S stališča konservatorske stroke čiščenje ni omejeno le na praktično vzdrževanje; gre za epistemološko prizadevanje. Ta dejavnost zavzema osrednje mesto v konservatorski literaturi, v kateri je pogosto sopomenka za odkritje. Najbolj znani italijanski konservatorski teoretik 20. stoletja Cesare Brandi pojmuje čiščenje prahu kot priložnost za razkrivanje in poglabljnje tistih vrst znanja, ki določajo konservatorstvo. Čiščenje slik in poslopij je zanj priložnost, da proniknemo v avtentičnost umetniškega dela, v izrazne namere prvotnih ustvarjalcev ter v naravo estetske celote.
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When considered from the point of view of conservation, cleaning is not just a matter of practical maintenance, but an epistemological pursuit. The practice of cleaning occupies a central place in conservation literature, where it often stands as a synonym of discovery. Cesare Brandi, Italy’s most prominent twentieth-century conservation theorist, conceived of occasions to clear aside dirt as opportunities to lay bare and expand the types of knowledge that define conservation. To him, the cleaning of paintings and buildings offered chances to ask questions about the authenticity of works of art, the expressive intentions of the original creators, and about the nature of aesthetic integrity.
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