In this seminar Salvador Muñoz Viñas explores the nature of the conservator’s knowledge and its relationship to science, suggesting that this relationship might have unwanted consequences for the conservation profession.

He suggests that there is a marked tendency to understand conservation as a scientific discipline, or at least as a science-based discipline particularly in the published literature, in academic circles, and in other cultural institutions. The fact that science has contributed to the development of the profession in such important ways might make us forget that successful conservation treatments crucially require a type of sophisticated knowledge that falls beyond the reach of science.

There will be a 55min presentation followed by 15min of discussion.

Salvador Muñoz Viñas is Head of Paper Conservation at the Institute for Restauration of Cultural Heritage at the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia. He has a particular interest in authenticity and ethics and has lectured and published on these themes.

Featured image: Detail of Study For Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences by Samuel Jennings