Sigurd Curman's Restorations: Swedish Heritage in a Modern Context

Sigurd Curman (1879-1966) dominated the field of cultural heritage in Sweden during the first half of the twentieth century, and his influence remained strong for the rest of the century. His early career included a range of professional roles: architect, civil servant, scholar, and professor of architectural history. In 1923 he was appointed national antiquarian, a post that he held until his retirement in 1946. During these years, Curman built an extensive organization and laid the foundation for modern heritage management. This article focuses on Curman's restorations during the early part of his career at the turn of the twentieth century, when a new paradigm in preservation critical of nineteenth-century practices was emerging. In his restorations of medieval churches Curman introduced a method for dealing with authenticity and historic change designed to create a holistic vision of the past that satisfied both artistic and scientific demands.