ISSUES OF AUTHENTICITY AND COMPREHENSIVE PRESERVATION OF DECORATIVE ELEMENTS OF BUILDINGS IN THE RESTORATION OF ARCHITECTURAL MONUMENTS

Abstract

The study focuses on establishing the role of decorative elements of buildings and structures and preserving the integrity of architectural monuments in conjunction with their original decor and environment. The purpose of the article is to determine the meaning of the comprehensive preservation of the original decorative elements of an architectural monument in its restoration as an authentic component of the author's design. Subjectivity in works of art, in particular works of architecture, through the self-expression of the author and the viewer's perception of the artistic image is analysed in the article. The evolution of the preconditions for the creation and use of decorative elements of a building and changes in approaches to the preservation of lost or damaged elements of a work are analysed through a retrospective view. Based on the analysis of a number of studies, the issue of establishing authenticity and its significance in the restoration of a work of art is examined, which leads the author to his own reflections on the necessity and meaning of restoring lost elements of the work and draws attention to the reasonableness of using copies of decorative elements in places where the original ones have been lost. Basic philosophical questions regarding the significance of preserving the actual state of decorative elements of an architectural monument at the moment of its discovery have been identified and considered. Preservation is considered not only as an established practice of the present, but also as a way of continuing the natural life cycle of things, which includes their creation, long existence and cessation, with the rejection of the production of copies as a replacement for what has been lost. The absence of a chronological connection between the original and the copy becomes the basis for a discussion about the reason of a lost element restoring.