Art, technique and metal craft. Ornamental metal works in Montevideo´s architectural heritage, 1780-1950

Abstract

This article summarizes some aspects of the project “Iron and bronze. Criteria for the valuation and conservation of ornamental metalworks in the architectural heritage of Uruguay”, whose objective is to establish the heritage attributes of the metallic ornamental elements associated with facades of the national architectural heritage and contribute to their dissemination, enhancement, and conservation. Throughout the research, socio-cultural, artistic, formal, and technical aspects are addressed, and finally, those related to the deterioration of these elements and the guidelines for their preservation and restoration.

The methodology is based on the study of primary sources, published and unpublished, on the revision of specialized bibliography and on the site work on a representative sample of metallic ornamental elements applied to the facades of Montevideo architecture. A total of 250 buildings were surveyed, corresponding to the different periods that we distinguished in the evolution of the local ornamental metalwork between the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 20th century. It is an initial contribution that delves into a field that is scarcely studied in our environment about the knowledge and dissemination of metalwork in the context of the Uruguayan architectural and artistic heritage, providing useful information to the academy, the institutions linked to the valuation and heritage conservation and the general public.