From nobles and bourgeois. Nationalisms as engine of conservation and restoration

Abstract

This articles analyses the origin and development of nineteenth century restorers in the scope of Spanish institutions, based on the case study of the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, as the main exponents of the deployment of Spanish restoration. On the one hand the constitution of Madrid as the political capital would condition its major cultural relevance, as a pioneer in the configuration of the professional profile. Furthermore, the centralism of Madrid would justify protagonism by the Royal Academy of St. Fernando as the main controlling body of restorations and heritage. On the other hand, Barcelona would become the epicentre of the first Industrial Revolution in Spain, which would have an impact on the incorporation of scientific advances in the restoration discipline. Moreover, the development of Catalonian nationalism, in reply to the centralism of Castilian Spain, would mark it with some of its own particularities. In this text the features of the gestation of two differentiated models of institutional restorers are presented.