Pablo Navarro Esteve

Restoration of paintings on domes with non-developable geometry (Los Santos Juanes Church in Valencia)

ABSTRACT The restoration of paintings on elements in cultural heritage buildings (fundamentally, churches) involves two structural problems: capturing the geometry of the construction element and its development. In many cases, the geometries are regular (e.g., cylinders, spheres, elliptical domes). However, there are cases in which the elements cannot be adapted to any known geometry, much less one that can be mathematically developed. The development of surfaces becomes essential for the restoration of paintings over “flat elements” (over which work is performed on the ground) that are subsequently transferred to the real surface (ceilings). The mathematical transformations that allow regular geometries to be developed are widely known (cartographic projections). However, when the geometry is irregular, there is no development. This study presents a new methodology based on differential rectification and its application for the development of oculi in the Los Santos Juanes Church (Valencia), whose geometry is completely irregular both in shape and as a result of construction defects (and damage caused by fire). The present study focuses on the restoration of paintings damaged by fire.

The Figure of the Architect-Teacher in the Second Half of the 18th Century in Valencia

The topic of the paper is to analyze the figure of the architect as a teacher in Valencia in the second half of the eighteenth century. We’ll start studying the “Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos” in Valencia and its connections with the “Academia de San Fernando” in Madrid, to delve the research about the architect’s teaching inside academy, focusing on academic training, requirements to the graduates, demands, and on the competence allocations at this time, emphasizing the figure of Antonio Gilabert, author of the most important works in Valencia during this period.