{"id":42711,"date":"2026-06-01T12:34:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museoomero.it\/media\/aisthesis-discover-art-through-all-the-senses\/aisthesis-number-33-may-2026\/art-and-touch-toward-a-conscious-experience\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T12:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:42:34","slug":"art-and-touch-toward-a-conscious-experience","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/museoomero.it\/en\/media\/aisthesis-discover-art-through-all-the-senses\/aisthesis-number-33-may-2026\/art-and-touch-toward-a-conscious-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Art and touch. Toward a conscious experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Elena Tesser.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ban on touching artworks has socio-political roots and material-related scientific evidence. In the 18th century, tactile access was a privilege of the upper classes, whose touch was considered “rational” and non-harmful. With the opening of museums to the general public, the prohibition against touching objects became strict, labeling physical contact as “dirty” and “undisciplined”. This restriction, maintained to this day, has led modern museology to favor sight as the primary sense for learning relegating the other senses including touch, to secondary ways of knowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While socio-political justifications may be debatable today, from the scientific perspective, the interaction of skin with artistic materials shows clear evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skin is a complex biochemical system consisting of 70% water, 25% protein, and 3% lipids, with lower percentages of mineral salts. The environment we live in leads the body to absorb a variable content of pollutants and gases dissolved in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With touch, the skin transfers a mixture of sebum and sweat: sebum is a lipid secretion while sweat is predominantly watery and non-neutral containing electrolytes and organic compounds that are potentially reactive with various substrates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deterioration of artworks cannot be established a priori but depends on the material, porosity, environment and the presence of any conservation treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a chemical point of view, the deposit of sweat on bronze and copper alloy can promote corrosion phenomena due to dissolved chlorides (bronze disease). In other cases, organic residues left by touch on porous stone substrates can feed the growth of bacteria such as Serratia marcescens which produce brownish-red pigments. Furthermore, sulfurous substances carried by skin secretions can react with lead-based pigments in paintings causing color alterations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a physical point of view, however over time, abrasion due to rubbing can remove the noble patina and the original decorated surface, increasing the roughness and porosity of the substrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through science applied to cultural heritage, artworks constitute an essential source of information for understanding production technologies, provenance, dating, authenticity, and the state of conservation of artifacts, as well as identifying the causes of degradation and developing guidelines that guarantee conservation and accessibility.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, scientific literature is full of restoration interventions that have compromised the stability of artworks due to the incorrect use of products, unsuitable practices or inappropriate conservation environments. This begs the question: in order to preserve our heritage, are people’s hands really the only factor to limit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, “Sensory Museology” promotes a controlled or layered touch based on solid bases. The Omero Museum itself doesn\u2019t speak of touching but of caressing artworks. Touch provides information about weight, density, temperature, and vibration that sight cannot capture giving a cognitive value. Blind and visually impaired people require physical contact to access art and several studies have shown that touch has brought significant therapeutic benefits even in healthcare contexts.

\u00a0For large museums that safeguard historical and contemporary works, one could therefore think not of a universal ban but of a study of the collection materials to select “suitable for handling” objects, such as low-porosity stones or protected metals, others for “limited use” on special occasions, such as the recent case of the Veiled Christ at the Museo Cappella Sansevero in Naples and objects that are “untouchable” due to the fragility or nature of their materials. For the latter, 3D scans and printers and the creation of faithful replicas of the originals can allow a complete tactile experience without risk.

\u00a0The diagnostics of cultural heritage could use this solution not only to classify the works that can be touched but also to monitor the impact of touch on surfaces over time potentially limiting or expanding the permitted access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tactile visits often promote the use of nitrile gloves to protect both the handler and the artwork, although gloves sometimes limit the actual perception of the material. In some museums, to avoid gloves hand washing is required before contact to reduce the contribution of external pollutants, fatty substances and soluble salts. In 2021, on the occasion of the exhibition “This Living Hand”, the Henry Moore Foundation introduced a sink at the entrance of the Henry Moore Studios & Gardens to encourage visitors to interact with the sculptures only after washing their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must remember that even with perfectly clean hands, the skin continues to emit sebum and sweat; therefore, it would be necessary to repeat the washing depending on the duration of the visit. Furthermore, sanitizing gels do not remove the lipid component of sebum and can leave substances on the skin that are transferable with touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In such a rich and multifaceted landscape of variables rather than continuing to apply the absolute rule of “do not touch”, we could work in multidisciplinary groups to regulate tactile visits for the protection of both the works and the public.
The ban should therefore not be taken as a dogma but subjected to scientific evaluation to allow everyone a wider access to culture and knowledge).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elena Tesser. The ban on touching artworks has socio-political roots and material-related scientific evidence. In the 18th century, tactile access was a privilege of the upper classes, whose touch was considered “rational” and non-harmful. With the opening of museums to the general public, the prohibition against touching objects became strict, labeling physical contact as “dirty” […] Continua a leggere: Art and touch. Toward a conscious experience<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":42673,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42711","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArt and touch. 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