Professor DePhillips embarked upon a journey teaching an intensive three week course on Conservation Science in Rome Italy. In addition to topics covered in his normal "Art in Science" course taught at Trinity College, his students in the Rome course had the added advantage of being in a City where 30% of the world's art is located. As a result of the surroundings, the class was able to visit professional conservation labs, have presentations by professional conservators, and visit sites that are in the process of, or have been, fully restored.
We followed Dr. DePhillip's travels through pictures sent from Rome. Although we could not all attend the course in person, we were all a part of the experience through his web information.
I hope you enjoy perusing his web site as much as we have.
Please click on the picture below to view a larger version
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June 7th, 2006
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The first order of business is to get your bearings straight.
No better way than a tour of the city. Here, the group is shown in front of the Vatican. |
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June 8th, 2006
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The second order of business is finding the school building and laboratory, which the group appears to have successfully accomplished. |
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Although art may be studied anywhere in the world, the students find a plethora of areas directly in Rome to keep them busy. |
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Studying is fun, but doing is better. Here the students embark upon their own projects. |
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June 13th, 2006
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On Tuesday, June 13, Henry's class was hosted at ICR - Istituto Centrale del Restauro. ICR is one of the three major conservation/resotration organizations in Italy. Their operation is enormous, encompassing all and every kind of conservation work both at their labs and in the field. As with most organizations, they have a large educational component. Students (about 18 per year chosen from about 250 applicants) come here for a four year program in all areas of conservation work and from many, many countries. The class was treated to seminars on paintings conservation and objects conservation, followed with visits to the paintings lab, the stone conservation lab and the objects conservations lab - a four hour exposure to some of the most current work going on in Italy and elsewhere. A very unique experience for a class! |
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June 15th, 2006
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On June 15, Henry's class was visited by Francesca Persegati, Master Conservator at the Vatican conservation labs. Among the topics she discussed with the class was her project on a large alter piece, Montalparo Tryptich, which was completed in the 12th century. |
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Photo of the class listining to the work accomplished on Montalparo Tryptich. |
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June 19th, 2006
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On June 19, two free lance conservators, a husband/wife team, Giorgio Capriotti and Lorenza D'Alessandro, visited with the class. Among the topics they spoke about was their work on Nefertiri's tomb and the tomb of Amenophis III in Egypt. They also spoke about convervation work accomplished on St. Peter's Necropolis under St. Peter's Basillica in Rome. In this picture, the students are begin shown pieces from the Egyptian tombs. |
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Not only were the students shown pieces from the tombs, but actual artifacts were brought to the classroom for the curious group. |
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June 20th, 2006
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On June 20th, the class embarked upon a field trip to the Etruscan tombs in Tarquinia (about 50 miles North of Rome). Here is a map of Tarquinia. |
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Here is a picture emblazoned upon one of the tombs. |
| Click here for a file further explaining Tarquinia and the field trip taken by Henry's class. |
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