This is the first comprehensive collection of texts on the conservation of art and architecture to be published in the English language. Designed for students of art history as well as conservation, the book consists of forty-five texts, some never before translated into English and many originally published only in obscure or foreign journals. The thirty major art historians and scholars represented raise questions such as when to restore, what to preserve, and how to maintain aesthetic character. Readings come from the work of such writers as Ruskin, Berenson, Clive Bell, Cesare Brandi, Kenneth Clark, Erwin Panofsky, E.H. Gombrich, Marie Cl. Berducou, and Paul Philippot. The fully illustrated book also contains references, a glossary of terms, and an index.

This first volume of the Getty Conservation Institute's "Readings in Conservation" series presents a comprehensive collection of texts on the conservation of art and architecture. Designed for students of art history as well as conservation, the book consists of 46 texts, many originally published in obscure or foreign journals. The 30 art historians and scholars represented raise questions such as when to restore, what to preserve and how to maintain aesthetic character. Excerpts have been selected from the following books and essays: John Ruskin "The Seven Lamps of Architecture"; Bernard Berenson "Aesthetics and History in the Visual Arts"; Clive Bell "The Aesthetic Hypothesis"; Cesare Brandi "Theory of Restoration"; Kenneth Clark "Looking at Pictures"; Erwin Panofsky "The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline"; E.H. Gombrich "Art and Illusion"; Marie Cl. Berducou "The Conservation of Archaeology: and Paul Philipott "Restoration from the Perspective of the Social Sciences".