Plaster devotional sculptures. Material and technical study

• Autor(a) principal: Quites, Maria Regina Emery
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Santos, Nelyane Gonçalves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34618/ecr.5.3749

The research seeks to meet the demand for knowledge about sculptures in plaster, considering that it is a category rarely addressed in studies of artistic and historical heritage. The objective was to upgrade the body of knowledge, studying these objects under the perspective of the art historian and subjecting them to scientific tests with the goal of conservation-restoration. The methodology comprised three studies: the plaster in art and in the history of sacred art; the plaster as material and the sculpture techniques applied to plaster and the research method used for wood carvings. These studies were the basis for the conceptual and theoretical analysis of the plaster sculpture of St. Agnes, treated as a case study. Examinations were performed by X-rays and sampling for analysis to help understanding the material, its physical support and the polychrome. We stress the importance of the sculptures in plaster, valuing them as part of our heritage. Accordingly conservation and restoration interventions may be discussed and justified, under their religious and aesthetic fruition.