig.

221 In the lacunars, one can identify bust portraits of the f in t eight

Roman ernperor~.~'fig. 23 Twelve vault cells between the emperors' heads

contain mythological scenes. They depict the glonous deeds of Orpheus, Arion.

and Hercules. [fig.

241

The chosen scenes act as subtle reminders of the

Gonzaga's viitues.

The

o ulus fakes a

trompe

l oeil opening into the blue

sky

depicting

putti

nd women wha gaze d o m on

the

beholder. [fig. 251

The

two family portraits, the court and the meeting, are. however.

clearly the most important. The

court scene features Ludovico Gonzaga and

his wife Barbara surrounded by several of their children, servants. messengen.

and other court members. [fig. 261 Painted on the north wall, the picture skiflfully

integrates the fireplace, one of the room's dominant immovable architectural

features. As portrayed, the Gonzaga seem to

sit on an

elevated stage and gaze

down on the beholder. The viewer's personal reality blends with the simulated

and idealized l ~ ~ c e n t u i yonzaga reality.

This

effect is achieved

by

a virtual

experience of the beholder standing in

the

room, almost like an intruder. While

the beholder looks at the Gonzaga,

she

is simultaneously viewed

by

the

putfi

and women painted on the ceiling's

oculus.

Tracing

the court

scene back

to historicalevents

is

difficult and scholars'

interpretations Vary. Whereas Lightbown suggests that the court portrays the

everyday life that flowed through the marchese's chambef including the arriva1

91

The diagonal ribs across

the

surface

o

the ceiling divide

the

vault into irregular

lacunars. In

the

rhomboid-shaped acunars

we

find representations of Julius Caesar

Octavian Augustus, Tiberius. Caligula. Claudius, Nero, Galba, and Otho. See Cordaro.

ed. Mantegna'sCameradegli

Sposi

p 57



and despatch of messengers, Camesasca daims that no event painted in 15

century ltaly

was

ever without ~ i~n i fi cance . ~t is likely that the compositions

display a hybn'd mixture

of

idealized, artificial scenes cornbined with glimpses of

actual historical occurrences.

The

'meeting scene, located at the west wall of the chamber, best reveals

such

a

combination of

myth

and historical tmth. The scene is set outdoon in an

enchanthg

landscape.

[fig.

27

Ludovico

L greets

his son

Francesco

who

is

dressed in

a

cardinal's robe. Francesco is surrounded

by

three children:

Ludovico (the Marchese's youngest son), Sigismondo, and the younger

Francesco (the two sons

of

Ludovico Il's eldest son Federico). Some scholars

daim that this scene is associated with a historical meeting between the

marchese and Francesco at Bonolo in

1462. t

that time, however, Sigismondo

and Francesco were not yet

bom,

and the young Ludovico

was

only tw years

old. These historical inconsistencies, as Cordaro explains, may have been

intended to represent the political succession of the Gonzaga family

and

the

continuity of the positions that it held in the ch u r ~ h . ~ ~l1 the children

represented were destined for a church career. In 1483, young Ludovico became

Bishop of Mantua. Later, in 1506, Sigismondo assurned the position of cardinal.

Another incongruity is shown in the meeting. The presence of Frederick

is anachronistic. The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, never visited

Mantua. Therefore,

it

seems obvious that the murals in the

Camera

degli Sposi

9

Lightbown pp.107-108;and Camesasca. p.36.

93

Cordaro

ed.,

antegna

3 Camera

degli

Sposi p.128.



were primarily created to illustrate both the political and the clerical power of the

Gonzaga family. Certainly, they were meant to impact upon the beholder.

The primary concem was not the accurate portrayal of historical events.

s Jack M. Graenstein explains:

Renaissance historians were conœmed with the personal as well as the

public dimensions of political and cultural events. Consequently, they

often

placed the same event within several different temporally ordered or

durationally defined sequen~es.~

Depicting multiple time frames within one painting, however, can lead to

the

mythologization of history. But despite their historical distortions,

the

murals

recal the past for some. Maud

Cnitwell,

for instance, imagined romantically:

Seated in the rush-bottomed chair,

amidst

the dust and cobwebs of today,

the

frescoed walls so play on the imagination that the past reconstructs

itself without effort, and

we

are back among these grave lords. hearing the

rustle of their gold brocade and the murmur of their voices?=

Subsequent scholars have agreed with this phenornenon of

a

visual

"resunection" of a glorious past. Camesasca, for instance, daims that the viewer

emerges into the painting and thus into the Gonzagas' reality. In his view, the

events shown are "not recalled or evoked but lived through in the very instant of

its taking p~ a c e . " ~ e should not forget, however, that this fusion between

subject and object may not represent exactly the original artist's intentions.

The

paintings have been restored numerous times over the centuries.

Indeed.

Camesasca and CnmNell overiook and underestimate the input of artists and

restorers that have intemiittently retouched the woik for the past 500 years.

Greenstein p.70.

95

aud Cnrtwell,

Andrea Mantegna(London: George

Bell

and Sons, 1908 ,p.72.

96

Camesasca,

p @



From research into

the

present condition of the Camera one can gather

that originally Mantegna's work dispfayed a refined painting style and superb

illusionistic techniques. Mantegna used perspective and foreshortening, and he

simulated both architecture and textiles, but also individual portrait-like features

in order to portray the Gonzaga family in an illuminating manner. Initially,

a

balanced color scheme nd skillful use of light and shadow complemented his

work. However, fter

so

m ny restorations there is th difficult question of how

much remains of Mantegna's original paint layers. Doubtlessly, both the passage

of time with its deteriorating factors such as vandalism, humidity, and pollution as

well as

the

impact of many restorations have together altered the Koriginal

frescoes. To tum to Benjamin's conceptual ideas, over the centuries, manual

reproductions in

fonn

of restorations have undermined several aspects of

the

painting, including its authenticity, its history, and its authority. Thus, the

following section of the thesis

examines

the historical restorations executed

in

the

Camera

degli Sposi n relation to Benjamin's thoughts on aura.

By the mid-1970s' the deterioration

of

Mantegna's frescoes in

the

Camera had begun to cause much concem. In the vault, tiny fragments of paint

were flaking off. After centuries, the plaster had lost its cohesion and areas o

whitish efflorescence were becoming visible. Consequently, during the 1980s the

most recent conseivation project was undertaken, coordinated by Michele

Cordaro of the lst tuto Centrale del Resfauro with the guidance

of

the very

.

7

ordaro

tates that not only did Mantegna paint light to infuse and enhance the

colors

but also

used natural light coming

from the windows.

Cordaro,

BeautifulRoom,

p.26.



experienced wall-painting restorers Paolo and Laura ~ o r a ? ~ut before

ernbarking on the project, Cordaro and his team c med out a detailed ultraviolet

and inf rared photogrephic investigation.

In

addition, Vasco Fassina conducted

a

thorough climatic examination.

The

present state of the paintings had to be

precisely and carefully documented to establish fked reference points for

evaluating

the

deterioration's progress or stabilization in the future. Then. the

c use

of decay h d to

be

investigated.

Cordaro's conservation tearn had to

assess the presence of polluting agents on the painted surfaces as well as

moisture cauçed

by condensation of water vapor. Another important task before

actual work was camed out involved

the

research and study of al1 available

documents that dealt wit the

Cameras

past restorations. Archival documents

from Mantua and

Milan

facilitated the tracing back of restoration work undertaken

in the

last

500

years and helped to reconstruct the histoiy of restoration of

Mantegna's frescoes.

Cordaro and Fassina fint documented their findings in

1986.

Among

their conclusions was that from

1877

on, restoration work had been carried out

regulariy because of the susceptibility of the murals to environmental factors.

However, restoration had already been camed out centuries eadier.' In 1506.

Mantegna's son, Francesco, executed the first restoration at the request of

lsabella d'Este. This renovation was rnotivated

by a

visit of Pope Julius who

98

Cordaro's

team

also

included

about 15

students.

99 icheleCordaro and Vasco Fassina, Rie Wall Paintings

by

Andrea Mantegna in

the

'Camera degliSpwl

irst Results

of the

leaning and the Preliminary Scientific

Investigation. in

Case

Studies

in

the

onservation

of

Stone ndWall aintings

(Preprints

of

the Contributions to the Bologna Congress. Sept.

1986)' pp.80-85.



stayed in the

~amera.

Throughout the

6 ~

entury, the amera often

accornrnodated illustrious guests.lm For this reason, restoration work continued

in order to maintain the

chamber's

unique glorification of the Gonzaga family.

In

1630,

Mantua was occupied by Gennan mercenary soldiers whose

vandalism severely damaged the Camera

pinta.

According to Camesasca, a

clumsy restoration followed this major damage? Graffiti and damages caused

by

gunshots

were overpainted

and

repaired*

Cordaro chirns

that this

moment

marked the beginning of

a

period of decline and neglect from

which the

Camera

suffered continuo~sly.'~ hife the chamber

was

used as

a

storehouse and

repository for public records during the

17*

and

18m

century, the paintings

remained unto~ched.'~~ordaro quotes an eyewitness, Cadioli, who describes

the vault

as

in very bad shape and tremendously disfigured in 1763. In addition,

the condition of the paintings is documented in two

drawings

from

1787,

both of

which, however, lack detail? For the late 18m and early

lgm

century.

information on restorations remains sparse. Giovan Battista lntra, a Mantuan

historian, claims that the Austnan painter Martino Knoller restored the paintings

around 1790. In contrast, Cordaro assigns a later date

- 25-30 years

Iîter - o

this

major restoration. Cordaro claims the restoration work

was

done either

by

'*See

also

a

J.A. Crowe and G.B. Cavalcaselle, History

of

Paniting

n North

ltaly

(London: John Murray,

1 i l ,p.391.

O Unfortunately, although documents surrounding the nature of this restoration exist.

they

do

not indicate the extent

of

the repairs. Cordaro,

History

of the Conservation of

the MuralslU n

Mantegna s

Camera

degli Sposi, 232.

l

In

1574.

for example, Henry

III

King

o

France, dined in the chamber Ibid.

m

Camesasca, p.33.

04 Cordaro, History of Consetvation, p. 232.

O5 Ibid. p.233.

' Guiseppe

Bongiovanni

and

LuigiGamba

both drew

the

'meeting'

for a

cornpetition

held

by the Accademia

di

BelleArti in Mantua in 1787. Ibid.



Luigi

Sabatelli

or by

Guiseppe Knoller, Martino's son.'07

In

1819, Giovanni Viviani

engraved the o ulus without refemng to the Roman portraits and the vaulting

cells

perse.

This suggests that hey were either still in a vefy poor condition or

that some parts were whitewashed.lm

During the 19 century, documentation of the Camera s restorations

increased. In

1875,

for example, Giovan Battista Cavalcaselle, then inspe ter

general

of

h lt li n Ministry of Education, and Giovanni

Morelli

initiated a

restoration featuring Luigi Cavenaghi as the chief restorer. Morelli lamented that

previous restorers had painted over Mantegna's work and expressed the desire

to free them "from the disagreeable mask that prevents them [the 'originals'] from

being ~een." '~~evertheless, opposing opinions conceming the restoration's

ethos aggravated the

work.

Whereas Cavalcaselle was almost

excfusively

on erned

with matters of preservation such as stabilization and prevention of

further damage, Morelli was predominantly interested

in

"unmasking" the

paintings to reveal the uonginal" Mantegna once again. Cavenaghi started

on

the

project in

1876,

and Antonio Bertolli completed the work in 18;r7.110

An article of

1

March 1877 in the azzetta di

Mantova

describes what had

been done dunng Bertolli's restoration:

...

secunng the plaster to the walls, that

by

chance had become detached.

Detaching and reattaching those pieces on the ceiling and the walls of the

room that threatened to fall, filling the cracks in the walls with new cernent.

O7 Ibid. p.234.

O8

Ibid.

O9

s cited

in

Cordaro.

'History of

Conservation.

p.235.

110

For

a detailled description of the complicated nature

of

this

restoration at the end of

the

1gmcentury. see "History of Conservation," pp.234-238.



fixing the colors and cleaning the paintings of dust and grime, and giving a

neutral tint to the white parts so that the pictures can be seen better. '

The article further states that Bertolli found

a

new system of restoration, applying

watercolors to the white parts, 'leaving the pictures untouched, without even

a

brush stroke of paint. In this way, as if by the wave of

a

magic wand, he made

the

whole of Mantegna's composition appear clear, sharp, and distinct.

l 2

1

actuality, however, Bertolli s n w system caused tremendous damages to the

paintings. Cordaro cites from another Mantuan document stating that the

paintings had been cleaned badly and treated with a vamish that tumed them

yellow. In retrospect, the restoration

was

deemed disastrous: [bothl the lunettes

and the vault lost their previous very fine tone as

a

result of improvident alkaline

washings, and in the former especially [sic] many parts have totally vanished.

m l 3

Bertolli's changes were irremovable, having already penetrated the plaster.

In

a

letter, Morelli commented on

Bertolli's

system, imbecile as you are [ ] is

it a

matter of system or

of

an

art

when

it

cornes to restoring and cleaning a work by

~antegna? '

Even though the murais sutvived the First World War, steps taken to

protect the paintings from further damage tumed out to be even

more

damaging.

Seaweed that had been placed

on

the floor above

the

Camera rotted and

seeped

into the vault below. Hoping to thwart fuither h a n and cracking, the walls of the

room above the Camera were demolished. In 1929, storm windows were

As cited inCordaro, Historyof Conservation. p.236.

l lbid.

Ibid., p.237.

l4 Ibid.



installed for

t

w s clear by then that the main cause of damage was the

excessive fluctuation in levels of humidity.' l

In 1933,

a

report was published documenting the rnurals' restoration

history.

The

report also proposed that Mure restorers should stabilize the

environment, and that they should use the most suitable intervention techniques.

In addition, the document suggested

a

reconstruction of the rnurals in

trateggio? In

193841

th restoration w s canied out by

th

restorer

Mauro

Pelliccioli. The restoration followed some of the suggestions set forth in the

1933

report: Unsuitable materials used by restorers in the past,

such as

fixatives and

bnghteners were removed. Missing pieces were newly integrated using minerai

and vegetable paint. Holes, abrasions, and chips were fixed using

trateggio

Larger gaps filled in

by

old restorations were also removed and replaced with

neutral tints. Most of these tasks, however. were not carried out as precisely and

thoroughly as had been planned in the report. 7

Due to a major exhibition of Mantegna's paintings in Mantua in 1961, yet

another intervention took place, this time camed out by Aldo and

Nerina

Angelini

of

the Istituto Centrale del

Restaura

The restorers reinforced both plaster and

paint by injecting caseinate of lime. new pictorial integration was carned

out

in

some

parts but following closely the previous restoration Nevertheless.

because controlling humidity remahed a major concem, an environmental survey

was planned and then camed out in 1973-75.

15 Ibid. p.238.

'

lbid

' 7 Ibid. pp.239-240.

Md. p.240.



Through chemical tests used to determine the binding medium, Cordaro's

restoration team concluded in the 1980s that past repairs were often executed

with inappropriate materials including gesso.' l Moreover, niappropriate

reintegration methods, such as the previously described systemn of Bertolli,

were used in reworking missing pieces. Cordaro's team also conducted an

analysis of the surface to distinguish between the matenals used by Mantegna

nd

those used by later respective restorers. And they

found

th t restorers

used

different pigments

and

binding

media

from those of ~antegna.'~'

In addition, Cordaro's team investigated the extent of the deterioration and

its cause. They reestablished that environmental factors. moisture. dampness,

and temperature

differences

greatly affected the paintings. The nomerous visitors

to the room lso influenced the exchange of heat and water vapor between the

indoor atmosphere and the walls. Visitors exhale carbon dioxide which

contributes to the deterioration of the paintings. When Cordaro's team examined

the emissions in 1981-82, they found a concentration of carbon dioxide on

average about four or five times higher than that of

a

normal environment.

Another factor had to be taken into consideration to

nsur

the

appropriate conservation of Mantegna's original. Restoration work could not

be

camed out in the same fashion throughout the whole painting for there were

parts executed in both

uon

fresco and secco The pigments in

uon fresco

penetrate the plaster deeply whereas the pigments in a

secco

adhere to the wall

l Cordaro

and

Fassina. p 80

O By using different matenals. restorers often

strive

to differentiate their work from the

original and previous repairs. Present- y restorers typically use materÏals that

c n be

removed without damaging the original.



surface in a separate layer. Therefore, the buon fresco parts were cleaned with

ammonium carbonate and the

parts

done in secm were cleaned with a mixture

of solvents such

as

ethyl alcohol, water, ammonia,

and

acetone.' Wlh the

support of the Olivetti Corporation, the

Istituto

Centrale

del

Restauro

started the

restoration in

1984

and completed it in

1

987. The restoren cleaned the paintings

in the described fashion and integrated the losses in trateggio. [fig. 281

After

completion

of

Cordaro's project, two articles were published on the

finished restoration. In some respects, they represent polemical views

sunounding restoration. Whereas Patricia Collins examines the issue of

authenticity, Patricia Corbett ignores

it

Corbett focuses strongly on traditional art

historical views.

l

Corbett highlights iconography, biographical incidents and

Mantegna's character traits. Although she daims that Cordaro himself saw the

Camera egli

Sposi as

a

conservation victim, she fails to discuss the history of

restoration executed in previous centuries, which shaped and altered the

frescoes and, thus, tumed them into hybrid artworks.

he

neglects the

art

conservation and art historical dialedics involved in such an undertaking.

Moreover, Corbett

does

not question the decision of retouching the work

per se:

The prime consideration was to enhance the unity and overall visual effect of the

frescoes; thus cracks and color loss were camouflaged whenever this

was

po~sible. '~~atricia Collins's article, on the other hand, seems somewhat more

12 Ibid.

' TheWorld According to

Andrea, Connaisseur,

21 (Dec.

1987).

1

0-1

15.

Ibid., p.110.



cognizant of issues

of

authenticity and its experien~e.'~~he claims that the

cleaning was successful because the affect of three-dimensionality was

increased and the paintings' outlines were strenghtened.

In

her view, this added

more depth and brightened the colors, and in

a

sense. made the works more

authentic and eye-catching. Yet, according to Benjamin, restorations do not

have the power to create

an

increased authenticity. In fact, they result in the

contrary.

Collins further claims that conservation and restoration are not solely

connected with the physical condition

or

appearance of the paintings, but can

also

affect our reading

of

the work's meaning and context. She argues that the

Magi, who appear on the Camera s west wall were clearly visible before the

restoration, but are now almost invisib~e.'~~fig.

291

Each piece

of

evidence.

such

as

the Magi, helps to unravel the mysteries sunoundhg the work.

The

presence of the Magin in the meetingn

scene,

for instance,

helps

to substantiate

the

date

of

1

January

1462,

when Ludovico met his son Francesco at Bouolo.

Removing the alleged

'Magin

would obscure this event. In this particular instance,

restoration alters the contents and thus, the meaning of the painting.

Collins also questions the means suggested to maintain the frescoes in a

stable condition. To solve this problern it has been recornrnended that certain

visitors, especially schoolchildren,

be

shown only

a

full-size photographic

reproduction of the Mantegna f~escoes.'*~ Showing a reproduction to

' Problemsof Consenhg Mantua'sArtistic Heritage,

Apollo, l26 3O8

Oct.

1987).

267 269.

lZ

Collins,

p.268.

Ibid.



schoolchildren would, indeed, minimite the number of visitors and hence reduce

deterioration effectively. However, as Collins herseif realizes, it also 'raises

ethical points regarding the children's ngMs to see their artistic heritage in al1 its

glory, not just as a reproduction.

n i

27

Reproducing the original

(if it

is th original at all)

le ds

us

back

to

Benjamin's concept of aura. While mechanical reproduction destroys an original

artwork's aura. manual reproduction such as restoraüon arguably h ms

or

alters

it. In the case of the Camera deg/i

Sposi,

the aura's aiteration has been caused

by a

long sequence of restorations. According to Benjamin, intervention of any

kind

affects

the aitwork's authonty. For instance, the in-painting of missing pieces

impacts on the artwork's authority. Mantegna's original has, of course, been

overpainted and therefore altered

by many

restorers' hands. Thus. the original

artist's essence and his individual creativity he core of the a m o k has been

tampered with by repainting. After s

rnany

alterations, it would indeed be

difficult to argue that the Camera

is

ruthentic and

a

Mantegna original.

Authenticity does not encompass retouching. Being an originaln

me ns

being

created by an authority at

a

given point in time, in other words, pristine. In the

case o the Camera degliSposi, one cannot daim that

it

hast any longer, the full

authority or authenticity of Mantegna's hand. Today, the aura of the

Camera

degli

Sposi emerges from the combined efforts of centuries of restoren, rather

than from the artist himseif. Indeed, even the original technical flourishes. such

as brush strokes, as well

as

the yean of deterioration add to the aura of the

27

lbid



work. Benjamin argued that the authenticity stems from the history the artwork

has e~perienced.'~'

In contrast to the Thai murals, the Camera's wall paintings do not

serve

an educational purpose. A t the time of their creation, Ludovico Gonzaga

commissioned the paintings to show off his power. One may clah that today one

can leam from these paintings and understand ltalian Renaissance histoiy more

thoroughly. The

initial

purpose

however, was pnm rily propaganda, a

means to

exhib l the power of a rich man.

The recent project in Mantua also raised issues of restoration made

possible through corporate advertising. Sponsored by the Olivetti corporation,

the restoration of the amera degli Sposi increased the company's image and

boosted its corporate identity.

In

most cases, restorations cannot take place

without corporate

support.

Fuilher, corporate sponsors tend to support works that

will attract the largest audiences. This in tum has

a

reciprocal effect on what

works are presenred. In her article, Mass TourÏsm and the Conservators, Anna

Somers

Cocks claims that mass tourism makes conservation noticeable to those

in

charge

of

famous monuments and bui~dings.'~~arty people in ltaly live off

the

income generated

by the rnany

visitors that over-run the country's galleries.

churches

and

historical buildings each year. Recently restored, 'rejuvenated

artworks typically

attracta

large audience.

Yet despite the financial gain, restoration in ltaly remains controversial.

Paul Phillippot's famous comment is worth reiterating: 'No restoration could ever

' Benjamin.

Kunstwerk im Zeitalter, p.13.

l Apollo, 126/31

Dec.

1

987). 390-391.



hope to reestablish

the

original state of

a

painting.n130 Hence, a restorer

today

can only perfonn tasks such as cleaning, removing layers of other restoren, and

canying out in-painting in lost parts. They can never recapture the very essence

or

aura

of

Mantegna s original

work.

'

Paul Phillippot, The ldea of Patina and the Cleaning

of

Paintings,

in

Histotiml and

Philosophical

Issues

in

the

onservabonof ultural

Hentege

Nicholas

Stanley Price

M.

Kirby Talley

Jr., AlessandraMelucco

Vaccaro,

eds. (Los Angeles: The

Getty

Conservation Institute. 1996),

p.373.



ON LUSION

In this thesis, I have tried to dernonstrate that Benjamin s thoughts on aura

do not apply

in

the same rnanner to the two previous case studies. Benjamin

claimed that reproductions wlher away or dissolve the aura of the original. The

case of a manual

reproduction such

as

restoration, however. diffen.

The

examination of the two case studies showed that the restored murals are still

empowered with aura. This

aura, however, is ltered through

restoration. Against

Benjamin. believe that restoration creates

a

new, hyôrid aura,

one

that captures

the combined efforts of the original artist and the restorers. At Wat Suthat, s

primarily the audiences intemafized religious and historical beliefs, which infuse

th worùs with aura. In the case of Mantegna s

Camera,

the new aura stems

from

restorers revitalking and repairing Mantegna s original.

At Wat Suthat, the murals function as

a

means to explain and reinforce

Buddhist beliefs. They are also a means to inspire, guide, and instruct devotees

in order to

gain

spiritual growth.

The

stories depicted are part of

an

educational

apparatus. The murals in the

Camera degli

Sposi on the other hand, functioned

mostly as a glorification of the Gonzaga family s power. Their initial purpose

was

to impress high-profile guests, such as popes and kings, and to celebrate

Ludovico s refined taste in art. Today, the murals in the Camera rnay be seen as

part

of an educational aid,

part

of Italy s cultural herïtage, and as

a

tourist

attraction.

The importance of the rnurals within their given settings helps us in

understanding their aura. While the paintings at Wat

Suthat

are set in

a

sacred



space, a temple, the paintings in the

Camera

are located in

a

secular palace.

Wat uthafs paintings have never been the central focus of the temple but a

mere part of the setting. Worshippers do not Rock to the temple to see the

paintings; they corne for spintual growth and solace. The paintings in the

Camera

degli

Sposi however, seem to have becorne the focal point of the

Palazzo San Giorgio in Mantua.

In

Gonzagas time, the palazzo and even its

residentswere

the

symôols

of

power

nd

wealth.

Today most

visit

th

Castello

for its main attraction, the little painted room. The wall paintings are admired

as

masterpieces

of

superb quattrocento fres o painting. If in the past, the figures in

the paintings were the subjects of interest, today, no longer

do

they gamer

such

attention. Arguably, Andrea Mantegna remains the greatest feature of the

work,

not

the subjects portrayed. The contrary occurs at

Wat Suthat.

Here, the murals

messages are

far

more important than aesthetics. The murals are not revered

as

amivorks in themselves

or

because they

were

painted

by

particular artists.

When one compares the two woiks in terrns of their authority, authenticity,

restoration, and aura, several polernics emerge. For instance, the respect given

to a work or aitist, what Benjamin calls the authority, differs greatly in the

tw

case studies. In Thailand, there is little distinction between painters and

restorers. 60th are anonymous, hence the issue of authority and originality

becomes unimportant. The historical and religious messages conveyed take on

primary significance.

In contrast, many have worked on the Camera although

t is

attributed

solely to Mantegna. s e rly

as 1506,

Francesca Mantegna renovated the



Camera Throughout the 16* century it is believed that restorations were camed

out by anonyrnous restorers.

in

the 176 and

1

8h century, the Camera was left to

deteriorate.

In

the earîy lgmcenhiry either Luigi Sabatelli or Guiseppe Knoller

restored the murals.

In

876, Luigi Cavenaghi started a thorough restoration

completed in 1877 by Antonio Bertolli. In l93&4l, Mauro Pelliccioli camed out

a

major repair. Twenty years later, in 1961, Aldo and Nerina Angelini of the lstituto

Centrale dei estauro restored the murals yet again. ln

1987

Paolo

nd

Laura

Mora cornpleted a three-year restoration. which Cordaro coordinated.

After so many restorations,

it is

indeed, questionable how much is left of

the original Mantegna. Certainly, one may argue that Mantegna's initial

ideas

of

composition and design are still visible and therefore kuthentic. But to claim that

the present

Camera

belongs to Mantegna alone rernains problematic. The list of

restorers shows that this is simply untnie.

From a Benjarninian perspective then, those that seIl Mantegna's work as

an original create a 'Valsen aura; fmm an ethical perspective, one cannot attribute

the

Camera

degli

Sposi

to Mantegna alone. It is also the

work

of restorers that

audiences enjoy, not only the work of the master himself.

Its shadowy layer was

over-painted several times, and replaced by the vibrant handiwork of restorers.

Issues of attribution are less complex in the murals of Wat Suthat

The

authority cannot be said to have been lost because anonymous painters created

and restored the works. The subjects that they portray are of paramount

importance and not the artists that created the worlts



Because the paintings are in

a

constant state of renewal, like reincarnation

itself, the notion of an original woric's aura as an untouched, historical piece in

itself becomes inelevant. Even if it

does

the layen of the various paintings are

but

testaments of reincarnation. Such is

not

the

case

with the Camera.

For

despite their careful efforts, restorers run the risk of contributing to the

Yalse

ur that Benjamin questioned.

t

seems to me that the

n mes

of restorers shou d be pl ced

on works

such

as

Mantegna'sn Camera degli Sposi so that the restorers would deserve

their share of

the

works praise. This approach to an increased level o honesty

woul

also serve the viewing and interested public to

gain

new insights into

so-

called masterpieces: Audiences would no longer be deceived

into

thinking that a

restored work is

an

untouched original. This would, ideally, help the viewer to

experience the ?me ura of today's Camera degli Sposi



Chapter One -Walter Beniamin

Adorno, Theodor Wiesengrund. Notes to Literature, vo1.2, trans. Shierry Weber

Nicholsen (New York: Columbia

University

Press, 1991).

Benjamin, Walter.

Das Kunstwerk im

Zeitalter

seiner technischen

ReproduPerbarkeit. FrankfurVMain: Edition Suhrkamp,

1

977

IIluminations.

Ed.

Hannah Arendt. London: 1973.

. Illuminationen. Ausgewahlte Schriften. Franlduit:

Suhrkarnp

Taschenbuch Verlag, 1

977.

. The Origin

of

th Gennan TragicDrama. Trans. John Cummings.

London: ew Left Books, 1977.

Bloch, Ernst,

et.

al.

Aesthetjcs and Politics.

Ed. Ronald

Taylor.

London: NLB,

1977.

Buck-Mons, Susan. 'Aesthetics and Anaesthetics: Walter Benjamin's Artwork

Essay Reconsidered. In October, no. 62 fall 1992, pp.3-41.

Caygill, Howard, Alex Coles, and Andrzej Klirnowski. Walter Benjamin for

Beginners. Duxford,

UK:

lcon Books, 1998.

de Purucker, G. Occult Glos sa~y . vailable at

http://www.theosociety

.org/pasadena/ ocglodog a.htm.

Dieckhoff, Reiner.

Mythos

und

Moderne

-

Über

ie

verborgene

Mystik

in

den

chrifienWalter Benjamins. Koeln:

Janus

Presse, 1987.

Fischer, Ernst. Kunstwerkund Reproduktion, in Über Walter Benjamin.

Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1968.

Freedberg, David.

The Power

of Images Studies in

the

Histoty and Theory of

Response. Chicago and London: The Universityof Chicago Press. 1989.

Garber

Klaus.

Zum

Bilde

Walter

Benjamins. München: Wilhelrn Fink Verlag,

1992.

Harth, Dietrich. Auraund AMualMt als iisthetische Begriffe, in Waffer Benjamin

Zeifgenosse derModerne.KronbergKs.: Scriptor Verlag, 1976.

Kambas, Chryssoula. Walter Benjamin im Exil. Zum Verhiiltnis

von



Literaturpolïtik und Asthetik Tübingen:

Max

Niemeyer Veriag,

1983.

Kemp, Wolfgang. 'Fembilder

-

Benjamin und die Kunstwissenschaft. In Walter

Benjamin im Kontext. Burkhardt Lindner, ad. Koenigstein: Athenaeum. 1985.

pp 224 257.

Knizik, lan. Walter Benjamin and the Mechanical Reproducibility of Art Work

Revisited,

British

Journal

of Aesthetics

Vo1.33, No.

4

October 1993.

pp.

357 66.

Shatma, Bhesham R.

Music and Culture in

the

Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

New

York:

Peter Lang, 1999. (forthcoming)

Stoessel, Madeen.

Aura des vergessene Menschliche.

München:

Carf

Hanser

Veriag, 1983.

Wolin, Richard. Walter Benjamin An Aesthefic of Redemption. New York:

Columbia University Press, 1982.

Cha ~ter wo Wat Suthat

Bhirasri, S.

The

Ongin and Evolution of Thai Murals. Bangkok: The Fine

Arts

Department, 1959.

Boisselier, Jean.

ThaiPainting.

Trans. Janet Seligman. Tokyo: Kodansha

International, 1976.

Feiten.

Heinz. Über Fledemause. In Wat Suthat- €in Beispieldeutscher

Kulturf~ilfe. angkok: Thai Visuel Co. Ltd, 1985. 168-176.

Goodman,

Jim.

Cultures

of

the

World

-

Thailand.

Singapore:

imes

Books

International, 1991.

Goonatilake, Hema.

Women

and Family

in

Buddhism. In

Buddhist Perception

for Desirable Societies in the Future. EEd

Sulak Sivaras

ka.

Bangkok: Thai

Inter-Religious Community for Development,

1993.224 246.

Harle, J C

.

The rt and Architecture of

the

Indian Subcontinent.

New

Haven

Yale University Press, 1994.

Harvey, Pete .

An Introduction to Buddhism Teachings History and Practices.

New

York:

Cambridge

University Press, 1993.

Janposn, Kulpanthada.

The

Present Condition of the Conservation

of

Cultural

P

operty in Thailand. In Final Repoit- Wotkshop for

ASEAN

Conservation

Laboratories. Bangkok, Thailand, January 28

February

1,1991. 113 129.



Krug,

Sonia.

TheDevelopment

of Thai Mural Painting. In nie

Artistic

entage

of

Thailand.

Bangkok: Craftsman Press, 1

979.

Matics, K.I.

Introduction to

th

Thai

Mural

Bangkok: White Lotus, 1992

Na

Paknarn, No. 'Mural Paintings in the Ubosot of Wat Suthat Dhepwararam.

In

Wat Suthat Dhepwararam.

Bangkok: Muang Boran Publishing House, 1996.

Na Songkhla, Arphom. The Standard of Consewation of Mural Painting and

Sculpture in Thailand. In

Final Report SPAFA ICCROM Seminar on

Conservation Standards in Soufheast Asia.

Bangkok, Thailand,

December

11-1

6, 1989,

77-79.

a Songkhla,

Wannipa.

The

Conservation of Mural Paintings in Thailand. In

Wall Paintings From lndia A Histmfical Perspective. O.

P. Agrawal, ed. (no

date).

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Konservieren, Restaurieren, Dokumentieren. In

Wat Suthat Ein

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57.

Pandito, Benton.

Wat Suthat Thepwararam

- The

Palace of Indra.

Bangkok:

Liang Chiang Press,

1997.

Planloi, Sombat.

Mural Paintings.

Bangkok: Office of the National Culture

Cammission, 1

985.

Praphathong, Kongdej. Wandrnalereien

im

at Suthat. In

Wat Suthat

Ein

Beispiel deutscher Kultumilfe.

Bangkok: Thai Visuel Co. Ltd, 985. 85-88.

Prasartset, Chomponut. Materiab and Techniques of Thai Wall Paintings:

A

Comparative Study of Late

lgm

Century Murals and Early-period Murals. In

1 Triennal Meeting of

the

ICOM Cornmittee for Conservation.

Edinburgh.

1996.

Sharma, Alexandra. Interview with Chuo Khun Suntom at Wat Suthat. Bangkok:

June 30,1998.

Shaw,

J.C. The Ramayana

Through Western

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Bangkok: Craftsman Press

Ltd., 1988.

St.

Ruth,

Diana and Richard.

Simple Guide to Theravada Buddhism.

Folkstone,

UK: Global Books, 1998.

Terwiel,

B.J. A Window on Thai History.

Bangkok: Editions Duang

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1989.

Veerap

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deutscher

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21.

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(no date).

Wangu, MadhuBazar. Buddhism-WorldReligions. New York: Facts on File.

1993.

Wat

utha

-€in

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deutscher Kuiturhilfe.Bangkok: Thai Visuel Co. Ltd

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Wenk,

Klaus. Mural Paintings in Thailand.Zuerich: lnigo von Oppensdorff Verlag,

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.

Wat Suthat Ein koenigliches Kloster. In Wat Suthat Ein Beispiel

deutscher Kultumlfe. Bangkok: Thai Visuel Co.

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1985.37-54.

.

Wandmalerei in Thailand Versuch einer allgemeinen

Cha akerist k. In Wat Sufha Ein Beispiel deutscher Kultumilfe. Bangkok:

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Win, Kyi May, and Harold E. Smith. Histotka l Dictionary of Thailand Lanham:

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1

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Cha~ter hree

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Florence: arper Row, 1981.

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1

(Feb. 1998),

42-5

1



APPENDIX I

The Chakri Dvnasw

Rama I

Rama II

Rama III

Rama IV

Rama

V

Rama VI

Rama VI

Rama Vlll

Rama IX

Phra uddhaYodfa Chulalok

Loetla

Naphalay

Nang Klao

Mongkut

Chulafongkom

Vajiravudh

Prajadhipok

Anandha

Mahidoi

Bhumipol Adulysdej



APPENDIX II

Art ~eriods

n Thailand

Dvaravati Period

Sn

Vijaya Period

Lopburi

Penod

ChiengsanPeriod

U-Thong Period

Sukhothai Penod

Ayutthaya Period

(6mor 7mcentury 1

m

D)

em 19 entury)

(11 1

3m

century)

(1

1 1

8n

entury)

(1Zrn

1

century)

(1

3

15mcentury)

1

4m

1

ern

century)

Rattanakosin or Bangkok Period

1

9@ entury present)

Central Thailand

Southern Thailand

Central Thailand

Northern

Thailand

Central Thailand

Northern Thailand

Central Thailand

Present Thailand



APPENDIX

Interview with Chuo Khun Suntom.

denutv

abbot of at h a t on June

30.1998

Alexandra Sharma: How do monks feel about restoration?

A

painting ages through tirne. the paint flakes off, it dies. When you do

conservation you add something to the original, you put something on top

of the original. This means the original aura

is

lost. It is not the original

anymore. lt s

a

mixture of different hands.

Chuo Khun Suntorn:

I

agree that the original

is

lost when restoration work

is done.

S

Do you care

about

that? Personally?

CKS: The paintings in my temple, I love them. Like grandrnother

and

grandfather.

But

now they are old,

very

old. And then they are

sick.

And

some part of the body doesn t work. What do you do?

f

your grandfather is sick?

A

part of

him

does not

work.

What

do

you

do?

S

You try to cure him. But on the other hand you know that your

grandfather will die. He is not here for etemity.

CKS: The doctor told you he must change his heart. And this heart is of

another person. HOW o you feel?

How do you feel? What would you do first?

S

I

would try everything to let him stay alive.

CKS: And after the doctor cured him and changed his heart. He is strong.

How do

you feel?

S

would

feel better.

CKS: Why? This is a false thing. It is not true. This is not your grandfather.

Because

it

is not his heart. How do you feel?

S I

would still love him

CKS: You are glad to see him strong

and

happy. Even though he has

another heart.

The wall painting is Iike

a

beloved person.

ou

have

to take care

of

them.

We have to restore the wall painting and then we try everything to

maintain the wall painting. What we

do

should be accepted by another

person.



S:

The

public?

CKS: Yes s

if you

love

somebody and

you

cut off

his head and you put it

on to another one.

Change

the body. This is dead. this is living.

Your grandfather's face put on another one. How do you be l?

Can you respect them?

an

you love them? No This is

a

ghost.

When w restore the mural you

mu

be careful and the artist is feeling

like this. Therefore i some

parts

of the mural are sick; the artist

is

like a

doctor,

he

must cure like a doctor.

S: But

what do you do

you

when the face is lost. And you don't know how

it looked. Do you put a face in?

CKS: No.

S: Or do you leave

t

out?

CKS: In my temple, no.

S: You will leave

it

out.

CKS: Yes.

S

Because then it would

be a

ghost.

CKS: Yes.

S: The body you would repaint, but never the face.

CKS: Yes.

S:

And hands?

CKS:

You can. It's

easy

to change and repair. It's easy. And the body. But

not the face.

S:Because

the head is very important.

CKS: Very

important for mural.



LUICI

c.

126&13(i0)

Caphano

13111

I

CUIDO

c

llk.1369)

ln

ap

LUDOVIC 0 (133442)

Cap.

m,

Alda d' bir (133341).

I

FRANCESCO (1366-1401) 4Ih Cap.

m

hi

y M u

MJbimtr

d.

1309)

LUDOVIC 0 (14 Wl8 J1 ' Mu. CAL UI

MARCHERiTA

CIANLUCIDO CECILM

ALESSANDRO

m.Bubn

of Bd en bu rg (l421 4lI) (141746) (1418.39) (141346) (1426.51) (1417.66)

dlMonidrliro.

ord

of P a u o I

FRA~CLP (l53340)

~sAIÈLLA

n

h h e

LUDOVICO

ISSU

(1537.70)

mUKX

mi,

C b i d ~

uurl.

DridNwm,~rnt.lf tthd

m.

UIonwr

Auurlr

(I534.N)

m

Hmkru

Ckm

( i ~ w a )

I x

MPI E~~I~I~I~~ FERDINANM M A R G H U I ~

IRI.IUI)

VINC&ZO

i 07.

i

26) ni.Hcnrl

Duhe of

lomlne

U ~ O ~ O M

in.

Mu~twttir

i

Swuy

6' Duhe

(1

5p

627)

7' Duba

(1591.1655)

Cud,

1600.15 C d . 1615.16

m

p

m,

lubdhGo

a d h u d

Il

f

d i

Novdlui

MALU ~ w m q L U W ~ C O M m u i t d c t i w A

m. Culo

Couni

of

Keihcl

(161 1.11)

m barc*)

(l6l2)



ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. :

Wat

uthat vihan

Examp e of bird s-eye-view

and painting

styl

uddhavamsa (author)



Fig. :

Wat uthat vihan detail of mural uddhavamsa rom

the

legen of

the

10' Buddha Padumuttara author)



Fig. 4:

Majorslesof attraction in Bangkok taken

from

isit Wat

Suthat lntelectual Services Ltd., Bangkok o date.

pp.

1-2)

Major sites of attraction n

Bangkok

Wat

Suthat

hepwararam

1 Phra Sum en Fort

2

Wat Chanasongkhram

3

The Monument

of

the First

Worfd War Volunteer Force

4. Bangkok

National

Museum

5 Wat Bowomniw et

6

The monu urn nt of Democrac

7. Phra Kan

Fort

8.

Go lde n Mount Wat Saket

9.

Wat Ratchanatdaram

IO.

Wat Thepthidaram

13 Great Swing

12

Wat

Mahannopphararn

13.

Wat

Buranisiri

14. Sanarnluang

15. Wat Mahathat

16.

The

Royal Grand

Palace

17. Wat Ratchapradit

18. Wat Ratchabophit

19

Wat Phra Chetupho n Wat P

20

Wat Amn Ratchawararam

Templeof the Dawn)

...

21.

Vichai Prasit ort



Fig :

Wat

uthat

vih n Phra Sisakayamuni. th

gi nt bronze

Buddha

author)



Fig. 6:

Plan o

Wat

Suthat (taken rom

Visit

Wat

Sulhat,

lntelectual Services Ltd.,

Bangkok-

nodate. pp. 1 1 1 2

1. Suchada

H

13. Bodhi Hall

24.

TOM

2-

Sunanta

Hd

14-

Arhapab

Chetiya 25. Thong HaU

3. SuthammaHali

15-

Mucalinda

hetiya

26. WonHal l

4. Suchittra Hall

16- Rachayatana

Chetiya

27- Chantasin L i i

5.

Minor

Chape1

17.

Ratana

Chongkom Chetiya

28, ReachingHall

6. King

Anand

18. Rahvrakara Chetiya

29- BellT i

Rama VIiI ) Statue

19.

Bunnithi

PhraKrïngPhra9hammapitakaHal

30.

i

7.

Véchayan Rasat

20. PhraKruig

Hall

31- AbbotCeIl

8.

Chitlada

Garden

21- Koei Than

32.

istant Abbot

Ce1

9

hkin Chape \l,'w q

Donation

k k t a i

r phiianthropist s

dsstrl

33-

MditationHaU

housingPhraSi

f i mwhere money or

g,x

are

widely

nttered 34. Tiipitaka

iibrary

Sakayamuni Buddha Image

)

- )

35-

Sorndet eii

10.Mount

Meru 22. Sema

Stone 36.

Row Houses

1

. Animmis he iya

12.Sn

Maha

Bodhi

hetiya

23. Chdination

Haü ~ 8 o S o ~

37. Wat Suthat

Municipal

Schoo

houshg

Phra

E3uddha

Tri

iakachet

)

38.

Monks

chool



Fig :

Wat

uthat

vihan

xt rior author)



Wat Su at

vihan

paintedcolumns author)



Fig.

:

Wat

Sufhat vihan date inscriptions undemeath the

murals

author)



Fig

10:

Wat

Suthat vihan protector deities on

a

door author)



Fig. :

Wat

uthat vihan framed

murals

atop

a

oor author)



Fig. 12:

Wat Sufhat vihan

bats

hanging from

the

ceiling

before

restoration

taken from Wat Sualat Ein eispiel deutscher

Ku urhiIfe,

p.

68



Fig.

13:

at

ho

estoration

project June

1998);

application

o

protect

ve

layer author)



Fig. 15:

Wat Suthat estoration project; reconstruction o missing pieces

taken from

Wat

Suthat

in BeispieI

deutscher

Kultumife

pp.

52)



Fig. 16:

Wat hu

estoration project

June

1998);

reconstruction of

missing

pieces author)



Fig. 17: Plan of

the Palazzo

Ducale

in

Mantua taken mm Giovanni

Paccagnini, Mantegna a

Camera

degliSposi

Milan: Fratelli

Fabri.

1968), p-4.

P L ZZO

a st nz

contr ssegrr t con

DUC LE

DI

hF NTOV



Fig.

18:

amera

egli

posi splay

of northwest window: the date

of

commencement painted

in

mock graffito taken from

Cordaro, p.13)



Fig. 19:

amera

deglispost view of the north and est

walls

taken rom

Cordaro, p.70)



Fig.

2 :

Cameradeglisposi view of the east and south walls with mock

drapes taken frorn Codaro,

p.

5



Fig. 21

amera degli Spost p rt of

west wall: the painted tablet with the

dedicatory

inscription

to Ludovico and Barbara. Mantegna s

signature and

the date

1474

(taken from Cordaro. p.150)



Fig. :

amera degli

Sposk view of

the north and west w lls and vanous

elements of

the

ceiling

taken

from Cordaro.

p.14



Fig.

3:

amera degli

posk Octavian

Augustus taken from

Cordaro

p.

60



Camera egli S O S ~rion on the Dolphin taken

rom

Cordaro. p.

68)



Fig. 25:

amera egli Sposi the vauk

with the

o ulus

taken

from Cordaro.

P 56



Fig.

6:

amera

degli

posi

view of

the north wall

with the court scene

(taken

frorn Cordaro p-73)



Fig

8:

amera

degli posk example of applied trateggio inthe meeting

scene

(taken rom

Cordaro

p.161)



Fig 9 amera

egli

Sposk disappearing

Magi n the meeting scene

(taken from

Lightbown, p.89)

sharma_1999_the transformation of aura through restoration_case studies in thailand and italy

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