Technology of Wall Paintings

The article focuses on the case of "Episodes in Matter" artworks created by the Greek Contemporary Artist, Rena Papaspyrou. As far as her artworks΄ conservation is concerned, will certainly occupy
in the near future, contemporary art conservators.Her intent and statement provide Information and  art records left are of extreme importance. During interviewing the artist has explained to the author the ways she had used the strappo detachment tecnique, adopted by the wall-painting conservators of 60s: as to face old walls, detach and remove old walls from abandoned houses from Athens and use them as surfaces where ink, pencil or colors were applied so as to enhance an artistic story-telling.

Excavations in the North-West Church yielded numerous fragments of plain and painted wall plaster, which suggest that the entire interior of the church was plastered, and in large part, decorated with wall paintings. The majority of painted remains were discovered in the martyrion chapel and in the diakonikon. This paper describes the findings and addresses the following questions: to what extent was the church painted; what did the paintings represent; were these paintings aniconic; what are the characteristic features of the technique of execution of these paintings; do these paintings belong to a single phase
of decoration of the church?

In the past, Bronze Age painted plaster in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean has been studied from a range of different but isolated viewpoints. One of the current questions about this material is its direction of transfer. Within this current debate, Aegean prehistorians mainly have suggested a transfer from west to east while Knapp, Sherratt and Woolley suggested that a transfer from east to west is also possible.
The discussion of transfer has been based mainly on iconographic and a few isolated technological studies. Therefore, I aim, first, to investigate the direction of technological transfer and see how it related to the iconographic transfer. Second, I aim to shed light on the forces behind the technological transfer of this painting tradition.
My research has brought both technological and iconographic (and other) approaches closer together: 1) by completing certain gaps in the literature on technology and 2) by investigating how and why technological transfer has developed and what broader impact this had on the wider social dynamics of the late Middle and Late Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean.
I approached the topic of painted plaster by a multidisciplinary methodology. After a thorough macro- and microscopic study, a selection of analytical techniques were employed to a set of carefully selected samples from twelve sites. These combined data provided the mineralogical and chemical characterization of pigments and plaster. Underlying this approach was the attention paid to conservation and preservation issues. This resulted, for instance, in two pilot studies in which the data of two non-destructive techniques were compared to those of the more traditional ones with a view to future sample reduction strategies.
Furthermore, the analytical results were enriched by small-scale experiments conducted in order to reveal more about the technologies involved. Moreover, these experiments provided insights in human aspects of the craft, its labour division and complexity. When human actors and their interactions are placed in the centre of the scene, it demonstrates the human forces through which transfer was enabled and how multiple social identities and the inter-relationships of these actors with each other and their material world were expressed through their craft production and organization.
The investigated data from sixteen sites has been contextualized within a wider framework of Bronze Age interconnections both in time and space because studying painted plaster in the Aegean cannot be considered separate from similar traditions both in Egypt and in the Near East.
This study made clear that it is not possible to deduce a one-way directional transfer of this painting tradition. Furthermore, by integrating both technology and iconography with its hybrid character, a clear „technological style‟ was defined in the al fresco work found on these specific sites. Every aspect of both technology and iconography reinforces each other within this technological style and shows how iconography and technology are inseparable.
Based on my own research, I suggest that the technological transfer most likely moved from west to east. This has important implications in the broader politico-economic and social dynamics of the eastern Mediterranean during the LBA. Since this art/craft was very much elite-owned, it shows how the smaller states in the LBA, such as the regions of the Aegean, were capable of staying within the large trade and exchange
network that comprised the large powers of the East and Egypt. The Minoan, Cycladic and Mycenaean people had their own resources to offer in LBA trade and exchange networks, and gift-giving and these assets were clearly appreciated at several large centres. The painted plaster reflects a very visible presence in the archaeological record and, because it cannot be transported without its artisans, it suggests specific interactions of royal courts in the East with the Aegean peoples. At all of these places in the East, other material remains of Aegean origin were found. These reinforce the notion of contact but it does not necessarily reflect the physical presence of Aegean people on a permanent or temporary basis. Only the painted plaster required at least temporary presence of a small team of painters and plasterers. Exactly this factor forms an argument in support of travelling artisans, who, in turn, shed light onto broader aspects of contact, trade and exchange mechanisms during the late MBA and LBA.

The papers in this volume are the results of an extensive programme of research
based on investigations of samples of Nubian mural paintings from the Middle
Nile Valley dating from the 6th to the 14th century AD. The samples came mainly
from museum collections such as the National Museum, Khartoum, the National
Museum in Warsaw and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, as well as
current archaeological excavations in Sudan.
The composition of plasters, pigments and binders and lime washes are reported
in detail together with an overview of previous and present conservation and
transfer procedures. The data collected show the changes in painting methods and materials used in the Nubian medieval kingdoms over time and the possible associated implications in terms of the inspirations and aspirations of the Nubians concerning patronage, trading links and economy.
Medieval Nubian Wall Paintings Techniques and Conservation

From: Materiali e tecniche nella pittura murale del Quattrocento, conference procedings edited by M. Cardinali, M.B. De Ruggieri, B, Fabian, Roma, Università “La Sapienza”, 20-22/02/ 2002, Roma 2010. Introduction and review of the results and data supplied by the technical researches and restorations of the late XV century murals, discussed at the 2002 international Conference

The conference will examine the subject of painters’ materials and ateliers from a multidisciplinary perspective: papers will include contributions from art historians, conservators, restorers, physicists and chemists. The main themes will be: the reconstruction of relationships between artists and companies producing fine arts materials, their marketing, supply and communications which targeted artists, the coeval image and today’s reconstruction and musealization of the painter’s studio materials. Besides presenting single case-studies, the conference aims to propose a methodological discussion on the study of the painter’s studio materials as a means of examining the painter’s technique and practice in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries.

This work concerns the characterisation of a set of wall painting and stucco fragments
collected during a rescue excavation carried out in 2013 by the Soprintendenza Archeologica in the
Monte d’Oro area (Rome). Due to the contextless archaeological situation, analyses were performed
to obtain more information about the collected materials. A multi-analytical approach has been
applied including spectroscopic (FTIR, Raman and visible reflectance analyses) and elemental analysis
(SEM-EDS) techniques. The chromatic palette has been in this way disclosed evidencing the use
of pigments such as cinnabar, Egyptian blue, red and yellow ochre and green earth, but also the
simultaneous use of them. The presence of a decoration achieved by using a gold leaf has been
highlighted also, indicating the preciousness of the decorations. The convenience and advantages
linked to the use of portable instrumentation have been also evidenced.

Cada intervención de conservación-restauración se convierte en oportunidad para reconstruir el procedimiento creativo y pictórico empleado en la ejecución mural. Repasamos la secuencia de estos procesos en los grandes fresquistas españoles, desde los bocetos iniciales y los sistemas de traslado al muro, hasta los recursos pictóricos empleados por algunos cuadraturistas.

The paper discusses the case study of the Marriage at Cana, a sixteenth century wall painting located in Ravenna and executed by Luca Longhi. A multi-analytical approach based upon OM, SEM-EDS, μ-Raman, μ-FTIR and biological analyses was selected to investigate the painting technique and the state of preservation of the artwork, compromised by a severe alteration. Data demonstrated that the artwork was executed with a dry painting technique: a siccative oil was used as binder, while indigo, lead white, carbon black, ochres, vermilion and red lead were identified as pigments. Biological analyses clearly allowed identifying Eurotium halophilicum as the fungus responsible for the white patina compromising the painted surface and, according to this result, Biotin T was selected as the most effective biocide to stop the biological attack. The precarious conditions in which the painting was, attributable to previously performed interventions and to the conservation environment, laid the groundwork for a challenging restoration conducted in 2016. Scientific analyses better clarified the kind of materials employed in the execution on the artwork, as well as how the previous restoration was carried out; furthermore, analytical data methodologically supported phases of the intervention like cleaning, filling of the lacunae and pictorial retouching, as products were selected on the basis of their affinity to original materials and painting technique. This study will hopefully encourage reflections on how a synergic dialogue between conservation science and restoration can represent an important reference point for interventions to be conducted with scientific criteria and suitable methodology, in the light of the shared vision and common goal of transferring patrimony to future generations.

The excavation of Building FF2 at Ebla provided new important data related to the tradition of wall paintings in Early Bronze Age Syria. This tradition still remains quite poorly known and understood, and the way to an interpretation of the relevant features, meanings and developments is thus mostly made of comparisons with findings from other regions and periods. The main difficulties are here represented by the lack of shared approaches in recording and publishing information on this kind of material witness, in particular in relation to technical and technological aspects. This contribution is based on efforts that point at collecting as many evidences as possible to outline a profile of the Early Syrian wall painting techniques. The main aim is here to find enough evidence supporting the placement of the Ebla wall painting findings within the Early Syrian tradition and its chronological developments, as well as in the context of the artistic and artisan cultures of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean regions.

The numerous paintings on the facades of churches, chapels, monuments, castles, town houses and rural houses demonstrate that the custom of decorating exteriors was widespread in Slovenia from the Middle Ages onwards. This segment of open-air artistic heritage is usually badly exposed to harmful natural and human environmental factors and is therefore one of the heritage types most at risk. With a suitably methodologically supported protection strategy it is possible to monitor the extent, state of conservation and risk status of wall paintings and take timely steps to protect them. To this end an experimental project has been designed, within the framework of which a model of an integrated approach to conserving wall paintings has been developed and applied. The result of the collection of data in the field and in historical records is an extensive database on the state of conservation and the risk status of more than 200 medieval wall paintings on the exteriors of more than 130 buildings. Some of the more important data on the condition of this segment of heritage are presented in this paper. The model is sufficiently broad to be applicable to both interior and exterior wall paintings and, with suitable adjustments, to other segments of art heritage. It can be linked to the methodologies of related disciplines (architecture, ethnology, archaeology, etc.) and its results can be incorporated into a corresponding cultural heritage information system.

Kotlyar Eugeny. Tradition Handed Down as Perception. Jewish Cultural Center “Beit Dan” // Vaterpas. – Kharkov, 2002. – # 41. –  P. 14-15. (in Russian)
Котляр Евгений. Традиция, данная в ощущении. Еврейский культурный центр Бейт Дан // Ватерпас. – Харьков, 2002. – № 41. – С. 14-15.

This paper presents the results of analyses carried out on three decorative phases of the presbytery of the church of Santa Maria Antiqua al Foro Romano in Rome: the fourth-century ad mosaics setting bed; the Adoration of the Cross, dated to the papacy of John VII (ad 705–7); and the paintings in the apse of the Pope Paul I (ad 757–68) phase. The research allowed the characterization of the painting techniques, pigments, organic compounds and degradation products by means of a video microscope, optical microscopy, and μ-Raman and FT–IR spectroscopy, contributing to a better understanding of the changes in the techniques and materials used throughout the centuries in one of the most relevant medieval Christian monuments in Western Europe.

Above the church vaults in eight churches in the region Östergötland in Sweden, medieval mural paintings, dated to the period 1180-1350, are preserved. . During the 15th century the medieval wooden ceilings in these churches were replaced with brick vaults decorated with gothic murals.  The murals above the vaults are significant artifacts from the early medieval period in Northern Europe. Some of these paintings have never been conserved and the material is thus completely unaffected, which is rare in Sweden. This makes them valuable sources for research and understanding of early medieval painting technology as well as interpretation of its visual message.

ICOMOS Sweden invites you to a symposium where paintings technology, technical art history, iconography, reception and value will be the topic. The purpose  is to bring together different perspectives related to these murals. Speakers representing different disciplines in art history and cultural  heritage are invited.

The symposium is organized by ICOMOS Sweden with support from the Berit Wallenberg Foundation. Co-organisers are Norrköping Art Museum and the pro bono project DoCValue.

The paper discusses the case study of the Marriage at Cana, a sixteenth century wall painting located in Ravenna and executed by Luca Longhi. A multi-analytical approach based upon OM, SEM–EDS, μ-Raman, μ-FTIR and biological analyses was selected to investigate the painting technique and the state of preservation of the artwork, compromised by a severe alteration. Data demonstrated that the artwork was executed with a dry painting technique: a siccative oil was used as binder, while indigo, lead white, carbon black, ochres, vermilion and red lead were identified as pigments. Biological analyses clearly allowed identifying Eurotium halophilicum as the fungus responsible for the white patina compromising the painted surface and, according to this result, Biotin T was selected as the most effective biocide to stop the biological attack. The precarious conditions in which the painting was, attributable to previously performed interventions and to the conservation environment, laid the g...

This paper presents the results of analyses carried out on three decorative phases of the presbytery of the church of Santa Maria Antiqua al Foro Romano in Rome: the fourth-century AD mosaics setting bed; the Adoration of the Cross, dated to the papacy of John VII (AD 705–7); and the paintings in the apse of the Pope Paul I (AD 757–68) phase. The research allowed the characterization of the painting techniques, pigments, organic compounds and degradation products by means of a video microscope, optical microscopy, and μ-Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy, contributing to a better understanding of the changes in the techniques and materials used throughout the centuries in one of the most relevant medieval Christian monuments in Western Europe.

The paper discusses the case study of the Marriage at Cana, a sixteenth century wall painting located in Ravenna and executed by Luca Longhi. A multi-analytical approach based upon OM, SEM–EDS, μ-Raman, μ-FTIR and biological analyses was selected to investigate the painting technique and the state of preservation of the artwork, compromised by a severe alteration. Data demonstrated that the artwork was executed with a dry painting technique: a siccative oil was used as binder, while indigo, lead white, carbon black, ochres, vermilion and red lead were identified as pigments. Biological analyses clearly allowed identifying Eurotium halophilicum as the fungus responsible for the white patina compromising the painted surface and, according to this result, Biotin T was selected as the most effective biocide to stop the biological attack. The precarious conditions in which the painting was, attributable to previously performed interventions and to the conservation environment, laid the g...

"No final de 2006 visitei a inauguração da exposição Lunda – Tchokwe, integrada na Trienal de Luanda. Estiveram em exposição 99 quadros reproduzidos a partir da obra, há muito esgotada, intitulada 'Subsídios para a história, arqueologia e etnografia dos povos da Lunda – paredes pintadas da Lunda' (1953), da autoria de José Redinha. Alguns artistas angolanos contemporâneos referiram na altura que aqueles trabalhos foram influentes e determinantes nas suas obras. Durante a minha visita constatei ainda que aqueles quadros despertavam emoções e até manifestações positivas em alguns visitantes face aos desenhos, que podiam ser encaradas como motivadoras da auto‐estima dos angolanos e inspiradoras de novos artistas plásticos. Neste texto irei procurar dar a conhecer um pouco melhor a figura de José Redinha (1905‐1983), um importante etnógrafo que produziu vários trabalhos e relatórios sobre diversas zonas culturais de Angola, e o trabalho que este desenvolveu enquanto funcionário, primeiro como empregado e depois como conservador, no Museu do Dundo, que esteve sob o controle da Companhia de Diamantes de Angola até 1975. Nesse sentido irei contextualizar esta personagem e a sua acção no contexto mais vasto que é o do período colonial português da primeira metade do século XX e tentarei perceber como algumas iniciativas, já criticadas ou questionadas, levadas a cabo nos anos 40 e 50 por figuras do colonialismo português, como José Redinha, que durante muito tempo foram esquecidos ou ignorados, são agora lembradas ou começam a produzir alguns efeitos, ainda que inesperados e surpreendentes no que diz respeito a aspectos que envolvem questões relativas à identidade, influência cultural, hibridez e pós-colonialismo".

V minulih dveh študijskih letih so študentje 4. letnika Oddelka za restavratorstvo Akademije za likovno umetnost Univerze v Ljubljani restavrirali pet večjih fragmentov srednjeveških fresk, ki jih že desetletja hrani Oddelek za umetnostno zgodovino Filozofske fakultete v Ljubljani. Fragmenti izvirajo iz p. c. Marijinega oznanjenja v Crngrobu in p. c. sv. Kancijana v Vrzdencu pri Horjulu, kot so pokazale kasnejše raziskave, na Filozofsko fakulteto pa so morali priti za časa Franceta Steleta. Bili so v zelo slabem stanju in hranjeni v neprimernih razmerah, zato je bil skrajni čas za njihovo restavriranje in boljšo prezentacijo, na katero pa še čakajo.

Damaging phenomena in the form of small pits or eruptions are occurring on surfaces of various kinds of natural or artificial porous materials. They are particularly harmful in plasters of historic wall paintings since they are the cause for irreparable loss of the original paint layer. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanism of pitting to apply appropriate conservation and restoration measures for prevention or reduction of further decay. In Slovenia the pitting decay was studied in more detail for the first time in the 1990s in the case of Gothic wall paintings of the church in Hrastovlje (by I. Bogovčič and I. Nemec). The researchers have proved that pitting can be caused by repeated swelling and shrinkage of hygroscopic particles in plaster. Further study of the phenomena along with in situ and the laboratory research in the last ten years have given even more insight into the issue. In general, the reason for eruptions which later transform into pitting lies in eruptive particles occurring in the material. These particles produce pressures to the surrounding material through changes in form and volume due to moisture and temperature changes. Depth, size and other patterns of pitting differ, regarding the type and position of the eruptive particle since it can be found deeper in plaster or closely under the paint surface. Water-soluble salts are most often described as eruptive factors. In situ investigations on more than 200 medieval wall paintings on exteriors of monuments in Slovenia have shown that the pitting decay is present on nearly 80% of all the paintings and in more than one tenth the phenomena seriously endanger the painting. The experimental research on test samples in the laboratory has confirmed that the water-soluble salts are the reason for pitting phenomena. Besides, the eruptive potential of crystallized water was also detected.

The Filanthropinon monastery church is regarded the birthplace of the BEpirus/NW Greece School^ of painting as it bears the oldest wall paintings of this very school. Surviving inscriptions bear no painter name(s), yet they testify that the murals were executed in three phases between 1531/2 and 1560. The bulk of the technical and typological characteristics of the latter paintings are typical of post-Byzantine religious art, whileOM, SEM-EDX, and micro-Raman probing reveals the existence of a number of idiomorphic characteristics that might be viewed as part of the microscopic fingerprint of the BEpirus school.^ A microscopic fingerprint of the school is important because current attributions of relevant works to specific painters are mostly stylistic ones, as pertinent signatures are rare. The latter characteristics include the application of a Bcharcoal plus blue smalt^ substrate in the paintings’ background and the employment of a possibly local (: Epirus), unusual ochre pigment. Sophisticated segregation of pigment grains, employment of glauconite, and the extensive use of San Giovanni white were also documented. Analytical data support the following scheme as regards artistic identities: the 1531/2 nave paintings were executed by a single painter, possibly assisted by a pupil who also contributed to the 1542 paintings. The paintings of the 1542 and 1560 phases are apparently the outcome of another—yet related to the nave painter—workshop; there are clues which indicate employment of Georgios and Frangos Kontaris in both of these commissions. Finally, remnants of four different overpaintings were also revealed: pertinent pigments indicate successive interventions during an extended period of time, which reflect the will of Filanthropinon votaries to retain the murals vivid.

La cathédrale d’Angers renferme quelques peintures murales parmi les plus grandes et les mieux préservées d’Europe. Tout autour de l’emplacement initial des tombeaux de Saint Maurille (Maurilius) et de Saint René (Renatus), les miracles légendaires rattachés à ces deux saints patrons prennent forme grâce aux vives peintures à l’huile qui s’étendent sur toute la largeur des sept travées absidiales du chevet. Au fil de cette histoire sacrée qui se révèle aux yeux des spectateurs, les émotions rayonnent sur le visage des personnages tandis que leurs corps dynamiques s’enroulent et se déroulent en mouvements suspendus dans le temps. Pleines de couleurs éclatantes et d’expressions animées, ces monumentales peintures murales de la cathédrale d’Angers sont l’exemple exceptionnel du dynamisme de la peinture gothique et devraient trouver leur place parmi les plus impressionnantes réalisations artistiques du treizième siècle. Malheureusement, de nombreux visiteurs de la cathédrale ignorent l’existence de ces peintures extraordinaires car elles sont actuellement cachées derrière « les hautes boiseries des stalles »  qui furent ajoutées au dix-huitième siècle. La présence de ces boiseries occulte totalement le cycle de Saint Maurille et crée un espace exigu de moins de deux mètres et demi entre la surface du mur et l’envers des stalles. C’est pourquoi les peintures murales sont difficiles à voir et encore plus difficiles à photographier. Néanmoins, la chaux et les boiseries ont toutes deux protégé les peintures murales des siècles durant, les laissant ainsi dans un excellent état de conservation. On a notamment entendu dire que la survie de ces peintures était, en réalité, « le dernier miracle de Saint Maurille ».