The Boston Museum of Fine Arts offers its visitors an unusual show – until January 2017, here you can watch live the restoration process of the five-meter painting “The Death of Buddha”.
What is usually shown to viewers in exhibition halls is just the tip of the iceberg called “museum”. The long collective work that precedes any exhibition project – archaeologists, restorers, curators of museum collections, researchers, curators – is usually hidden from the eyes of visitors. Therefore, the opportunity to see with your own eyes how the canvas is restored is truly unique.
And the painting itself, over which restorers “conjure” in the presence of spectators, is being exhibited for the first time in 25 years. “The Death of Buddha” is a five-meter scroll by Japanese calligrapher and poet Hanabusa Itcho, painted in 1713 and considered one of the most important works of Buddhist art of its time. In the 18th century, Itcho’s masterpiece was kept in a Buddhist temple. Once a year it was shown to the public. Images of this kind and this size gave the artist the opportunity to show all his technical skill. It is also important that the master signed the painting with his name; this was rarely done.
The work is being carried out in a temporary workshop set up right in the hall of oriental art. The idea for a public workflow came to the staff of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts after they visited Japan, where a similar practice has been used for more than 20 years. In order to learn from the experience of their colleagues, the Americans invited Japanese specialists to restore the Japanese painting, which at the beginning of 2017 will go to an exhibition, as you might guess, in Japan.
The previous restoration took place in 1850. Now it is necessary to restore minor losses of the paint layer and remove cracks that cause paint peeling. The canvas was removed from the base, straightened, and returned back after restoration work was completed. In addition, Japanese specialists create copies of the silk fabrics of the outer edging of the scroll using traditional technologies.
You want to please your loved ones, but you don’t have a single idea? Make someone’s travel dream come true and give a OneTwoTrip gift certificate.
