CHAPTER 24. The Burri Project: Research for Technique and Conservation

In accordance with a well-established working method based on an interdisciplinary approach, in 2008 the ISCR (Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro, the former Istituto Centrale del Restauro) started a study project regarding Alberto Burri's artworks belonging to the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini-Collezione Burri in Citta di Castello. These works represent his most exhaustive collection, created by Burri's will in 1978. The Master's personality is reflected not only in his works, divided and chronologically ordered following his entire production from 1948 to 1993 between the monumental Palazzo Albizzini and the Ex Seccatoi del Tabacco (an old tobacco dryhouse), but also in the collection selection and arrangement directly organized and defined by the artist himself. As part of this multidisciplinary project, a wide non-invasive scientific investigation has been carried out on nineteen of Burri's paintings by the MOLAB, a mobile laboratory belonging to the Institute of Science and Molecular Technologies of CNR (CNR-ISTM) and the Centre of Excellence SMAArt of the University of Perugia. The scientific results have been included in the interdisciplinary study project and exploited to deepen the knowledge of Burri's artworks.