Scholarly record

On the specifics of the chandelier exhibiting regarding the historical “palace” interior, and “period room”, also.

M. Mitnik

Abstract

Chandeliers as objects of decorative and applied art were developed in the process of historical evolution to express with much clearance the artistic and stylistic ideas of the time in which they were forged. In all interiors the chandelier was the dominant part, which attracted attention through its shape, size and design decisions. Among the many types of lamps, the chandelier plays the most significant role in the compositional organization and decoration of the palace interior. The thing is, that the evolution of the chandelier types goes along with the development of the artistic style itself, as well as with the history of palace interiors, that is why the best way to perceive a chandelier as a decorative object is to display it in the historical interior. Due to world events of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the rapid change in styles, many palace and apartment interiors have reached us in a modified form, including the significant loss not only in the interiors themselves, but also in the meaning of a chandelier as a lightning device. In the second part of the 20th century (from 1950s to 1990s) a significant number of monuments, chandeliers included, were restored thanks to the data based on archival documents. Also, the public interest in systematic study of the past with the help of direct knowledge of the material culture and its monuments, widespread since the 19th century, was the very thing that contributed to the organization of museums and exhibitions, where the atmosphere of the past was restored, and where lighting devices were selected and demonstrated in different ways, depending on the exhibition’s aims. It could be, for example, a reconstruction of the actual interior, face or overall spirit of the epoch. As in the first case, the chandelier could be a real witness of the actual interior. However, in the second case, its part is reduced. This article discusses the problem of preservation and authenticity of lighting devices; the correct way to rebuild it without any perversion and lost parts, and, in some cases, the way to claim its authenticity. However, it should be stressed, that aesthetic function of historical chandeliers is secondary here to the initial function of ordinary illumination. The lightning device should be shining the same way as it was created in the initial epoch. Thus, this group of questions regarding the palace and period room interiors has different solutions: in one case the chandeliers are for the illuminating purposes, in the other – they should be seen as an interior detail, mostly. In this article, I highlight the rules of exposure of the chandelier in the historical, i.e. palace, interior and in the so-called period room.

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