Investigating the Process of Restoring the Painting of Saint Sebastiano by Rafael Based on the Theories of Cesare Brandi

The concept of restoration in modern society is considered as a significant performance aiming at conservation of material value left from the past, and thus the phrase restorer is applied to name a person who, aside from having cultural and historical information, is familiar with art technics, chemical properties of substances, and also has sufficient proficiency in using the computer and software in the field of restoring works of art. This field is new in various academic systems in the world and it has a long way to go to reach social maturity. Because the restoration of antiquities requires financial and organizational support first and foremost, in recent decades, this field has received much attention and development in many European countries, which, of course, has led to the expansion of studies and the opening of new perspectives in the science of restoration as a necessary and efficient need. However, the challenge in this research is to explain the processes of restoration, reconstruction, and conservation of artworks from the viewpoint of Cesare Brandi, who is an Italian famous theorist in the field.it is worth mentioning that the data collection is done through library sources. In the process of restoration, maintaining the quiddity of the artwork, the goal of the artist, and paying attention to intangible dimensions of the work is of much significance for a restorer. Brandi believed that transmission of the artwork to posterity in the closest form to its original is the most important base for the restorer. Referring to his written documents, it can be claimed that this theorist paid more attention to the philosophy of restoration rather than the technic in artwork restoration and expressed his point of view in three basic principles. Restoration of antiquities has gained a new place today thanks to the theories proposed by Cesare Brandi, and the restoration of works alone has become an advanced method for scientific and historical research on any work of art. Considering the distinction between restoration in the concept of reconstruction and reclamation of artwork and its conservation, this research matches the restoration of the painting Saint Sebastiano (1502 A.D.) with these opinions by an adaptive-analytical method and laboratory analysis. Since there are many works from the middle ages and Renaissance in Italy which need to be restored, this country became a pioneer in the fields of history and theories both in the laboratory and practical section. The restoration of the mentioned artwork that is done in the Restoration Laboratory of Milan (2014-2018 A.D.), is considered as one of the most successful reconstructions of the present century and this article, aside from surveying the historical and technical aspects of this painting, proceeds to study the different processes and sideways of restoration; trying to introduce the various devices used by restorers. In general, this restoration can be divided into three stages: historical-technical research, cleaning, and staining. One of the most important results of this restoration is Raphael's use of various materials such as glass and ivory, which the restorers saw thanks to the use of strong microscopes. According to the available documents, the mainframe of this work has a golden color, and unfortunately, its fate is unknown today, and the frame that exists now was made in the fourth decade of the twentieth century. This frame had some problems in colors and the restorers of the Museum of Western Art in Tokyo restored the frame. So we can tell this restoration is one of the most completes ones in Europe. Eventually, this survey concluded that the restoration of each artwork is determined by the type of work, a complete consideration of materials used by the artists, and level of damage. This process, through which the restorers survey the artwork by special cameras like InGaAs and different microscopes like ESEM is, per se, one of the best and the most perfect methods for historical studies about each artwork which can reveal its obvious aspects.