Category: Restoration

Latest World Art News about Restoration and Conservation

Stunning Stingray Throne by Didier Guenard – An Oak Barrel Story

Didier Guenard is a known artist, furniture maker, and restorer from France that specialized in wooden art and décor. His signature creations are works of fine furniture made from vintage and antique oak barrels. Didier uniquely repurposed, perfected, and mastered the wood of these vessels, teaching the world – the art of revealing a straight line within a curve.

For centuries oak barrels have been used to store and transport wine and spirits, but they also have a second life as a material for making artistic furniture. The sturdy and durable oak wood can be transformed into unique and beautiful pieces that add a rustic and vintage charm to any space. The process of making artistic furniture from these barrels is a creative and innovative endeavor that requires a skilled craftsman.

French Restorer & Furniture Maker, Didier Guenard, Tells His Story of Creativity and Innovation

The different woods used in this piece were turned, sculpted, and include marquetry. It had six drawers, one cylindrical with a sprung ejection mechanism that can be used to store a bottle, and another with a retractable curtain closing. Pushing the button made of boxwood burl makes the midnight blue writing table advance, revealing a half-cylindrical pen holder. Opening the door with the horn handle reveals partitions and two small drawers with varnished interiors. It goes without saying that this piece also contains a secret space … location of which must remain a secret!

Deposition of Christ by Donatello – The Mystery of a Restoration

We learned from the press that the Pontifical Delegation for the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua appointed a scientific committee composed of four scholars to evaluate the conservation and restoration program of the “Equestrian Statue of Gattamelata” which stands out in the square adjacent to the Basilica of Padua.

Since 2020, Ce.St.Art and the association Territori have conceived, promoted, and presented a far-reaching project which covers not only the restoration of the “Gattamelata Statue” but above all the restoration of the “Deposition of Christ” by Donatello stored inside the Basilica and which, while representing an absolute masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, is in a questionable condition.

Bottega d’Arte Toscana – Ancient Italian Gold Art Techniques in the 21st Century | Exclusive Interview with Silvia Salvadori

Silvia Salvadori is an award-winning Italian painter who specializes in contemporary iconography as well as Gothic and Medieval art styles. She is one of the few artist in Italy that uses ancient pictorial techniques that were handed down directly from Cennino Cennini himself.

Now, from her studio “Bottega d’Arte Toscana” in Arezzo, Tuscany, Silvia creates incredible historical reproductions as well as stunning original works of fine modern art, often merging the past and the present techniques in spectacular ways. Real 24 karat gold, which has become her artistic signature, is ever-present on most of Silvia’s paintings which are in high demand in Europe and all over the world.