Studying Traditional Painting Methods

In January of 2026, my art history professor Maria Buszek graciously sent me the website for the San Gemini Preservation Studies (SGPS) program, suggesting I look into whether it was worthwhile and something I might be interested in. As I did, the prospect of studying art conservation in Italy felt like a suddenly attainable dream. As I worked through my applications and pursued the channels of approval for a CU non-approved program, initially I debated between Program D: Paper Restoration in Artworks and Archival Documents and Program E: Traditional Painting Materials, Methods and Restoration Issues. I read anecdotally that there’s more work for paper conservators than painting, but my heart lies in painting and in the end, there was really no contest. As it stands, my pathway to the future isn’t as clear and concise as it once was. I returned to college in 2022 to specifically fulfill an undergrad that would make me an ideal candidate for a graduate program in art conservation....

Introductions After all the students had arrived, we had an orientation meeting where we met the SGPS faculty and staff. Program directors Max Cardillo and Polly Withers were our main contacts, and I met my professors Sofia and Fabiola then as well. On the first Monday, Max gave us an extensive tour around San Gemini’s historical district, which sits on a hill above where the rest of San Gemini bleeds into the city of Terni. The district is small and ancient, with a population of about 400-500 who live there year-round, leaving empty residences that allow for us to stay in local apartments. I won't get into the extensive history Max elaborated on, but to offer a tiny introduction, he shared this: San Gemini was likely a small Umbrian settlement in pre-Roman times, although there is no historical documentation of the town by this name until the 11th century CE. Officially, the town is named for the saint Sato Gemine, a Syrian monk called Yemin that came to Italy and became...

Restoration Ethics   Second week Restoration Theory lectures started out with the actual ethics of conservation/restoration: what is ethical to do or not do, and how. There's a general trend between American/English attitudes and then Italian attitudes around how to restore things. A/E attitude is more market-responsive and therefore more mimetic - it tries to hide damage in a seamless way; whereas Italian strategies are more transparent in what's original versus restored and are more responsive to historical inquiry than the market. My general view is that every artwork should be considered on a case by case basis, balancing factors such as patron/client, audience, expense of restorative action, historical value, etc. The topic of repatriation was raised by a fellow classmate, but we didn't get too into it because a future lecture addresses the concept of "cultural property" and we'll dive into it more then. One of my firm opinions there is that when it comes...