The Enactment of the Authentic Original: Conservation-restoration of kalkmålningar in Swedish curches around 1850–1980

QC 20251218

Abstract

In Sweden, there are more than a thousand completely or partially preserved medieval churches, with many containing kalkmålningar (mural paintings), dating from between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. This thesis deals with the enactments and re-enactments that formed the revival of these paintings, particularly the conservation-restoration work carried out between 1850–1980, including contemporaneous, decorative, and monumental paintings that were created in relation to this revival. The thesis further investigates how kalkmålningar became embedded within Sweden’s listed cultural heritage. Following the enactments, thought collectives of the period are revealed, shedding light on the relation between these paintings and the establishment of theories and practices within the emergent field of conservation-restoration. Through an eclectic methodology–including analysis of written sources, and investigations of the paintings in-situ, partly grounded on inspiration from actor-network theory (ANT), discursive analysis, posthumanism, and object-oriented ontology (OOO)–the thesis asks what agency these paintings have. How can we understand conservation-restoration as a hybrid practice that encompasses a more-than-human perspective, challenging the modern dichotomy between nature and culture?

     The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part gives an introduction to the thesis, theory, and method, including an analysis of the emergence of conservation-restoration in relation to the modern “thought figure” of the “authentic original”. It gives an introduction to the topic of kalkmålningar in Sweden, and an analysis of the network that enacted them and their collective values. The second part forms a historical analysis and description of the enactments of kalkmålningar between 1850–1980, identifying three periods of different conservation-restoration principles: stylistic restoration, original conservation-restoration, and precautionary conservation-restoration. The third part discusses the enactments that informed the revival of kalkmålningar, and draws conclusions concerning the ontology of conservation and paintings. This part further identifies and discusses particular traditions of Swedish restoration, such as the principles of Sigurd Curman, the precautionary attitude, the pursuit of a lively harmonic church room, the prevalence of handicraft conservation-restoration, as well as the restrictive attitude towards retouching that emerged in the 1960s, and the lack of an institute dedicated to technical studies of art. The thesis concludes with an epilogue, in which three contemporary conservation-restoration tendencies are finally discussed, influenced by a changing perception regarding ethics, sustainability, and the authentic original.

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