La escultura “Ternura” del Maestro Lagoa Henriques: estudio y metodología de conservación : restauración de una escultura de hormigón armado

The case study of this dissertation is “Ternura”, a work of art by Lagoa Henriques, a remarkable Portuguese sculptor of the XXth century. This artwork belongs to the Fine Arts Faculty Museum, integrated into the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Oporto. The sculpture has experienced significant structural alterations, during its exhibition outdoors in the faculty garden for 58 years, mainly due to ageing environmental contamination, temperature and moisture. These deterioration agents led “Ternura” to a problematic condition that put its stability at risk, which could have caused the collapse and total loss of the artwork. Our conservation work aimed to recover its material –consistency to guarantee its stability and carry out the restitution of the lacunae towards its proper artistic fruition. To achieve these goals, a study of the material alterations of “Ternura” was made to the correct framework of the conservation work. A multidisciplinary team of professionals in Physics and Chemistry, Microbiology, Civil Engineering and Conservation of Sculpture was gathered to accomplish the best outcomes from a theoretical, practical and ethical point of view. To obtain information about “Ternura” and its alterations, some techniques were used: Optical Microscopy (MO), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (FE-SEM-EDX), Micro X-Ray Diffraction (micro XRD), algae and fungi cultures for analyses of biological samples; some essays of the concrete under Civil Engineering’s standards were also necessary. The results of all these analyses led to the establishment of a suitable protocol for conserving the sculpture. Furthermore, these protocols and the acquired experience with Ternura’s intervention made possible the achievement of general guidelines for the intervention and preservation of reinforced concrete sculptures, which we hope, can be a valuable support in the future -conservator restorers with the treatment of this kind of works of art.