E Conservation

e_conservation
the online magazine No. 2, December 2007

the online magazine
editoria
It's all about sharing...
Since our first number was published, I have seen with pleasure the
conservators community being active and excited about our project. I see
readers curious to know more about what was published and authors willing
to participate. But I’ve also seen that the conservation community is busy.
I know how demanding our profession is but I believe we can always find
some time to get involved. Lately, I’ve noticed many of you are keen to
participate but do not believe their experience is interesting enough to be
shared. We all can learn even from mistakes and failures. As John Powell
said, the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing. We all
know how hard conservators confess mistakes but the truth is that
sometimes we commit them…
On this second number you will continue to read a series of interesting articles.
Since nowadays there is a major preoccupation with Conservation of
Contemporary Art, some of you may be interested to read about a recent
project of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Porto, where a 1972's neon installation
was reconstructed.
If you are interested in material characterization, you will find engaging the
article about the alteration of cinnabar red from the church of Suceviţa.
We continue our Case Study section introducing the problematic of
derestoration. What do we do when we are confronted with layers of
repaintings during a conservation intervention? Here you can read what was
done in the case of a World Heritage Monument, the church from Arbore.
What’s special about this number?
We opened a new section dedicated to the associations of conservators from
all over the world, thus if you were ever curious about organizations in other
countries, read about the Chamber of Restorers in Slovakia in this first article.
Furthermore, you can find information from interdisciplinary domains like
art history, architecture and documentation.
I hope you will enjoy it!
It is a fortunate coincidence that this issue is launched just before Christmas.

Holidays are always needed and so we should all take a well deserved break
from the daily routine and start the new year in the best way possible.
In the name of the whole team, I wish you a successful 2008!
Rui Bordalo,
Executive Editor
www.prorestauro.com
Index
NEWS 6 2007 Worksites

Medieval Values Discovered at the Assumption Church,
Cepari Village, Argeş, Romania (1752)
by Mihail Gabriel Bîrhală
Events Reviews
9 Lecture on Preventive Conservation of Contemporary Art
30 November 2007, Sintra, Portugal
10 Berlin Conference on Preservation of Himalayan Culture

4-5 December 2007, Berlin, Germany
EVENTS 12 Upcoming Events

December 2007 to February 2008
PROJECT 15 Cultural Project

The Sibiel Cultural Centre, Ecomuseum – Contemporary Art Gallery
by Ovidiu Daneş
ARTICLES 24 Material Studies

An Alteration Phenomenon of Cinnabar Red Pigment
in the Mural Paintings from Suceviţa
by Ioan Istudor, Anca Dină, Geanina Roşu, Doina Şeclăman
and Gheorghe Niculescu
34 Conservation of Contemporary Art

Reconstructing a 1972’s Neon Light Installation at the Faculty
of Fine Arts, University of Porto
by Filipe Duarte
CASE STUDY 46 The Church of "The Beheading of St. John the Baptist" from Arbore
Previous Interventions from the Perspective of Derestoration
by Anca Dină and Oliviu Boldura
ORGANISATIONS 66 Conservation Organisations in Europe

Chamber of Restorers in Slovakia
by Barbara Davidson
ART HISTORY 70 The Crucifixes of Marginime

by Ovidiu Daneş
DOCUMENTATION 78 Documentation for Architecture Conservation:

La Villetta Cemetery in Parma, Italy (part 2)
a project coordinated by Michela Rossi
79 Formal References in Funerary Architecture

by Maria Carmen Nuzzo
81 The Urban Planning of Parma Cemeterial System

by Silvia Ombellini
83 The Master Plan for the Safeguarding and Restoration of La Villetta

by Elisa Adorni
86 The Virtual Museum - The Memory of the Cemetery Heritage

by Simone Riccardi
BOOK REVIEW 88 Lost City, Resumed Architectures

a book by Michela Rossi, reviewed by Federica Ottoni
91 LACONA VI Proceedings (Laser in the Conservations of Artworks)

reviewed by Rui Bordalo
new 2007 Worksites
MEDIEVAL VALUES DISCOVERED AT THE

ASSUMPTION CHURCH,
Cepari Village, Argeş, Romania
(1752)
Worksite supervision:
Mihail Gabriel Bîrhală, Specialist Restorer
Period: 2006 - 2007
The conservation works of the The discovered frescoes were entirely

mural paintings from the church covered by oil paintings executed between
of Cepari Village brought to light 1889 and 1890. Unexpected evidences of
the existence of a valuable older painting beneath the new one were
ensemble of Romanian found during the preliminary research
medieval paintings from 1752. performed for the submission of the
e_conservation
News
conservation project. Several stratigraphic Two conservation projects were submitted

exams and successive cleaning tests were to approval: one regarding the
carried out in the narthex on the paintings preservation of the present oil paintings
from the dome, the arches, the and the other proposing to reveal the old
pendentives and the vertical walls. It was painting through the removal of the new one.
proceeded with maximum care, taking This last was approved by the Minister of
advantage of all exfoliations and lacunas Culture due to for the remarkable value of
of the oil paint layer. The results showed the original paintings and the opportunity
that there were well preserved frescoes to recover them. The actual intervention
beneath the entire surface, the new layer on the original paintings was as less
of painting being applied directly or over intrusive as possible due to the well
a very thin and strong intermediary layer preserved state of preservation and
of chalk and linseed oil. mainly in respect for the preservation
Short History
In the north-west side of Argeş

County, on the Topolog Valley,
Cepari Village can be found.
The church from Cepari was
erected between 1751 and
1752 by jupân Ştefan Balotă.
Nave shaped, the church is built
of brick masonry, consisting of
the altar, the nave and the
narthex. A later inscription
located at the church’s entrance
says that on the occasion of
the restoration works in 1888
an exonarthex was added and
the church was entirely
repainted. The original painting
was made in a fresco
technique, on a intonaco
support (lime with addition of
fine sand and hemp). The
1888’s intervention consisted in
a new layer of oil painting
applied directly over the
frescoes or over a thin
separation layer.
During the intervention - different stages of the

cleaning process.
e_conservation 7
News
Whereas the ulterior layers

provoked physical-chemical
deterioration of the original
paintings, they also protect it
against other degradation
factors. In consequence a fairly
good preservation state was
observed.
During the conservation works
started in 2005, the church
environment was monitored and
the presence of high, abnormal
content of moisture in the
interior walls was identified in all
church’s compartments. It was
proceeded to the removal of the
cement repairs which obstructed
the exclusion of capillarity
moisture from the walls. The
small size lacunas were filled
with mortar and chromatically
retouched.
Areas where the painting and the
original support were not
preserved were filled below the
surface’s level with coloured
mortars.
of the original matter. During the cleaning These paintings are unique, having being
of the painting in the narthex, major made by village painters with no academic
lacunas of the support in the inferior education but with a native talent and
register and at the north-west and north- skills. Cepari’s discovered paintings can be
east pendentives were observed, but after discussed about at large, from both
completing the intervention around 90% professional and personal point of view.
of the original painting was recovered. Cepari is now a point of interest for those
It is expected to meet the same specialised in conservation-restoration or
situation in the rest of the church. art history and a controversial event for
Unfortunately at this point the works are its inhabitants, those village people
stopped due to major structural and their capability of acceptance of the
problems that require immediate solution. message that this work of art transmits.
Text and photos by Mihail Gabriel Bîrhală
8 e_conservation
News
LECTURE
Preventive Conservation of Contemporary Art
30 November 2007, Sintra, Portugal

Organiser: The Leal da Câmara Museum
The Leal da Câmara Museum is a small

institution dedicated to the life and work
of the Portuguese master Leal da
Câmara. Among several artistic
activities, the museum promotes regular
talks on several subjects including
museology and conservation. On this
context, on November 30th Nuno
In every number of the magazine we will Moreira, conservator and adviser of the
report temporary worksite activity. Portuguese Museum Network, gave a
If you want to see news about your worksite talk on Preventive Conservation of
here, please contact us.
Contemporary Art. The audience, with
However, our news section is not limited to
an average age of nearly 50 years old
on-site projects, but to any kind of
and from the most diverse backgrounds,
conservation activities. If you are involved in
an interesting project and you want to share
showed high interest in the subject.
it with everybody else, please send us your The talk was structured around three
news or announcements. main topics: what contemporary art is,
the importance of preventive conservation
in this field and reflections on the new
problems that conservation faces with
the introduction of new materials in
works of art.
The public was eager to participate in
the discussion that took place after the
presentation, making plenty of questions
mainly about the difficulties of the
conservation practice in museums.
In our opinion, this contact between
conservators and the general public is
fundamental for a better understanding
of preventive conservation and
contemporary art, thus these initiatives
should be encouraged as much as possible.
e_conservation 9
News
Conference Review
CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF HISTORICAL CITIES IN ASIA
4-5 December 2007

Berlin, Germany
A project implemented by:

ASIA Onlus and
Tibet Heritage Fund,
Co-funded by European Commission
Safeguarding traditions & ancient

knowledge to promote development
This was the motto of a project planned presented gave an overview of Buddhist
and carried out by the two NGOs ASIA and Tibetan architecture in the region
Onlus (Rome) and Tibet Heritage Fund (Napoli); of the need for and examples of
(Berlin). Both organizations have been sustainable interventions in architectural
working for over a decade on design, architectural conservation, urban
development projects in Tibet that include planning and financial investment in the
the preservation of Tibet's unique cultural region (Torino); and examples of
heritage. With support from the EU, a successful interventions in Buddhist wall-
program to investigate the issues of painting conservation (Roma).
sustainable preservation of the heritage To bring these topics to a conclusion, THF
of Tibet seeks to evaluate adequate and two German universities have
methodologies to preserve aspects such organized an international conference in
as Tibet’s ancient architecture, its Berlin from December 4-5 2007. This was
traditional cities and its monastic art was designed to create a forum to discuss and
launched. Activities include seminars and define parameters and strategies for
exhibitions in Italy and Germany, and intervention in the Himalayan areas,
publications of the results. addressed to experts working in the fields,
In June 18 - 22 2007, three seminars policy makers, donor institutions and the
were held in Napoli, Torino and Roma, general public. More important, it was
addressing the same topic. The papers also meant to link different people
10 e_conservation
News
working in Himalayan areas with different

expertise, to create more holistic project
approaches. The first day, held at
University of Technology, dealt with
themes related to architecture and
planning, and included presentations on
Lhasa, Ladakh, sustainable new
architecture in Burkina Faso and
resettlements in Qinghai. The second day,
held at Humboldt University, dealt with
the relation between Tibetan material
culture and development, with a particular
Tenzin Nyandak (New Delhi School of Architecture and Planning)
emphasis on wall-painting conservation. presenting Modern Tibetan Architecture in Exile.
Speakers included architect Prof. Dr. Peter

Herrle from TU Berlin, who regularly
advises German development institutions
on urban sustainability; Aga-Khan-Award
recipient Francis Kere; the eminent
Tibetan art historians Heather Stoddard
and Erberto Lo Bue, wall-painting
conservators Anca Nicolaescu and Luigi
Fieni, and THF and ASIA representatives.
In parallel, there was an exhibition made
by THF about Tibetan architecture on
show, entitled: Exploding City Lhasa:
Urban Development on the Roof of the
World, shown in the foyer of the Main
Building, Humboldt University, Unter den
Linden 6, Berlin.
More information, including conference
abstracts for download, under
www.tibetheritagefund.org/pages/news.php
Reviewed by André Alexander,

Tibet Heritage Fund,
photos by André Alexander and Lala,
International Seminars Proceedings - Naples, Turin, Rome
2007 18, 20, 22 June 2007, published by Politecnico Di Torino 2007.
e_conservation 11
event The links in this section Pre-Columbian Textile
January 2008
will take you to the homepage Workshop
of the event. In case the event
does not have an individual page, Date: 8 January Read more...
Place: Lima and Yarinacocha, Peru
you will be directed to
our website, from where
Workshop organised by Museum Textile Services
you can check more details - document, conserve, and mount pre-
and find out how to apply. Columbian textiles
- conserving textiles and ceramics salvaged
after the August 15, 2007, earthquake, which
damaged buildings and archaeological sites
around Huaca Malena.
Restoring the Royal Pavilion
Date: 12-20 January Read more...

Place: Brighton & Hove, UK
The Royal Pavilion will host a series of lectures

Nigel J. Seeley
December 2008
and guided tours exploring the craftsmanship

Memorial Lecture and materials used in the on-going restoration
of the most exotic palace in Brighton.
Date: 13 December Read more...
Speakers, such as architects and engineers who
Place: London, UK,
have worked on the Royal Pavilion, will give
University College
specialist lectures including a talk on the current
major project to restore the stonework.
A range of speakers from different
The project is currently in its fourth phase on
disciplines is invited to give their own
the east front of the palace and is due to be
unique views on "Sustainable Heritage".
completed towards the end of 2009.
These lectures, which are open to the
public and free of charge, take place
monthly at UCL. Architectural Paint Research
In Building Conservation
Date: 17-19 January Read more...

Cleaning the Uncleanable
Place: New York, US
Columbia University
Treatment of Millais' Hearts are Trumps
Topics:
Date: 19 December Read more... Cultural Significance. The examination of
Place: London, UK finishes as a social, economic and cultural
component of material culture.
Natasha Duff from Tate will be talking Paint materials and their development, as a
about the recent treatment of Millais' history of technology.
'Hearts are Trumps' prepared for the Wallpapers, historical uses as well as modern
current Tate Britain exhibition. conservation and replication approaches.
This talk addresses the dilemmas tackled Analytical and instrumental techniques used in
and decisions made as part of such a architectural paint research and standards for
complex cleaning treatment. these techniques.
Register no later than Monday 17 Practical Applications. Replicating, recreating
December. and conserving historic finishes.
e_conservation
Events
Pigment, extender or Napoleon’s Legacy
January-February 2008
January 2008
adulterant
A discussion on artists' white, watercolour The Development of

pigments in the early twentieth century National Museums in Europe,
c. 1794-1830
Date: 25 January Read more...
Place: London, UK Date: 31 January - 2 February Read more...
Place: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The lecture will review the historic and current
literature on the manufacture, usage and issues International conference, organized by the
surrounding the ageing characteristics of these Huizinga Research Institute of Cultural History
pigments. Of particular focus are the potential (Amsterdam) and the Institute for Museum
detrimental effects to paper substrates when Research (Berlin).
zinc oxide and titanium oxide are present. The French Revolution and the subsequent
Napoleonic Wars had a major impact on
European museums. The central question is how
The Object in Transition did various European countries in this period,
stimulated by these confiscations and
subsequent restitutions, design and disseminate
A Cross Disciplinary Conference on the the image of a ‘national culture’ through their
Preservation and Study of Modern and museums.
Contemporary Art
Date: 25-26 January Read more... Terra 2008
February 2008
Place: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Presented by the Getty Institute. 10th International Conference on the Study

The conference will explore some of the key and Conservation of Earthen Architecture
issues surrounding the conservation of
contemporary sculpture, painting, and Date: 1-5 February Read more...
mixed-media artworks, and the collaborative Place: Bamako, Mali
possibilities, primarily between conservators,
art historians, and curators, working in Organized by the Getty Conservation Institute
these fields. and the Ministry of Culture of Mali with the
Free entrance. Registrations will be accepted collaboration of Africa 2009, CRATerre-ENSAG,
until the conference is full. ICOMOS South Africa, and the World Heritage
Centre, under the aegis of ICOMOS and its
International Scientific Committee on the
Training Seminars – Earthen Architectural Heritage.
ARCHAIA The 10th conference to be organized by the
earthen architecture community under
Research Planning, Characterisation, the aegis of ICOMOS since 1972, and the first to
Conservation and Management in be held in Africa.
Archaeological Sites It provides a unique opportunity to discuss and
observe firsthand conservation issues particular
Date: 28-30 January Read more... to sub-Saharan Africa, a region rich in earthen
Place: Copenhagen, DK architecture. During this conference, specialists
will present papers and posters that reflect the
Addressed to 90 post-graduate students, latest research and practices in the study and
scholars and professionals of different conservation of earthen architecture worldwide.
backgrounds. The results of some funded EU Funding opportunities for participants from
research projects and COST actions will be developing countries to attend the conference
presented. will be available.
e_conservation 13
Events
The Science behind Holding it all together

February 2008
February 2008
Paper Structure
British Museum Lecture Series - Part 3 Ancient and modern approaches to joining,
repair and consolidation
Date: 6 February Read more...
Place: London, UK Date: 21-22 February Read more...
Place: London, UK
The physical properties of paper. Tensile
strength, tear strength, folding endurance, The aim of this meeting is to bring together
bending stiffness, brightness, whiteness, conservators, scientists and curators with an
opacity, gloss, smoothness, air permeability, interest in the methods by which artefacts have
resistance to water penetration. How and why been manufactured, repaired (both in antiquity
each property is measured. and modern times) and conserved.
Was David Hockney Polychromed Wood

right?
Did van Eyck, Lotto, Memling and de la Icon Stone & Wall Paintings Group:
Tour trace projected images? 'Polychromed Wood' - Part 2
Date: 8 February Read more... Date: 22 February Read more...

Place: London, UK Place: London, UK
Hampton Court Palace
In 2001, artist David Hockney and scientist
Charles Falco stunned the art world with a A conference in two instalments on the care and
controversial theory that, if correct, would conservation of polychrome and gilded wood
profoundly alter our view of the development of including architectural panelling, structural
image making. They claimed that as early as timbers and wooden statuary both in-situ and
1420, Renaissance artists employed optical in museums.
devices such as concave mirrors to project
images onto their canvases, which they then
traced or painted over. Analysis of the paintings, Call for Papers -
infra-red reflectograms, modern reenactments, Deadlines
internal consistency of the theory, and alternate
explanations allow to judge with high confidence International Workshop
the plausibility of this bold theory. SMW08 - In situ Monitoring of Monumental
Surfaces
Risk Assessment and Date: 27-29 October Read more...

management strategies Place: Florence, Italy
in Preventive Conservation Abstracts, preliminary registration: 15 February
After (the flood) = Before (the flood) The main objective of this workshop is to
illustrate the ultimate state of the art of portable
Date: 15-16 February Read more... diagnostic technologies for monitoring cultural
Place: Aschaffenburg, Germany heritage and their general and specific uses.
The typologies of artefacts involved in this
The conference is to set the state-of-the-art in workshop are focused on: monumental
the field of risk assessment and management buildings, painted facades and archaeological
strategies. remains, whilst the materials to monitor are:
The official languages are German and English. stones, mortars, plasters, bricks, ceramics,
Registration closes by January 31st 2008. tesserae, wooden structures and metals.
14 e_conservation
projec
THE SIBIEL CULTURAL
CENTRE
Ecomuseum –
Contemporary Art Gallery
by Ovidiu Daneş
DALA Cultural Foundation
www.dala.ro
Ovidiu Daneş
Introduction
The DALA cultural foundation was
The project of the DALA Foundation established in May 2006 in Romania
started from the idea of restoring the and operates as an NGO.
dialogue between two cultures, rural and
urban. The setting of the Sibiel village Objectives
provides, through the dynamic of
changes, interesting documenting- 1. Promoting and supporting projects in
research-experimenting material. The the area of visual arts, curatorial
Sibiu outskirts, currently going through a activities and cultural management;
transformation process that can be 2. Drafting and implementing alternative
followed along several lines (image, educational projects on various
human composition, and oral tradition), components of contemporary arts;
provide their journey of identity 3. Drafting and supporting architecture
development up to present times. projects with an effect on public spaces;
Rearranged old boundaries, drawn anew 4. Supporting research programmes in
on the basis of the recent law on the areas of stable and mobile heritage,
residential colonisations, weave new of monument restoration and
centres of tension, new village hearths conservation projects, of research in
into the rural realm. One of the most easy the area of old Romanian art;
to observe constants is the immediate 5. Book publishing.
16 e_conservation
Ovidiu Daneş
alternation between well preserved areas established DALA Foundation acquired a

of vernacular architecture, clearly defined house registered in the local patrimony, in
in vicinity, with the current ambiguous an attempt to mediate the conflict
insertions, oversized and with standard between the former owner and the Local
purposes. The demolition or abandonment Patrimony Department. After the
of the area specific housing system is takeover, dismantling and transportation
joined more or less symbolically by the to its new location (approximately 200 m
disappearance of crafts, traditions, or by from the original location), the house was
the transformation of the image of prepared for restoration on a land
identity-giving monuments. The property at the end of the village. Placing
phenomenon is new to the Sibiu outskirts the Cultural Centre on a land separating
villages, and interventions in recent years the old Sibiel village from its more recent
are radical. extension allows for the taking on of the
The Sibiel Cultural Centre will emphasise double discourse of boundary. Physically,
the contemporary reality in a particular the proposed boundary is a river stone
manner, by means of the location, the alleyway, a historical emphasis which will
architecture project and the program. articulate the architecture project. Being
In the summer of 2006, the recently the first of the village from the point of
Image 1, 2. Wood houses from Răşinari village (left)

and Gura Raului (right).
18 e_conservation
The Sibiel Cultural Centre
view of the traveller and the last seen

from the village hearth, the alleyway
separates the Centre in its two
components, the Ecomuseum and the
Contemporary Art Gallery, proposing a
face to face dialogue between them.
The Ecomuseum, seen as a future space
for the local community to present its
current daily life, will use as raw material
the image of the local household; the
typology of the latter is that of a U-
shaped living area which makes
maximum functional use of the land,
where the house is always smaller than
the auxiliary spaces – stables, barns,
workshops.
Image 3, 4, 5. Wood houses from Sibiel village

(right, up), Fântânele village (right) and Arpaş
village (down).
e_conservation 19
Ovidiu Daneş
The Ecomuseum program will be the Ecomuseum and the accommodation

organised around a long term exhibition centre, will come from demolished or
of 6-9 months, during which one family abandoned houses and barns; wood
from the village at the time will manage pillars, large stones strapped with
the living space, and the auxiliary spaces wrought iron, gates, river stone, tiles.
will host workshops; glasswork, ironwork, On the other side of the alleyway, the
wood sculpting and cutting, pottery – all Contemporary Art Gallery conceived as a
trades which survived until recently in the container space will host a research
region. The cellar and attic will be used to centre and a multi-functional space for
store preserves made according to events hosted by the Sibiel Cultural
methods specific to the area of the Sibiu Centre: exhibitions, workshops, training
outskirts. An accommodation centre for sessions, seminars, lectures.
20 persons will be built on the same side Both the multifunctional space and the
of the alleyway and in the immediate accommodation centre will periodically be
vicinity of the Ecomuseum, following the made available to companies interested in
same typology of the U-shaped living organising events: training sessions,
area. The basement of this space will seminars etc., thus ensuring the
serve as cooking and dining area. sustainability of the Sibiel Cultural Centre.
The materials used for the two buildings, The purpose of the Cultural Centre entails
Image 6. Old house moved to new location and rebuilt.
20 e_conservation
The Sibiel Cultural Centre
Image 7. Wood house from Fântânele village.
finding technical solutions with minimal Project team:

impact on the environment, such as: heat
pumps with shafts, a combined system Ovidiu DANEŞ - art historian,
with solar cells for hot household water, project manager
thermal insulation through processed
sheep wool, wall covering out of clay Şerban STURDZA - architect
mixed with sand, hemp and straw fibres.
Klaus BIRTHLER - architect
Buildings
Luiza ZAMORA – art historian
- Ecomuseum – old house moved to new

location and rebuilt Ioana POPESCU - research director
- Workshops of the ecomuseum Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest
- Multifunctional building with research offices

- Accommodation rooms with dining room Laurenţiu TOMA - visual artist
- Administrator’s house DALA Cultural Foundation
e_conservation 21
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Check out more: www.e-conservationline.com

AN ALTERATION PHENOMENON
OF CINNABAR RED PIGMENT
in the Mural Paintings
from Suceviţa
Ioan Istudor, Anca Dină, Geanina Roşu,
Doina Şeclăman, Gheorghe Niculescu
Alteration of Cinnabar Red Pigment
Introduction
The mural paintings from northern

Moldavia have always been a point of
interest for specialists in conservation, due
to their technical qualities that assured
their preservation over the years in the
severe climate of this region in Romania.
Over the years, both exterior and interior
paintings showed colour alterations caused
by environmental factors like atmospheric
deposits, humidity and light among
others. Through physical, chemical or
biological processes, these factors induced
superficial chromatic alterations of the
colours, modifying the artistic expression
of the paintings.
These alterations are generally considered
as patina. The term patina, according to Image 1. General view of the church, east facade.
Paul Philippot1, is attributed to the
modifications that occur in normal The conservation works started in 1989
conditions in the colour layer under the by Oliviu Boldura and Tatiana Pogonat
action of the previously mentioned factors. gave us the possibility to perform a detailed
When the painting materials are submitted scientific research on the exterior and
to environmental factors which take interior mural paintings. Even from the
course at high intensities on long time beginning our attention was drawn to the
periods, we deal with other alterations phenomena of alteration of pigments in
which can not be considered as patina these paintings from which here we shall
anymore. Some of these alterations made focus on the alteration of cinnabar red.
the subject of a previous paper2. In a first phase, while analysing the state
of conservation of the paintings from the
1 Paul Philippot, La notion de la patine et le church’s dome, we observed significant

nettoyage des peintures in Bulletin de l’Institut Royal surfaces coloured in red having dark
du Patrimoine Arttistique, Bruxelles, IX, 1966, pp.
aspect and turning into black-brown.
136-142.
2 Ioan Istudor, Alteration de la couleur observees sur Ulteriorly, once the conservation works
les peintures murales des eglises de Bucovine, in
were started, the same phenomenon
Colloque sur la Conservation et la Restauration des
Peintures Murales, Suceava, Romania, 1977, pp. 21- 35. could be observed as well in other
e_conservation 25
Ioan Istudor et. al.
old masters. Cennino Cennini4 described

the alteration of cinnabar as follows: “bear
in mind that it is not its nature to be
exposed to the open air; it is more lasting
on panels than on walls, because, by long
exposure to the open air (all’ aria) it
becomes black when applied to walls.”
Dionysius of Furna writes in his manual
(Erminia)5: “[…] as for the cinnabar, when
you want to paint outdoors in a place with
wind, you should give up, because it turns
black while the white must have a high
concentration; when you want to paint
indoors you should add some ceruse6
and Constantinople ochre and like this it
won’t turn black.”
The old masters had already noticed the
phenomenon, without knowing exactly
Image 2. Altar, east apse and triumphal arch what causes it and still recommended the
use of cinnabar for interior and panel
compartments of the church. The visual paintings, “in order to keep it away from
inspection and the first cleaning tests led air and wind”.
to the conclusion that we do not deal just The exact explanation of the phenomenon
with common dirt deposits but with a was given later afterwards. The mercury
colour alteration. sulphide presents two enantiomorph
Literature mentions the alteration of states: a red one, stable, crystallised in
cinnabar (red) into metacinnabar3 the hexagonal system known as cinnabar7
(black). The same phenomenon is and very appreciated in painting, and a
mentioned in the painting manuals of the black one, metastable, crystallised in the
3 Rutherford J. Getens, Robert L. Feller and W. T. 5 Dionysius of Furna, Carte de Pictură, Meridiane,
Chase, Vermillion and Cinnabar, in Studies in Bucharest 1979, pp. 86, “Cartea întâi, îndreptar
Conservation, 17 (1972), pp. 45-69. pentru meşteşug”, 66 paragraph.
4 The book of the art of Cennino Cennini: a 6 Term used by Dionysius of Furna for the white
contemporary practical treatise on quattrocento pigment usually used in the Byzantine frescoes,
painting (1922), 15th century, George Allen & prepared from grinded old intonaco.
Unwin, London, Chapter 40. Of the properties of a 7 The red pigment based on mercury sulphide was
red called cinnabar, and how it ought to be ground, artificially prepared since the antiquity from sulphur
free to download from: and mercury. Starting with the 18th century (1785),
www.archive.org/details/bookofartofcenni00cennuoft it is commercialised under the name “vermillion”.
26 e_conservation
Methods and materials
cubic system or in amorphous state, The analysed samples were taken from
known as metacinnabar (polymorphism). both the red and the superficial overlayer
After a long exposure to solar light, the of black colour from the paintings in the
cinnabar red turns into black dome of the church (sample no. 1, 1st
metacinnabar. The change takes place scene, garment of Prophet Solomon and
through the absorption of a light radiation sample 14, 2nd scene, red frame between
of 400 to 570 nm wavelength. The the scenes) (see images 3 and 4).
alteration is only superficial, under the The first data were obtained by
black layer being the unaltered red. microscope examination with reflected
A similar process occurred in the paintings light. In the cross section no. 329 (90x)
from Suceviţa, thus we proposed to prove from image 5 can be observed the
that the red pigment and the alteration presence of a 5µm thick black layer and a
product are indeed mercury sulphides. 25µm thick red layer.
Image 3 and 4. Nave, dome, Prophet David. Sampling area. Images during the conservation of the painting.
e_conservation 27
Image 5. Sample no. 329. Cross section (90x) Image 6. Microchemical identification of the
showing a 5µm thick black layer of metacinnabar mercury tetrathiocyanatocobalt - CoHg(SCN)4.
and a 25µm thick red layer of cinnabar.
For the chemical analyses, the samples The obtained results were verified also by
were dissolved in aqua regia (a mixture of X-ray Diffraction (XRD), using a Dron 2.0
HCl and HNO, 2:1, v/v). Hg2+ ion was equipment and the working parameters:
microchemically identified as mercury - Cu Kα radiation; 36 KV, 20 mA, Ni filter;
tetrathiocyanatocobalt8 (blue crystals, - angle range 2θ, goniometer speed 4°/’,
CoHg(SCN)4, which belong to the - cinnabar ASTM 6 – 256, metacinnabar
rhombohedral system) (see image 6) by ASTM 6 – 261
comparison with HgCl2 (reference The obtained spectrum is shown in figure
substance) and by the reduction of Hg2+ 1 that shows the presence of both forms
to metallic Hg on the copper lamella, of mercury sulphides.
which makes a deposit similar to a silver
mirror.
8 S. Savencu, A. Bordea, J. Linde, A. Luca, Chimie Figure 1. Spectrum obtained by XRD, showing the
Analitică Calitativă, Ed. Didactică şi Pedagogică, presence of both forms of mercury sulphides:
Bucharest 1963, pp. 185 - 186 - cinnabar HgS ASTM 6 – 256,
- metacinnabar HgS ASTM 6 – 261.
28 e_conservation
Results and discussion
The chemical reaction has shown crystals

of the same shape, colour and size for
both the samples and the reference
substance. This allows us to state that the
analysed samples contain mercury
sulphite (cinnabar, metacinnabar, HgS).
The metacinnabar presence was
confirmed by XRD.
The initial hypothesis was confirmed.
This is the first case in Romania of mural
paintings presenting an alteration of
cinnabar.
At Suceviţa, the cinnabar red pigment
was used in many scenes from all the
compartments of the church. It was
applied according to the Byzantine Image 7. Nave, south apse, jamb of the west
window. The direct action of sunlight
technique, on a fresh plaster made of lime
over the mural paintings.
and hemp fibbers. The alteration took
Figure 2. Longitudinal section, south facade.

Drawing adapted from G. Balş, Bisericile moldovenesti din veacul
al XV-lea, BCMI, Tiparul Cultura Nationala, Bucharest (1928).
e_conservation 29
Figure 3. Longitudinal section, north facade.

Drawing adapted from G. Balş, Bisericile moldovenesti din veacul al XV-lea, BCMI,
Tiparul Cultura Nationala, Bucharest (1928).
place not only in the dome’s paintings, but in areas where the sun light did not reach.
also on scenes from the nave, narthex In the nave, due to the six windows
and exonarthex, on the walls exposed to symmetrically disposed in the north and
solar light through the rather large south apses (three windows in each), we
windows. The dome, with an interior can observe the paintings from the
diameter of 3.64 m is fully exposed to intradoses and jambs suffered a
solar light due to the four 1.83 m progressive and differentiated alteration
windows. The affected surfaces of cinnabar red pigment. A first
correspond precisely to the strongly observation is that the alteration is more
lightened areas. A graphic representation obvious in the windows of the south apse,
of the surfaces from the dome is where the sun is stronger in the morning.
presented in figures 2 and 3. A differentiated degree of alteration can
In the summer of 2007, together with the be seen in each of the three windows,
coordinator of the conservation works progressive from east to west. Moreover,
Prof. Oliviu Boldura, our research the west side of the windows was clearly
extended to other compartments of the more exposed to sun, thus the paintings
church and to the areas in undergoing work. from the west jambs are more altered
The cinnabar red did not suffer any alteration then the ones from the east.
30 e_conservation
window (solar light) interior of the church
Image 8. Nave, south apse, jamb of the west window. The differentiated alteration of red cinnabar.
A detailed analysis of a scene9 shows the distance from the window, thus here only
transformation process or cinnabar red a slight alteration to black can be seen
pigment. In near proximity of the window (see image 10). The alteration is
can be seen that cinnabar turned into superficial so it is still possible to see the
dark-grey and black, the drawing lines original red colour. Proceeding to the
applied with ochre-red becoming visible inside opening of the jamb we notice the
(see image 8 and 9). Next garment alteration becomes discontinuous, insular
painted with cinnabar is located at 0.5 m and the red is much better preserved
(see image 11).
9 The chosen area to exemplify this process is

In the narthex we meet a similar situation
located in the south apse, west window, west but a more pronounced alteration, due to
jamb, as the painting here is rich in cinnabar,
the wide size of the windows and their
applied on several decorative elements located at
variable distances from the window. large opening angle. Here the alteration
e_conservation 31
Image 11. Areas where cinnabar is well preserved.
Image 9, 10 and 11. The conservation state of the

cinnabar red on various surfaces located at
different distances from the window.
occurred not only at the jambs of the

windows, but also on the north and south
walls, especially in the inferior parts.
In the exonarthex, due to the three wide
Image 9. Strong alteration of cinnabar red. windows from the west wall and the two
lateral doors that are permanently open,
important areas where cinnabar was used
were affected by light. A similar case was
mentioned in literature at a late Byzantine
church from Cyprus10, where the light
penetrated through a window and
produced on the lightened areas the
darkening of the red pigment from a
repainting of a interior decoration frame.
The inversed process of metacinnabar into
cinnabar, possible in the laboratory (e.g.,
by sublimation or sodium polysulfide
treatment), was not achieved by now on a
painting. Thus, in the present, when the
removal of metacinnabar is required it is
performed by mechanical means.
Image 10. Alteration of cinnabar in a smaller degree. 10 Rutherford J. Getens et al., loc cit., pp. 54.
32 e_conservation
Image 12. Narthex, north wall, inferior level, scene Image 13. Narthex, north, jamb of the east window.
from the life of St. George.
Conclusions Ioan ISTUDOR

S.C. CERECS Art S.R.L. Bucharest
To prevent this alteration phenomenon Contact: [email protected]
from producing the use of adequate
window filters (to retain the too strong Anca DINĂ - S.C. CERECS Art S.R.L.
radiations) is recommended. Knowing Contact: [email protected]
these types of alterations and taking the
right decision to prevent them we avoid Geanina ROŞU - S.C. CERECS Art S.R.L.
the formation and thus, the mechanical Contact: [email protected]
removal of metacinnabar as an integrant
part of the original painting. Doina Şeclăman
Romanian National History Museum
Contact: [email protected]
Gheorghe NICULESCU
*Note: Partial data presented in this article were
previously published by Ioan Istudor and Geanina National Research Institute for
Roşu, in "Un fenomen de alterare al pigmentului roşu
Conservation and Restoration, Bucharest
cinabru la Biserica Mănăstirii Suceviţa", Buletinul
Centrului de Restaurare-Conservare, Iaşi, no 3/2004. Contact: [email protected]
e_conservation 33
RECONSTRUCTING
A 1972’S NEON LIGHT
INSTALLATION
at the Faculty of Fine Arts,
University of Porto
FILIPE DUARTE
Reconstructing a Neon Light Installation
Fine Arts, University of Porto1, of which

A 1972’s neon light installation from
collection Quadros Ferreira’s installation is
the artist António Quadros Ferreira
currently part of.
was investigated and reconstructed
The very scarce written documentation
35 years after its original
available on the museum’s database as
presentation, under a pilot project on
well as the inexistence of any visual
Conservation of Contemporary Art at
record of the original assembled
the Museum of the Faculty of Fine
installation led to a scenario of extremely
Arts of the University of Porto
poor information regarding several
(FBAUP). The reconstruction of the
aspects of the artwork (even its overall
artwork was carried out in close
appearance), situation lived in the
communication with the artist without
museum until the beginning of 2007.
whom this project would not have
The case study presented in this article2
been possible to be accomplished -
reports to the investigation and
such was the lack of information
reinstallation of the artwork by Quadros
available on the artwork. This article
Ferreira, 35 years after its original
aims to describe the whole process
presentation and was carried out in the
behind the reconstruction of Quadros
context of a pilot project on Conservation
Ferreira’s installation, from the
of Contemporary Art currently being
identification of what was left from
developed at the University of Porto3.
the original components at FBAUP’s
The intervention was carried out in close
Museum depot until its reinstallation
communication with the artist between
and public exhibition in April 2007.
February and April 2007.
Introduction 1 In 1992 the Fine Arts School of Porto (ESBAP) was

integrated in the University of Porto and became the
Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (FBAUP).
In 1972 António Quadros Ferreira
2 Note that the original article was published in
presented his final work for graduating in
Portuguese at the Portuguese Association for Art
Painting at the Fine Arts School of Porto Historians’ (APHA) bulletin no.5, 2007.
(Portugal), a peculiar and innovative

3 The Fine Art Museum and the Science Department
artwork in its academic context: a study of the University of Porto, in collaboration with the
Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (The Netherlands),
of light, colour and movement in the
are developing a project focusing on the conservation
shape of a neon light installation. That of modern and contemporary artworks. A group of 10
representative objects, on non-traditional supports, was
same year, following its original exhibition,
selected from the museum’s collection and is currently
the artwork would have been dismantled under investigation and/or conservation treatment. The
investigation includes topics such as materials’
and all its different components stored in
characterisation, art historical relevance, conservation
the depot of the Museum of the Faculty of needs, preservation strategies and artists’ interviews.
e_conservation 35
Filipe Duarte
The installation itself and therefore is called by the artist

as the perpetual movement of colour.
Despite having been created in the The introduction of this technological
academic context of a Paintings Degree, component as support of the artwork,
Quadros Ferreira’s neon light installation is without which the work does not fully
an example of the diversity of the means exist, mirrors the modernity sought by
of artistic expression explored by artists in Quadros Ferreira. The physical structure
early 1970’s. In this particular case, of the installation (columns, electrical
Quadros Ferreira explores the numerous wires, transformers and keyboard
possibilities of colour and movement /programmer) work as a mere support for
through neon lights, in a work understood the essence of the artwork: the colour, the
by the artist as an example of kinetic art, light and the movement.
not by the physical movement of the work The original documentation that was
itself but by the constant movement of presented in 1972 together with the
light and colour. installation was still in possession of the
The installation is made of six vertical artist. This documentation was the
neon light tubes housed in six black- theoretical fundament of the work, an
painted independent columns with cca. 2 exhaustive and complex study with
metre high. The neon lights are divided in drawings, diagrams and texts in which the
three pairs of primary colours (i.e. two artist explores numerous possibilities of
blue, two red and two yellow lights). Each use for his installation.
of the columns, with its own light tube, is
connected by a series of electrical wires to Condition of the installation
a transformer which in turn connects to a prior to reconstruction
central element, a black-painted box with
a keyboard/programmer, fully designed by Until February 2007, very little was known
the artist. The installation is meant to be at FBAUP’s Museum about the neon light
exhibited in a totally darkened room. The installation created by Quadros Ferreira 35
spectator is invited to interact with the years earlier, as a final thesis for his Degree
installation either through the keyboard, in Painting. In the depot of the Museum
which allows him to turn on/off each of there were several disperse and non-
the lights independently (creating distinct identified elements, stored together with
rhythms and light patterns), or by parts of other artworks (Image 1).
accessing an automatic cycle, A cardboard-box with a bundle of crooked
predetermined by the artist in the electrical wires and wooden supports; black-
programmer. This cycle was developed in painted wood columns lying on the floor;
such a way that it would never repeat old neon light bulbs on top of wood shelves...
36 e_conservation
In the Museum files, an inventory record

dating back to early 1980’s (Image 2)
recorded Quadros Ferreira’s installation as
part of the museum’s collection (included
in the “Paintings” collection). The inventory
file of the installation did however not
contain any photograph of the work
assembled nor did it have any description
of the artwork. Furthermore, a series of
elements were missing from the brief list
of materials that make up the installation.
This scenario was clearly insufficient to
allow an overall image of the complete
Image 1. Card-box with some elements of the artwork, to understand the way the
installation stored, FBAUP’s Museum depot,
February 2007.
different elements of the installation
connect to each other or even to
Image 2. Inventory record of Quadros Ferreira’s
understand the way the installation
installation, FBAUP’s Museum database,
early 80’s. relates to the surrounding space.
e_conservation 37
Filipe Duarte
First steps together with the installation.

The elements that make up the
In February 2007, following preliminary installation were isolated and organised
investigation on the work, the artist was according to their typology:
contacted and invited to participate in this
project of reconstruction of his 1972’s 1. Six wooden columns and six
installation. Quadros Ferreira, currently supports
teacher of Painting at FBAUP, was fully
available to collaborate and to provide any The columns, referred to as “modules” in
useful information, without which it would the original documentation of the artist,
not have been possible to reconstruct and measure cca. 2 metre high and present a
re-install his work as close as possible to
the original work as exhibited in 1972.
In the working plan drawn together with
the artist in the first meetings it was
defined as a starting point the
identification of each different original
element that make up the installation in
the Museum’s depot and to evaluate the
condition of each of these separately. This
would allow, on one hand, to know
whether the installation was complete
and, on the other, to obtain an overall
view of the complete installation. In order
to facilitate the process of identifying the
elements and the subsequent
reconstruction of the artwork the artist
was asked to draw a sketch of the
structure of the installation.
Thus, all the elements stored in the
Museum’s depot were identified and
collected at FBAUP’s workshop. The artist
also brought along with him a more
sensitive element which he had kept in his
possession since 1972 (the keyboard and
programmer), as well as the original
Image 3. Constituting elements of the
documentation which was exhibited installation - columns.
38 e_conservation
layer). None of the elements presented

damages of particular relevance on these
layers, only small damages caused by
wear and abrasion and minor losses,
particularly along the bottom part of the
columns. Structurally, both columns and
feet were in good condition

installation - feet. 2. Six neon light tubes
central rail which houses the neon light The six neon light tubes measure
tubes. The six supports (or “feet”) have approximately 2 metres long and are
small wheels to facilitate the transport of grouped in three pairs: yellow, red and
the columns and their adaptation to the blue4. Regarding their condition it was
surrounding space. Each foot has a observed that, from the six original light
metallic rod onto which the columns are tubes, three were irreversibly damaged
screwed. Both modules and feet are (two clearly broken and one presenting
coated with a monochromatic black paint small cracks in the glass which proved to
layer (evenly applied over a grey ground be irreversibly damaged as well). A thick
and opaque dirt layer was covering the
installation - neon light tubes.
light tubes (Image 5).
4 In general terms, the light tubes usually
denominated as “neon lights” are made of a glass

tube with two electrodes in the ends. When these
electrodes are connected to an electricity source, the
gas (in vacuum) inside the glass tube is passed
through by the electrical current and light of a
specific colouration is produced. Despite being
known as neon lights, this is not the only gas used to
obtain colour, since different gases and different
processes permit different light colours to be
produced. While neon gas produces a bright red
light, argon gas produces blue. In order to obtain
colours other than these two, powder pigments are
usually added to the gas or sometimes even painted
glass tubes are used. This type of illumination was
discovered around 1950’s and was initially used in
the publicity world, slowly becoming adopted by
artists as a new mean of artistic expression, entering
the international scene some years later. Initially,
only blue and red colours were available but
gradually new colours were introduced in the
market, with advancing technology.
e_conservation 39
Filipe Duarte
Image 6. Constituting elements of the installation - transformers.
3. Six transformers 4. Electrical wires
Each of the “archaic” transformers is The long electrical wires establish the
housed in a metallic box (20x18x15cm). connections between all the elements in
These make the connection between the the installation: keyboard/programmer,
central keyboard/programmer and the energy source, transformers and neon
neon lights and have the function of lights. Despite being crooked and rigid
momentarily increasing the received from being stored in a box for the past 35
electrical current to a much higher current years, all the cables were in good working
in order to allow the lamps to be turned conditions (Image 7).
on during the energetic peak. Tests
carried out at a later stage showed that all 5. Central keyboard/programmer
the transformers were in good working
conditions (Image 6). The central device is made of a keyboard
and a programmer, housed in a black-
painted wood box (35x25x10cm),
similarly to the columns. The programmer
is an electrical system associated to a set
of meal gears which defines the patterns
and light sequences. The keyboard, on
top of the box, allows the spectator to

installation - electrical wires.
40 e_conservation
reconstruction of the installation are listed

as follows:
1. Removal of thick layer of dirt from the

surface of the neon light tubes (Image 9)
and surface cleaning of columns, feet and
programmer/keyboard. This procedure
was carried out by dry cleaning with
Image 8. Constituting elements of the microfibre cloth and soft sponges.

installation - central keybord/programmer.
2. Retouching of small damages and

access an automatic program, losses of the black monochromatic paint
predetermined by the artist in the layer in different elements of the
programmer, or to access the manual installation. Retouching was carried out
programme. In this case, the spectator with gouache, which allowed replicating
creates his own light sequences and the matte feel of the original paint in the
patterns through the six buttons, damaged areas5.
corresponding to each of the six lights.
This device was in possession of the artist 3. Following information provided by the
since 1972. In the preliminary tests artist in the first meetings it was possible
carried out, it was observed that the to find and contact the original supplier
programmer was not working in perfect company which provided the neon light
conditions (Image 8).
5 The original monochromatic black paint layer was
identified through infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) as

Course of action an acrylic-based paint, in the Scientific
Department of the University of Porto.
Once every element of Quadros Ferreira’s

installation was identified and separated,
a strategy for the intervention was
defined. Dialogue with the artist as well as
the access provided to the original
documentation were of extreme
importance for this procedure since they
provided essential information about the
way the different elements relate to each
other. The different steps taken in the
Image 9. Detail of neon light tubes during
process of conservation and surface cleaning.
e_conservation 41
Filipe Duarte
tubes and gave technical support to the decision was taken together with the
artist in 1972. The company, “Neolux”, is artist to order new lamps to the original
still functioning and was keen to supplier, with the same length, diameter
collaborate with this project. The original and colour/light intensity as close to the
and intact light tubes were taken to their original as possible.
specialised workshop and their condition
was investigated by Neolux’s technicians Original material versus artist’s
(Image 10). Although the three structurally intention
intact tubes were to found to be working
(light was produced), the intensity of one The six neon lights (three 1972’s originals
of the blue tubes was considerably and three 2007’s reconstructions) were
reduced in comparison to the others. then fit in the rails of the columns, set
Since it would not be possible to side by side and turned on. However, as it
reconstruct the installation with all the may be observed in image 11, the blue
original elements (half the lamps were “pair” presented an enormous disparity of
irreversibly damaged) it was necessary to light intensity emitted. The new tube
take a decision regarding the replacement presented a much higher luminous intensity
of the missing elements. Therefore, than the original one, worn by time and
Image 10. António Quadros Ferreira (left) and Neolux’s technician performing
preliminary tests to investigate the condition of the original neon lights.
42 e_conservation
possibly weakened by small damages. imply accepting that the “blue pair”
Although the original blue lamp was would not work as a single colour since, as
functioning it would have been technically shown, they presented different intensities.
impossible to replicate its partially lost After considering different possibilities and
light intensity onto a newly made light discussing these questions with the artist
tube. In this context, taking the decision it was decided to order a new blue lamp
of keeping the original blue lamp as part to replace the original one. This way the
of the reconstructed installation would blue pair, made of two new neon light
tubes, would present a single colour and
intensity of blue, which would go much
more in conformity to the artist’s original
intent of exploring the three primary
colours with three pairs of lamps in this
installation. The original blue tube, not
used in the reconstruction, was stored in
the museum’s depot and registered as “an
original piece, replaced”.
4. The entire electrical device that makes

up the programmer and keyboard was
carefully cleaned and lubricated (Image 12).
The terminals of the electrical wires were
reattached in the correct positions in the
programmer and the metal clips
associated to each of the rotating gears
were individually repaired in order to allow
a fluid functioning of the programmer.
Image 11. Blue neon light tubes, reconstruction Image 12. Programmer, after cleaning and repairing.
and original side by side.
e_conservation 43
Filipe Duarte
Re-installing the installation modules. Some of the pages of the

original documentation were presented
In April 2007, 35 years after its creation, together with the installation during the
all the elements that make up Quadros exhibition period in a contiguous room.
Ferreira’s installation were brought to
FBAUP’s exhibition room where the new Acknowledgments
exhibition of this work was prepared,
according to the original plans6. Although António Quadros Ferreira, Lúcia Almeida
the original documentation would consider Matos, Jill Sterrett, Ana Martins, Cláudia
different possibilities of exhibiting this Garradas, Patrícia Almeida, Cláudio
work, decision was taken that - in a Ferreira, Associação Regional de Protecção
similar way to the original presentation of do Património Cultural e Natural (ARPPA),
this installation - the columns would be Neolux.
displayed linearly, in an enclosed room,
with minimum possible external light
(Image 13). The public was invited to 6 More information on recovering installations are
available online at the website of the project Inside

interact with the installation by using the
Installations: Preservation and Presentation of
keyboard placed in front of the line of light Installation Art, at http://www.inside-installations.org
Image 13. António Quadros Ferreira’s installation, Study of Light, Colour and Movement, 1972.
Artwork reconstructed and re-installed in 2007, FBAUP.
44 e_conservation
Call for Submissions
e_conservation magazine is open to the

submission of articles on a wide range of
relevant topics for the cultural heritage
sector.
Next deadlines for article submission are:

Filipe Duarte
Porto, Portugal
for Issue 3, February 2008 – submission
contact: [email protected] due 31 December 2007
Following his graduate studies in Art for Issue 4, April 2008 – submission due
History, Filipe Duarte completed the MA 29 February 2008
Conservation of Fine Art -Easel Paintings

Nevertheless, you can always submit your
at Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK. manuscript when it is ready. Between the
He carried out internships at the Modern receival of the manuscript until the final
Art Museum of Barcelona (MACBA) and publication may pass up to 3 months
according with:
the I&R conservation Centre in Madrid,
- the number of the manuscripts on hold,
Spain. Filipe worked for two years in the submitted earlier by other authors
Netherlands with the Stichting Restauratie - the release date of the upcoming issue
Atelier Limburg (SRAL), where he had the - the pre-allocated space in the magazine
to each section
chance to be involved in a series of major
conservation projects (including projects Please check our publication guidelines for
at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the more information.
Royal Palace at the Dam). Here he also
Read more...
collaborated with the Instituut Collectie
Nederland (ICN) in a research project on
modern paints.. Since January 2007,
Filipe Duarte works as a conservator at
the Fine Art Museum of Porto University,
Portugal, where he is part of a pilot
project on contemporary art conservation,
focusing on the investigation and
treatment of artworks on different non-
traditional media from the 1960's and
70's. During this year he has also
collaborated with Serralves
Contemporary Art Museum, Porto.
e_conservation 45
case stud
THE CHURCH OF
"THE BEHEADING OF
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST"
FROM ARBORE
PREVIOUS INTERVENTIONS FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF DERESTORATION
by Anca Dină and Oliviu Boldura
General Data
The painting from the church

“The Beheading of St. John the Baptist”
from Arbore, Romania, can be described
as vivid in chromatic harmonies, often
using the dialog between green and Image 1. The church of "The Beheading of
pale-red and spontaneous by its St. John the Baptist”, south facade.
graceful and beautifully modulated

drawing. Dynamic in the interaction These qualities, the stylistic and chromatic
between the characters’ gestures and particularities, made the church become
attitudes, the painting is minutely part of the UNESCO World Heritage.
elaborated in the smallest detail and
compositionally determined with blocks
of architecture carefully distributed. Image 2. South facade, detail from the scene
“The Last Judgement”.
e_conservation 47
Anca Dină and Oliviu Boldura
Image 3. General view of the west facade.
48 e_conservation
The Church from Arbore
Built in 15021 in a single work campaign,

the church was established by Luca
Arbore boyar, tutor and later counsellor of
prince Ştefăniţă. Modest in proportions,
the church is remarkable through its
simplicity and its impressing polychrome
decoration.
Both the interior and exterior walls were
decorated with frescoes in the first half of
the 16th century. The difficult historic
conditions in Romania at that time
culminated with the assassination of the
founder together with two of his sons.
The decrease of the economic resources
and the division of the estate and dominions
drove the church to abandonment.
The same factors - natural causes and
negligence - contributed to the partial
deterioration of the artistic components - Image 4. West facade, portrait detail.
1 G. Balş, Bisericile lui Ştefan cel Mare, Buletinul Image 5. West facade, scene from the life of
Comisiei Monumentelor Istorice 1925, Ed. Cartea St. George representing the saint at the court
Românească S.A., Bucharest, 1926 of the Emperor Diocletian.
e_conservation 49
mural painting and iconostasis. Since the

church remained without a roof for more
than one century, the continuous humidity
infiltration led to the detachment and loss
of important surfaces from the superior
mural painting as well as to other
irreversible alterations of the pigments
from the adjacent areas.
However, this article will not focus on
the deterioration produced by natural
degradation factors, but on the human
factor, on those deliberate interventions
that led to the partial alteration of the
original aspect through repaintings.
Image 6. Nave, west wall, detail from

“The Mocking of the Christ”.
Image 7. Narthex, west wall, “The Fourth Synod”.
50 e_conservation
Image 8. Narthex, west wall, portraits detail from

“The Fourth Synod”.
Previous interventions
Undertaking extensive conservation works On the overall, the alterations found at

at the moment, the mural painting from the inferior level are mainly portrait
the church allows direct access to certain replacements.
details, otherwise impossible to observe. Even if within the same mural ensemble,
Among the problems we confronted, the interventions belong to different time
we will refer here just those previous periods and are executed in different
interventions which had the objective of techniques. Thus, each case requires a
“refreshing” the original through differential approach and the final decision
repainting. is imposed by all the contributing elements.
At the church from Arbore, the repainting Within this context, we recall the problem
interventions were identified on clear of derestoration, addressed in a well
delimited surfaces located especially on defined thematic framework with the
the lower and accessible areas. It can be occasion of the “Peintures murales”
observed that the authors of these conference in Dijon, 19932, where
interventions made their choice according specialists from complementary domains
to the iconographic importance of the had participated.
scenes or to their position within the The decision of preserving or removing
mural ensemble. Thus, the aesthetic the repaintings required a detailed
alterations by repainting can be seen at study of all the characteristics of the
the ex-voto in the central nave, at the original matter and the additions,
funerary scene from the narthex, at the study made in collaboration with
prophets’ scene, at the image of Virgin art historians and chemists.
Mary painted at the entrance of the nave
and at the icon of the patron saint, St.
2 Dijon Conference, "Peintures Murales", Section
John the Baptist, located at the main
Française de l'Institut International de Conservation
entrance of the church. (SFIIC), Dijon, 1993.
e_conservation 51
Image 9. Narthex, north wall, detail from the Image 10. Narthex, north wall, scenes of Martir
scenes of Martyr Saints. Saints, detail of hammer marks.
Starting with the identification of the our decision took into consideration the
execution technique, the aim was to state of conservation of the original and
establish when each intervention was of the overlayers, permanently according
made and its author3, as far as possible. with the historic and aesthetic instance
Further, it was attempted to find out the as they were stated by Cesare Brandi4.
reason that could cause the need for the After analysing all the involved components,
new layer – if it was added due to the the identified interventions were classified
poor conservation state of the original, either as historic periods or as discordant
if it was done according to the time elements covering the original. Thus, the
fashion, if it was imposed by certain critic commentary concerning their
historic events or from the simple desire preservation or removal was made in
of the founder to remind certain facts, accordance with the artistic aspect which
as for example the act of the donation. supposes the transmission of the image
After acquiring this information, together with the historic-documentary
3 In the case of the church from Arbore, we were 4 Cesare Brandi, Teoria restaurarii, Ed. Meridiane,
unable to find any documentation concerning the Bucharest 1995, pp. 61-80.
repainting interventions, understandable fact due
to the age when the events took place.
52 e_conservation
message of the work of art, taking into Repaintings "a fresco"

consideration the technical elements and
the evolution of the matter in time. A first repainting was made in the central
For a better understanding of the nave west wall, on the ex-voto
repainting interventions from Arbore representing the family of the founder.
church, we will divide them in two Other alterations were identified at the
categories. The first is the category of the inferior scenes of saints and martyrs from
interventions that took place a short time the main nave and the narthex of the
after the original painting was made. In church.
principal, these are additions in the same These are due to vandalism actions5 and
technique (a fresco) of some surfaces had affected the majority of the
deteriorated by vandalism in the period of portraits and some important compositional
political instability from that time. The elements. Our supposition is confirmed by
second category is the one of the the existence of numerous marks left by
repaintings made a secco, some centuries sharp objects on this particular surface in
after the creation of the original painting. comparison with other scenes and well
These are mainly due to the style preserved portraits which do not present
influences of those times. this kind of marks. Some of the lacunas
The observations we made before any produced in this way were ulteriorly
intervention were completed by the data filled and repainted. Others, smaller in
obtained after the removal of the dirt dimensions and situated in less important
deposits from the surface.
Until all the information was gathered and
a final decision was established, the
layers of repainting were conserved and
maintained on the surface.
The intervention results were partially
presented in scientific sessions organized
by the “George Oprescu” Art History
Institute and the Ministry of Culture and
Cults from Romania.
5 During the politic instability of that time, the painting
was vandalised by the invaders, these marks being

produced by sharp objects like swords and spears.
Image 11. Nave, ex-voto, portrait of Luca Arbore,

the founder of the church. Image in grazing light.
e_conservation 53
areas are still visible, remaining as they

were. It is also obvious that the vandalism
actions were performed preferentially
giving more importance to the portraits
and the hands of the saints, which were
decorated with religious symbols. On this
matter, we recall the representations of
Archangel Michael whose hand holds the
“Sword of Truth'' and St. Peter whose
hand holds “The Keys to the Kingdom of Image 12. Narthex, funerary painting, detail of
Heaven”, both scenes situated on the east hammer marks.
side of the narthex. The same may be

observed on the ex-voto and the funerary
painting, at the hands pointing in the
direction of the church.
The repaintings were performed a fresco
in the areas where the painting presented
lacunas. These repairs belong to different
time periods and can be differentiated not
only stylistically but also because of the
technical skills of the author to apply the
Image 13. Narthex, east wall, inferior scene, detail
mortar or paint layer. These interventions
from the representation of Archangel Michael.
were preserved as witnesses of the
historic events since they show real but the major intervention is visible in the
artistic qualities and the original surfaces central area of the scene and occupies
were irreversibly damaged. cca. 45% of the whole surface. It is well
delimited by the technological elements
The ex-voto parametrically identified and by the
junctions with the original.
This vandalised scene was "repaired" in The repainting evidently reduced the
the same way as all the other scenes from dimensions of the central scene depicting
the inferior level. Still, there can be the Arbore family (Luca boyar and his wife
observed certain marks caused by a sharp together with their five children - four
object which remained unfilled. boys and a girl).
Repaintings are localised at the portrait of The scene shows the family offering the
St. John the Baptist and at the portrait church to the Divinity, represented by
and right hand of the founder, Luca Arbore, Jesus Christ. This act is intermediate by
54 e_conservation
Image 14. Nave, ex-voto, repainted scene. Image 15. Nave, ex-voto, two overlayed
representations of Luca Arbore holding the shrine.
St. John the Baptist, the protector of the presence of the shrine, the scaled
church. An angel is leading the laic representation of the church. There can
characters towards the throne where be clearly differentiated two different
Jesus is seated. images of the church: the first (original),
The reason for repainting this scene is not with the dome and a divided roof for the
yet completely known. A first supposition is church and the altar; and the second
that the scene was vandalised due to the (repainting) without dome, a simple roof
politic instability in Moldavia at the covering the entire church7.
beginning of 16th century, thus the Technologically, both representations are
repainting was necessary for completing executed a fresco but differences can be
the lost areas. The second possibility is found between the composition of the
that the family enlarged with time and the intonaco layers and the drawing and
younger members wished to be represented painting techniques. The composition of
together with the rest of the family6. the added intervention layer is clearly
Beneath the image of Iuliana, the wife of richer in vegetal material, respectively in
Luca Arbore, can be distinctly seen traces tow. By simple visual exam in grazing
from the first representation of her richer light, the surface shows a matte, rough-
veil and garment. An important cast aspect. The original method of
inadvertence in matching the details from transposing the drawing onto the wall was
the central area is given by the doubled by incision while the intervention was
6 This supposition comes from the reduced scale of 7 The first that mentioned and treated the subject
the representation, which is evident as the original of this double representation of the church in the
representation of the wife of Luca Arbore is still ex-voto was Prof. Dan Mohanu – expert
partial visible. conservator, in a communication from 1974.
e_conservation 55
Image 16 and 17. Nave, ex-voto, during the

cleaning of the surface (left) and after the
conservation treatment (right).
Repaintings "a secco"
performed by pouncing. This detail can be A second category of interventions come

observed where the colour layer is from the 19th century, when a general
missing, as a sequence of black points, change of taste and style was adopted.
marks of the applied pigment through the These interventions do not respect neither
perforated paper. The sinopia contour the Byzantine style, specific for the 16th
lines are carefully but spontaneously century, nor the original execution
executed while the pigments were applied technique, having been executed in tempera
late, on a support already poor in water or oil. In fact, this period is known for a
content and unable to fix sufficiently the general decadence of the wall painting in
particles in the plaster. From this reason, this side of the country (northern
the colour had poor adherence to the Moldavia, also known as Bucovina).
surface and most part of it was lost
with time. The icon of the patron saint
In the case of the ex-voto, the alternative
of removing this intervention was This icon represents St. John the Baptist
excluded, since the repaintings are and is located in the exterior, on the south
themselves historic stages of the image facade, in the lunette within the arch
of today. above the entrance door. The traditional
56 e_conservation
Image 18. Exterior painting, south facade, the icon of the patron saint before the conservation intervention
with visible repaintings on the surface.
Image 19. The icon of the patron saint during the conservation intervention – the removal of the repaintings.
e_conservation 57
representation of the Baptizer, with the

head on a plate, was replaced with a
chromatically ordinary representation,
without expression. Even if the author is
not known, the inscription shows that the
intervention was performed in 1845. The
repainting is made a secco, on a
2 millimetres thick gypsum plaster.
According with the historic instance, any
intervention is marking a stage in the
existence of a work of art, thus it can not
be removed. In this case the historic
instance comes secondary after the
aesthetic one, the 19th century
representation being clearly inferior to
the 16th century one. In addition, the
original painting and the repainting
needed urgent conservation treatment.
The plaster on which tempera was applied
partially lost the adherence to the original
painting causing visible lacunas on the
entire surface. Loss of adherence being an
evolutional process, to save the repainting
would imply the consolidation of the
plaster, which would have affected the
underlayer, thus the original painting.
At the same time, the lacunas of the Image 20, 21. The icon of the patron saint, details
showing the loss of the adhesion of the two layers,
repainting allowed a clear estimation of
the original and the ulterior intervention.
the conservation state of the original.
The grazing light examination confirmed of the superior intervention layer.
that the green pigment from the garment These elements showed that to keep the
lost its adherence to the support layer. repainting would have meant to lose the
The detachment of the colour, the micro original, which was an extremely important
cracks and the exfoliations proved once aspect that determined our decision to
more that the process was evolutional. Thus, conserve the 16th century original by
the original painting was under constant removing the additions. Through
deterioration by strappo due to contractions derestoration the authentic image was
58 e_conservation
Image 22. The icon of the patron saint after the conservation treatment.
revealed. Even if some elements were from the adherent deposits was
partially deteriorated by repainting, the performed for a better examination of the
uncovered image has a high artistic value. repaintings. On both sides of the scene
The repainting was also inducing an discontinuous marks of oil repaintings
iconographic and artistic fake, since the could be seen, giving a stained and
head on the plate was replaced with unclean aspect to the surface. The original
a phylactery and the blessing gesture layer of colour seemed well preserved,
with a denotement sign. with few lacunas and exfoliations, in
comparison with the layer of repainting
Narthex, east wall which was cracked, detached and
exfoliated. Thus, it was decided to remove
In the narthex, the main repainted area is the repainting, preserving only one
the prophets’ scene from the east wall. In portrait (of the first prophet from the north
the centre of the scene are represented side) and some witnesses of small size.
The Virgin and The Child (Hodighitria), The central sector reveals another
surrounded by angels and three prophets. approach of the author of the repainting:
The problematic of the repaintings was the oil layer was applied thicker and the
treated separately for the central part of grazing light exam revealed this was in
the scene and for the side parts since fact the third layer of repainting. The
their state of conservation differed in name of the painter, Ion Bodnărescu, was
great amount. Cleaning of the surface visible on the blue background of the
e_conservation 59
garment of the Virgin. The second layer of

intervention took over the subsidence and
abruptness of the plaster from the first
intervention layer. The loss of colour in
certain areas allowed to distinguish both
the colour from the first repainting - red-
brown (a secco) and the original - yellow.
Child Jesus’ portrait, hands and garment
were partially showing marks of
repainting. The original portrait of the
Virgin was visible through the small
lacunas of the intervention layer. Thus, it
could be observed that the original was
unaltered under the repaintings and its
aesthetic value, reported to the rest of the
original mural ensemble, was hard to
come up with. On the other hand, the
association between the colours from the
Child’s portrait – pale-red from the
Image 23, 24. Narthex, east wall, Prophets scene, repainting and green from the original –
details during the cleaning (up) and the conservation
was breaking the homogeneity, thus to
state of the original and the repainting (down).
preserve these layers would have been
scene and the entire inscription was difficult. To selectively remove the
revealed during the cleaning. Unfortunately, repainting, up to their extension degree on
this layer was affected by exfoliation due to the surface, would have determined an
the thickness of the repainting but the year optic discomfort as well as an ambiguous
of intervention was identified as 1887. image. The Virgin would have had a pale-
Finding this inscription between two similar red coloured portrait while the Child, a
colour layers proves that the author green one. More over, to preserve all the
changed his intention while painting and repaintings from this area would have
covered the text himself, letting visible only meant to induce difficulties to the aesthetic
his signature. presentation of the entire surface. Lacunas
Critical comments concerning the decision could not be attenuated by chromatic
of removing or preserving the interventions integration as the original would have
on this painting took under consideration been altered and small discontinuous
more factors. As mentioned before, there surfaces where the oil was present on the
were two repaintings overlaid on the surface would have given a stained aspect.
60 e_conservation
Image 25, 26. Narthex, east wall, central area of the Prophets scene, “The Virgin and The Child” before the
intervention (left) and during the surface cleaning (right).
Image 27, 28. Details from “The Virgin and The Child” during the surface cleaning.
Visible repaintings on the hand (left) and portrait of the Child Jesus (right).
e_conservation 61
Anca Dină, 2005
Image 29.
Portrait detail during the removal of the repainting.
Image 30, 31. Narthex, east wall, stages during the removal of the repaintings: the three different layers
of colour, two repaintings and the original (left) and general view after cleaning the most recent of the
repaintings from the garment of the Virgin.
Image 32. The original representation of the The reason for repainting this scene
scene, after the removal of the repaintings and
the aesthetic treatment of the lacunas.
could be assigned to the non-canonical
colour of the Virgin’s garment. This is why
the first repainting covered only the
surface of the garment. The alteration in
time of the red lead (minium) that was
used for the new garment, as well as the
partially loss of its plaster, determined a
second repainting, this time on all the
surface and in oil technique which was a
fashion at that time. The authors of these
interventions did not appreciate the
artistic quality of the 16th century
representation, the brightness of the
Virgin’s garment given by the simplicity
and the viridity of the colour and of the
Child’s garment given by the light
enrichment decorations with gold.
e_conservation 63
Image 33, 34. Details from the scene “The Virgin and The Child” after the removal of the repaintings.
Portraits of Virgin Mary (left) and of Child Jesus (right).
Conclusions
Considering the problematic of the with a unique character, with significant

repaintings from Arbore in retrospect, it details over which time left visible traces.
was possible to liberate the original Our intervention is more valuable as
surfaces from the intervention layers, due more information is preserved, being
to the technique in which these were useful in the research of art historians and
performed. Thus, through the degradation other specialists. On the other side, the
and the partial loss of the repainting, conservation-restoration of mural
we could analyse and correctly establish paintings must bring in front of the
the relation between the importance of general public the authentic values of
the original versus the addition and the past.
backwards.
In the end, we must recognise that the
conservation of an iconographic ensemble
implies a responsible consciousness from
the restorer facing a historic document All photos by Anca Dină, 2005 - 2007
64 e_conservation
Anca Dină Oliviu Boldura
contact: contact:
[email protected] [email protected]
Anca Dină is a conservator-restorer specialised Oliviu Boldura is professor at the
in mural paintings. She graduated in Conservation-Restoration Department from
Conservation from the Art University in the Art University in Bucharest and holds a
Bucharest where she also completed a PhD in Aesthetics of Visual Arts. Since
Master in Visual Arts, with specialisation in 35 years he has been continuously working
Conservation. She works for the enterprise in the field of conservation-restoration of
CERECS ART S.R.L., having coordinated mural paintings from important monuments
several intervention areas from onsite in northern Romania. These churches date
conservation projects as St. George Church from the 15th and 16th centuries and are
from the “Sf. Ioan cel Nou” Monastery in recognised for their remarkable value, some
Suceava (2003), “The Beheading of St. John of them being part of the UNESCO World
the Baptist” Church from Arbore Heritage: Voroneţ, Arbore, Moldoviţa,
(2004–2006) and the Church of Suceviţa Probota, Suceviţa,
Monastery (2007). "Sf. Gheorghe" from Suceava, Bălineşti.
She has participated in several national The diversity of the information collected
communication sessions within the national during the conservation works is
Art History Institute “George Oprescu” in disseminated by Oliviu Boldura in numerous
(2005 and 2006) and within the Ministry of scientific sessions and publications. On the
Culture (2007), with results under on-site conservation projects that he
publication at the moment. coordinates, he is the promoter of
experimental applications of laser and nano-

Besides the present authors of this article, technologies in the mural painting
the following conservator-restorers have conservation and documentation. He is of the
participated on the conservation works of the opinion that the use of polymeric resins
mural painting in Arbore church: Magdalena should be limited in conservation treatments.
Drobotă, Dumitru Dumitrescu, Georgiana Oliviu Boldura is also member in the
Zahariea, Natalia Danilă-Sandu and Paula speciality commissions from the Ministry of
Vartolomei. Culture and Cults in Romania.
e_conservation 65
organisation Chamber of Restorers
in Slovakia
http://www.restauro.sk
contact:
[email protected]
▪ Established in 1994
▪ 28 specializations
▪ 192 members
▪ 3 membership categories
▪ Access to university graduates
▪ Independent work reserved
to licensed restorers
▪ Member of E.C.C.O.
Presentation
Professional restorers in Slovakia, who

want to work on listed heritage objects,
have to be a member of the Chamber of
Restorers (Komora reštaurátorov, further
only KR). The KR is a self-governing, non
political professional body and a law entity
which was established on the base of
Slovak law act 200, from the July 14,
1994 on the 1st September, 1994. If you
Text by are interested in reading the law itself,
Mgr.art. Barbara Davidson. you can do so even in English on our web
site www.restauro.sk. Why such a body
Barbara Davidson is member of was created and how it was possible we
the Board of Komora Reštaurátorov have to look back on the development of
(Chamber of Restorers), delegate the situation in restoration in the
for E.C.C.O. and works as a socialistic Slovak Republic, which used to
conservator-restorer of be a part of the Czechoslovak Socialistic
easel paintings in the Republic. From 1973, in the times of so
City Gallery of Bratislava. called “normalization” after the invasion
e_conservation
Organisations
of the Warsaw Pact armies in August long period of time. After the political
1968, the execution of restoration activity change in autumn of 1989 the long-term
as a freelance profession in Slovakia was absence of a natural and fluent evolution
stopped and forbidden by the Ministry of in the field of restoration worked as a
Culture of SSR. The Ministry composed of strong accelerator of the future
communists did not trust freelance artists development. After years of the
with their “suspicious” ways of thinking profession's suppression the restorers
and production, even working on objects have been well aware of the need and
of cultural heritage. On top of that, from necessity to decide about and for
the second half of the nineteen seventies themselves without mediation of other
this situation worsened by the parties. This resulted in the only possible
traumatising fact of the invitation of a solution - attempt for constitution of a
certain part of Polish restorers from the chamber based on law. As a source for
Polish state institution PKZ to work on preparation of specialised bases for the
heritage objects in Slovakia. Slovak proposal of the law we cooperated with
restorers could only work as employees of our Czech colleagues and used data from
galleries and museums. Immovable partner professional organisations abroad.
cultural heritage was for them not The proposal itself was formulated so that
accessible. By this decision the space for it would reflect our own specific situation
work, professional development and and needs in restoration in Slovakia.
growth of Slovak restorers was lost for a
e_conservation 67
Slovakia
Membership in KR listed as national heritage. The aim for the

future though is to have all collections
Who can become a member of KR? The which are currently treated under another
procedure is described in our basic law special for museums and galleries to
documents which you can look up on our be considered as listed. At the moment,
website mentioned above. But basically institutions dealing with restoration of art
the membership is open for university objects can employ people with lower
graduates, physical persons with education or non-members of KR, but in
specialization in restoration – in Slovakia case of restoration of a listed artwork,
the only school providing university level they have to work under supervision of a
of education in restoration is the Academy member of KR. It means, for these types
of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava of institutions it is preferable to employ
(AFAD). The membership does not restorers, members of KR. Currently KR
automatically entitle to work has about 200 members which can apply
independently and the issuing of a licence, for 28 specialisations and members in
even in case of MA graduates is based on categories cooperating member and
a 3 years period of practical execution of honourable member.
the profession under supervision of a The Chamber works according to standard
licensed restorer. The KR invites also democratic principles. Starting with self-
Bachelors to become members, to be able determination and asserting of restorers
to understand and learn better and get in the cultural and social space the
into contact with practice in real Chamber has gradually become an
conditions. The state examination which is integral and accepted part of the
provided from the Academy is sufficient institutions in the area of heritage
for a restorer to work independently on protection in Slovakia. It registers its
private collections and collection objects members, protects and creates conditions
of galleries and museums, which are not for their practise, professional growth and
68 e_conservation
Organisations
development, watches over their

professional activity.
The Chamber of Restorers is the highest
professional guarantor of the quality of
restoration in Slovakia.
Conservation-Restoration
education in Slovakia
The education into becoming a

conservator/restorer in Slovakia is
provided also on the level of a high school
graduation (pupils 14 – 18 years old, or
as lifelong learning) which specialises in
conservation/restoration of collection
objects of applied art from galleries,
museums and libraries. It is realised in a determined according to your pre-choice
four year study program finishing with a of specialisation (either restoration of
practical and theoretical examination. paintings or sculptures). The pass rate is
The pupils absolve artistic preparation usually 10% of applicants. The existence
and restoration practice. The theoretical of schooling for restorers in state
part of the education is in the area of art- accredited schools begun in Slovakia
history, iconography and restoration already in the year 1949 when the
technology. This type of education is Academy of Fine Arts (Vysoká škola
provided in two state high schools for výtvarných umení) was established. The
applied arts – in Bratislava since 1980 and restoration department was started by a
in Košice since 1981. personality from the Czech Republic –
The university levels are the 4 year study Prof. Karel Veselý. At those times in
to become a BA and then you can apply Czechoslovakia already existed by the
for MA studies, which takes another two Academy of Fine Arts in Prague the School
years. It means you will study for 6 years of Restoration of Painted Artworks
in total. In the year 2000 the AFAD established in 1945 by Prof. Bohuslav
(www.vsvu.sk ) opened the possibility of a Slánský. The Bratislava‘ AFAD offers these
post-graduate study in restoration, which specialisations in restoration: easel
is awarded with the Art D title. To be paintings, panel paintings, wooden
accepted to the AFAD it is necessary to (polychrome) sculpture, stone sculpture,
pass the talent examination which is metal, paper, photography and textile.
e_conservation 69
art history THE CRUCIFIXES OF
MĂRGINIME
by Ovidiu Daneş
The Crucifixes of Mărginime
“A window is more of a cross than a The role they played was initially a sacred
crucifix proper which, logically speaking related one par excellence and due to
should be a cross per se… and that is a their ritualistic involvement, apotropaic
weird thing, at least at first glance.” purpose, and funereal character they
Horia Bernea consisted merely of a stone or wooden
cross placed in spots with a significant
symbolical charge. Their being
consecrated – which also brought
consecration to the site of their location –
The Crucifixes of Mărginime – the allowed them to protect that place against
outskirts of Sibiu – are public architecture the mischievous presences that would
elements that consecrate crossroads, haunt the folk imaginary. Therefore a
boundaries, road twists, springs and subtle realm laid between what was at
homesteads in a way that qualifies them hand, familiar, and proximitous on the one
as a narrative of the folk imagination. hand and sheer otherness on the other.
Time and form are both located Sites that were consecrated during
somewhere between a craftwork related specific religious services on Ascension
poetic simplicity – so typical of the (Ispas), Epiphany, Pentecost, temporarily
monuments erected in the 18th century – became public places that could
on the one hand, and the more recent occasionally be perceived and used as
ready-made culture of double-glazed typical places for folk socials – customs
windows on the other. that have survived to this day in Sibiel
and Cacova (Fântânele).
The 35 crucifixes that have been spotted
up to the present – all erected between The 1764 watershed when “the city
1784 and 1879 – are located between council of Sibiu decreed us bondsmen, […]
Turnu (Porceşti), the south-eastern tip of although we had always been yeomen,” is
the region and the north-western one – shortly followed by the erection of the first
Jina. By their compact volume, their masoned crucifixes as the disputes
squarish footprint, and their frugal outer between the locals of Mărginime and the
adornments the crucifixes leave a bulkingmaestro (in Romanian bulgăr-
significant mark on their surroundings, meşterul, a humorous alteration of the
being part and parcel of the overall image German Burgermeister, Town Mayor) over
of the Mărginime villages as they tax and land ownership related issues
participate in the rhythmical proportions went on until the 40s of the next century.
of both private estates and houses of Erected during that period of time mostly
worship as well. on the boundaries of the villages off the
Previous page image: 71

The crucifix from Răşinari, 1795
Ovidiu Daneş
Images 1, 2: The crucifix from Sibiel, 1803

Exterior view (left) and detail of mural painting salient penchant for scenes taken from
(right).
the Passion cycle, for depictions of the
proto-martyrs or of the military saints,
city of Sibiu, the crucifixes marked those sometimes duplicated as both interior and
borders as according to the unwritten law. exterior paintings could be seen as an
The people of Răşinari for a good instance implement of pointing at certain social
erected no less than three such realities.
monuments within a tight area on the
eastern boundary of the village. There The crucifix of Sibiel (house no.166, the
was a time when the locals involved year 1803) displays an iconography quite
crucifixes in their various political relevant in the aforementioned
machinations, but even then they did not perspective. On the outside, but still
do away with their original symbolic within the precincts of the homestead,
dimension. In certain cases a specific there are scenes from the Passion cycle
message was made explicit by resorting representing a sequel to the two interior
to a remarkably elaborate iconographic iconographic registers: the Prayer in the
program that was quite often borrowed Garden of Gethsemane, the Last Supper,
from the liturgical field and thus made the Judas Kiss, Jesus before Caiaphas,
into a sure way of asserting identity. The Pilate’s Judgment, all of them arrayed in
72 e_conservation
quite an unusual order; the Resurrection

of Lazarus, and once again Jesus before
Caiaphas and Pilate’s Judgment; the
Bearing of the Cross, the Humiliation and
Scourging. The Roman soldiers are clad in
the uniforms of the Orlat frontier guard
regiment whose troops were Romanians
converted to the Church United with
Rome (Greek-Catholic), in charge with
collecting taxes, among many other
duties. The depiction of certain military
saints – St. George, St. Demetrius, and
St. Theodore Tyron – on the interior posts
is itself integral part of a common rhetoric
of representing social realities in
monuments whose status was growing
more and more public. On the other hand,
the collective memory of those times was
still emotionally bonded to figures like the
priests Moise Măcinic of Sibiel, Ioan of
Galeş, Ioan of Sadu or shepherd Oprea
Miclăuş of Sălişte, a fact which will have to
be taken into account by the future
iconographic analyses. And similarly, the
conflicts between the municipality of Sibiu
and the villagers of Mărginime bursting
out right after 1750 could likewise turn
out to be the right key to the question
regarding the numerous masoned
crucifixes phenomenon in the outskirts of
the Sibiu of that historical period.
In the different social context of the early

Image 3 (up): The crucifix from Apodul de Jos,
1800s the private use crucifixes started to
1812.
appear in the locals’ homesteads,
Image 4 (down): The crucifix from Arpaş,
displaying spectacular iconographic
1813.
discourses, some of them mere
e_conservation 73
Ovidiu Daneş
Images 5: The crucifix from Răşinari, 1808

Exterior.
Gethsemane, the Judas Kiss, Jesus before

Caiaphas, the Last Supper, and the
Images 5: The crucifix from Răşinari, 1808 Carrying of the Cross, all of them
Detail of mural painting. surrounded by the four Evangelists,
abbreviations of the mural iconographic against a seraphim background. The
programs in the churches near by, but at cycles of the miracles, the Virgin’s life,
the same time genuine proofs of and the pageant of Christian feasts
masterliness on the part of the painters complete the arches, while the stone
and of well-to-do-ness on the one of the cross painted on both sides advances a
beneficiary. The crucifix of Răşinari (house prolepsis kind of dialogue – the
no.195, the year 1808) breaks away from anamnesis triggered by the depiction of
the common established patterns both in the Crucifixion and the Epiphany. The
terms of size and iconography. It is twice narrative zest of the painter lives on
as large as the average ones and one can ardently to reach the socle of the cross
still make out the outlines of a where it brings forth two scenes that
monumental depiction of St. Archangel correspond in due order to the main
Michael as part of the exterior painting, images: Abraham’s Sacrifice and the Fall
just under the prophet medallions. Inside, from Eden, whereas on the sides there
the vault is decorated with Passion are seraphim surrounded by prophets and
scenes: the Prayer in the Garden of by pious saints.
74 e_conservation
Another appearance, quite unique in the

architecture of Mărginime proposes a
different kind of visual discourse which
was very much simplified on the
architectural / iconographic / theological
level as well as in terms of its political and
social message, while managing at the
same time to be more suitable for the
place and the general village scenery. Its
imagery pertains to a poetics of
vagueness straightforwardly besieging the
physical palpability of the passer-by: an
atypical shape, a whitewashed thick-base/
t-wall with a hat-shaped awning and roof
and a niche whose painting represents the
orant Mother of God with the orant
Emanuel child on her lap-throne and an
inscription unfurling and girding the whole
lintel thus indicating the place to pray for
those crossing the region while in
transhumance. The Healing Spring and
the image in the recess are the ones that
Image 7 (right): The crucifix from Răşinari, 1795
have set since 1795 the place where the
Image 8 (left, up): The crucifix from Turnu, 1787
crucifix should be erected. Image 9 (left, down): The crucifix from Sibiel, 1814.
e_conservation 75
Ovidiu Daneş
Image 10: (right, up): In Săliştea Sibiului just in front of house

The crucifix from
Sibiel, 1812.
no. 37 (according to the present day
numbering) there is a crossroad crucifix
Image 11 (middle, up):
The crucifix from
(undated yet) with a relevant iconographic
Sălişte, 1817. program with regards to the relationship
Image 12 (left, up):

between such monuments and the pace
The crucifix from of life in the local communities. As
Saliste, 1842.
transfigured by the modern taste and
Image 13 (down): sensibility, the monument still preserves
The crucifix from
Sibiel 1814.
its exterior paintings, right under the
cornice, along with the prophet
medallions, while on the inside it still
presents besides its refined decorations,
the four scenes in the unique register of
the tympana: the Annunciation, the Entry
of the Holy Theotokos into the Temple,
the Baptism of Christ, and Saints
Constantine and Helen. The latter
Emperor Saints are quite a puzzling
76 e_conservation
appearance in the context of the whole on the pillars there are representations of
cycle but it makes sense in a wider the Archangels, St. Nicholas and St.
perspective as they were the patron and Archdeacon Stephen.
patroness of the school (founded 1779) in No doubt the crucifixes in Mărginime – the
the proximity of this crucifix. May 21st outskirts of Sibiu – represent a cultural
was in those times celebrated with special phenomenon whose implications and
pomp and ceremony as “the girls and the ramifications are yet to be looked into.
younger housewives would wear the Unfortunately the paintings they display
embroidered bandannas they wore only are currently undergoing dramatic
on the greatest feasts.” The day was alterations as they are abandoned, stored
chosen as the last school day as well as in museums, or repainted while the
the landmark for the beginning of the crucifixes are intoning their last tale in the
pastoral year. The iconographic framework same voice with the villages of Mărginime.
of the crucifix in the hearth of the village
Text by
of Rodu (1871) is a purely liturgical one, Ovidiu Daneş
with Jesus Emanuel in the keystone and a
Photography by
quite unusual version of the Liturgy of the Şerban Bonciocat and Ovidiu Daneş
Angels in the vault, as the Old of Days
English translation by
replaces one of the images of Christ, while Chris Tănăsescu
Ovidiu Daneş
contact:
[email protected]
is a graduate of the Art University of

Bucharest, the Faculty of History and
Theory of Arts and holds a Master
degree at the Centre of Excellence in
Image Study - University of
Bucharest. He worked at the
Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu, UNESCO
Romania and his main research
activities are on old Romanian art.
From 2006 he is the president of
DALA Cultural Foundation.
Images 5, 6: The crucifix from Sălişte, 1827.
e_conservation 77
documentatio
Documentation and
Architecture Conservation:
La Villetta Cemetery
in Parma, Italy (part 2)
A project coordinated by Michela Rossi
Formal References in Funerary MARIA CARMEN NUZZO

Architecture
The Urban Planning SILVIA OMBELLINI

of Parma Cemeterial System
The Master Plan for the ELISA ADORNI

Safeguarding and Restoration
of La Villetta
The virtual museum - the memory SIMONE RICCARDI

of the cemetery heritage
Formal References in Funerary Architecture
FORMAL REFERENCES
IN FUNERARY
ARCHITECTURE
By Maria Carmen Nuzzo
With the advent of the consumer society

and the standardisation of life, the city of
the living has created homogeneous
neighbourhoods of dormitories and
globalised malls and the city of the dead
has been filled with crowded burial
chambers in anonymous and “normalized”
structures.
The modern culture has created the “not
places”, which means spaces lacking
Image 1: The cemetery of the ideal town of Chaux
identity, non relational and with no (N. Ledoux 1775 d.C.)
history. The loss of the sense of life
identity is expressed by the loss of the
sense of death, so that “the spaces to who live in the silence of the boulevards,
spend one’s life and death” have lost their the memory that appears like ruins in the
“reason for existence”1. green lushness of grass3.
The space for death, which the modern The city of the dead in Parma, founded
world with its hedonistic and omnipotent by Maria Luigia inside the suburban villa,
mentality wants to ward off and remove, is organised in the same way as the city
is the place where one can listen to the of the living, according to the edict of
story of life: in cemeteries, evil and virtue St. Cloud4.
crystallize for eternity. Giving importance The quality of the shapes and architecture
to the grave as a place of exchange of the cemetery, which is expressed by
between the living and the dead, place measurements and archival research to
which encourages the correspondence of define its monumental aspect, is important
dating meaning, as Foscolo2 reminds us, in the development of the new funerary
means rediscovering the memory of those typologies that accompanied the
e_conservation 79
Maria Carmen Nuzzo
post-Enlightenment rebirth in the out-of- meanings: it is an arrangement that

town necropolis. indicates a separation and a segregation
The layout of Parma cemetery refers to but also follows acts of acknowledgement
the architectural aspects of the enclosure and implies care, assures protection from
and to the description of these places and towards the outside. It is an erected
given over to burial which is suggested by border that characterises and gives
Francesco Milizia5. architectural complexity and sense to the
The architectural shapes of the arcades paths, to the subdivisions and to the logic
joining on the axes of the portico follow the of the building.
typology of the columbarium found in early The Villetta cemetery became a place visited
Christian catacombs and burial chapels. to recall memories. It is reachable by going
The significant elements of the cemetery down a long boulevard with trees that from
are: the geometric and symbolic centre 1862 onwards has connected the cemetery
marked by the orthogonal axes; the to the city of the living, as documents and
austerity and seriousness of the Doric iconographic witnesses demonstrate.
order; the crosses on top of the obelisks, The tombs and the burial chapels,
which dissolve the reminiscence of pagan witnesses of a stylistic vocabulary
cultures in Christian symbolism; the fronts ranging from Neo-Medieval to Neo-
and the different parts of the entrances, Byzantine and from Neo-Romanic to
representing the relation between the Neo-Rococo, reflect an architecture
burial places and the outside areas and whose symbolic values and formal
mainly, the outside enclosure. “Sacred elements derived from a burial culture
Enclosure” is a widespread expression that becoming the physical features of the
implies as well anthropologic and symbolic expression of the memory.
1 Marc Augè, 2005, Not places. Introduction to an anthropology of surmodernità, Eleuthera.

2 U. Foscolo, 1856, from poem “Sepolcri”
3 L. Sciascia, 1952, The flower of poetry romanesca, Caltanisetta, (with a preface P.P. Pisolini)
4 State Archive Parma, Governatorato di Parma, 1817, busta 543.
5 F. Milizia, 1972, Principles of civil architecture, Finale 1781, rist. anstatica dell’ed. 1847, Milano, Mazzotta, pp. 331-333.
80 e_conservation
The Urban Planning of Parma Cemeterial System
THE URBAN PLANNING

OF PARMA
CEMETERIAL SYSTEM
By Silvia Ombellini
Like Laudomia, every city has at its side The cemetery planning, which is required
another city whose inhabitants are called by Italian law, is strictly connected with
by the same name: it is the Laudomia of the urban planning.
the dead, the cemetary. (...) The more In 2004 the Italian region Emilia-
the Laudomia of the living becomes Romagna, through a specific rule
crowded and expanded, the more the (L.R. 19/04), has imposed to all the
expanse of tombs increases beyond the municipalities the cemetery planning.
walls. Parma is one of the first cities in Emilia-
From Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino Romagna that made a cemetery plan,
approved in 2007. This project is called
The cemetery is “another city”. Its “PCm” (Cemeterial Planning). The main
foundation and its increase are similar to objectives of this plan are: to protect the
the urban one. The cemeterial system, historical architectures, to regulate the
which in Parma was born in the last half of growth of structures, to improve their
19th century, presents various analogies quality and to draw new spaces like
with the urban system. Cemeteries are memorial gardens. The cemetery planning
orientated according to the roman centuriation. started by the detailed research of these
They are characterised by the presence of places from their origins to the present
the external wall, in analogy to the urban state, in order to focus themes, problems
wall, and by the symbolism of the centre. and visions for the future.
Since the Second World War, the plot of the In the past, cemeteries were important
cemetery has become untidy, chaotic and public spaces for the city. The project
anonymous, like that of the city. The city of intended to recover this public function,
the dead has spread out, and its limit has without alienating the cemetery use.
come nearer the living city. Cemeteries, which were born as meeting
Today the space of relation between the places for the society of the 19th Century,
two cities is strategic for their regenerations. have been progressively ghettoized from
e_conservation 81
Silvia Ombellini
the city and from the public living. Now it avoid the risk of abandonment of the
is essential that cemeteries should existent structures. Therefore the PCm
recover their original role of public spaces. foresees new alternative uses for the
They are stone archives of the city, places historical structures, optimization of use
of silence and memory, strongly of the existent structures, and exclusion
connected with the landscape and the of incongruous parts, in order to recover
urban space. the original quality.
The first step of the PCm is the estimation In the historical structures, the project
of demographic and mortality trend in foresees the increase in value of the main
order to approximate the needs and to architectures, the recovery of original
program the increase of the new values, material and forms, and the
cemeterial structures. support of their use.
The knowledge of the economic, The historical parts, in particular the
demographic, social and urban changes “Villetta Octagon”, have to accentuate the
has been the point of departure of a role of the memory, and will be
search of longer distance that has designated to the graves of illustrious
produced the PCm. citizens. This part will be a museum of the
To limit the growth of cemeteries is the town memory. The project foresees the
main choice of the project in order to valorisation of open spaces, through the
design of internal gardens, the recovery
of trees and vegetation, the reorganization
of access and internal routes and the
insertion of monuments, fountains
and signs.
THE CITY IN THE CITY

The cemeterial system of Parma
The Master Plan of La Villetta
THE MASTER PLAN

FOR SAFEGUARDING
AND RESTORATION
OF LA VILLETTA
By Elisa Adorni
The Master Plan for the safeguarding and The Master Plan has tried to individualize
the restoration (afterward called PPO) of an alternative use of all the existing
the Villetta’s monumental Octagon is part structures, with the exception of perpetual
of a larger intervention of the cemetery graves and valuable monuments.
planning system in Parma. The PPO is Following the Cemetery Rules, the PPO
the completion of the Cemetery Rules also tries to promote the planning and to
recently adopted. delineate specific planning lines. This
The development of a specific rule, with project concerns the restoration of
the individualisation of the historical preserved monuments and also the planning
centre of the urban cemetery, has allowed of collective spaces (garden and paths).
the evaluation of the historical-architectural Studies about the Monumental Octagon
heritage of the monumental cemetery. and about the type of restoration
Editing the Master Plan has probed the interventions for the historical building
analysis of the monumental part, which and the arcade were conducted.
needs safeguarding and exploitation. To reconstruct the original unity will
Therefore, the preliminary remarks of the require to foresee layer analysis
Master Plan were to stimulate the (stratigraphies) of the painted surfaces
environmental qualification and the of the arches and the galleries.
architectural exploitation in order to However, different problems arose:
guarantee a continuity of use of the coexistence of different juridical titles of
historical structures. “ownership”, presence of low quality
The “safeguarding” does not mean interventions, construction of incongruous
“musealisation” but control over the elements, tendency to space saturation -
quality of the interventions, maintaining not always in accordance with the general
alive the monument in respect to the project of the cemetery, existence of over-
regulations in use. dimensioned private graves, difficulty
e_conservation 83
Elisa Adorni
to adapt the historical constructions to the There are 5 categories of intervention, as

rules, precarious state of care of some follows:
historical architectures - with evident - Safeguarding: includes objects (chapels,
structural disarrangements and superficial graves, arches) and artistic-architectural
degradation of the exterior layer. records corresponding to a particular
The plan is also useful as control for new historic memory for the city;
future interventions. The PPO characterizes - Maintenance: includes objects (chapels,
the destinations, the categories, the graves, arches) of high architectural and
interventions and the intervention rules. artistic quality;
The intervention rules must consider the - Exploitation: includes historical objects
variety of monumental elements and their that do not have particular artistic-
specific and original use. architectural merit and the non-historical
Different ways of intervention can be objects with incongruous punctual
individualized: the greatest architectures elements, on which the transformation
(sectors) and the interior of the chapels (e.g. plastic fixture) is preferred;
and the arches (units) are all subjected to - Remodelling: includes non-historical
safeguarding. The PPO allows to perform objects of scarce quality with incongruous
interventions of restoration directly on the elements, on which the transformation is
single unit or partial consolidation of the preferred (covering material);
structures. - Morphological Reconfiguration: includes
Image 1: The Porch Arcades - the initial state of conservation
84 e_conservation
The Master Plan of La Villetta
incongruous objects which need avoid the presence of incongruous

morphology, material and dimension elements.
reconfiguration. This sort of intervention is These documents are intended to be
only for graves and aedicules. consulted in the future, serving the next
For chapels, arcades and aedicules, restoration interventions. Finally, the
classified by categories of intervention, obtained files allowed us to compile a
there are specified ordinary maintenance catalogue of references, which were
recommendations. integrated into a technical glossary that is
For the monumental sectors (galleries and able to give more useful indications on the
arcade) we have consulted the archive constructive technologies and on the used
documents to analyse the original project techniques and materials.
indications (specifications of a building The Master Plan (PPO) is a complex of
contract) and to compile specific forecast rules for future administration
interventions of restoration. and it aims to the safeguarding of the
The PPO gives also general indications historical monuments inside the Villetta
about compatible materials to use in the Cemetery. The PPO includes some
new chapels and graves and in every kind planning proposals to increase the value
of interventions in the monumental of the Octagonal monument through new
Octagon, with the specific intention to and alternative uses of its structures.
Image 2: The Porch Arcades - the initial state of conservation
e_conservation 85
Simone Riccardi
THE VIRTUAL MUSEUM,

THE MEMORY
OF THE
CEMETERY HERITAGE
By Simone Riccardi
The idea of a Virtual Museum comes from video, text and images through the main
the need to control and to distribute a stage of the plan and the construction of
complex data system. The research about the cemetery, starting from the history of
the Villetta cemetery developed by the the duchess Maria Luigia.
University and Municipality of Parma - has Another route of visit passes through the
generated a great deal of historical, social, stories of the main illustrious citizens’ life,
artistic and iconographic information. which are all “inhabitants” of the Villetta.
The main goal of the virtual museum is to The museum route narrates the lives and
organize this information through routes the works of musicians, writers, architects,
of knowledge and tools of research. artists and politicians. Therefore, the
The virtual museum should not replace cemetery looks like a family photo book of
the real space of the cemetery, instead, it the city, made in stone.
should invite to a personal visit inside The last route leads the guests inside the
the Villetta. artistic richness of the Villetta cemetery.
At the entrance of the virtual museum, The visitor can see and learn more about
the visitor can see all the possible “routes architectural works, as chapels, arches,
of memory” so he can plan his virtual trip sculptures, mosaics, paintings and bas-
inside the cemetery. The cemetery is the reliefs made by important local artists.
memory of the city and hence the virtual Each visitor can draw and print his personal
routes are named “routes of memory”. map, in which he can bookmark his own
Moreover, the visitor can switch to a real route with his relevant points of interest.
trip inside the Villetta where he can find a The memory of the city past becomes
map with relevant points of visit, and readable through a system of virtual
some useful information, like the schedule routes interlaced with each other.
of the cemetery, how to reach, etc. The ways of the city past weave
The first route of memory that the visitor themselves with the routes of the
can choose is the history of the cemetery present visitors, resulting in new maps
foundation. The visitor can browse by of favourite paths of memory.
86 e_conservation
La Villetta Cemetery
Documentation and Architecture Conservation:

La Villetta Cemetery in Parma, Italy
A project coordinated by MICHELA ROSSI
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, dell’Ambiente, del Territorio e
Architettura, Università degli Studi di Parma
web: www.unipr.it
email: [email protected]
MARIA CARMEN NUZZO,
PhD student in Civil Engineering at the University of Parma, she
graduated in Architecture in Milan. She is interested in the study of
funerary architecure and symbols and collaborates in teaching
Architectural Drawing.
SILVIA OMBELLINI,
PhD student in Forms and Structures of Architecture at the University of
Parma, she obtained her architect degree in Florence. She is interested
in architecture and urban design and collaborates with the City Planning
Office of Parma
ELISA ADORNI,
PhD student in Forms and Structures of Architecture at the University of
Parma, she graduated in Architecture. She is interested in architecture
conservation and structural rehabilitation of historic architecture.
SIMONE RICCARDI,
PhD student in Forms and Structures of Architecture at University of
Parma, he graduated in Architecture at the University of Florence. His
main interests are digital applications and urban planning.
e_conservation 87
book revie LOST CITY, RESUMED ARCHITECTURES
The cemetery Octagon of Villetta and other

funeral architectures in Parma
By Michela Rossi
ETS Editions, Pisa, February 2007
Book Review
Project: Cemeteries Planning of Parma This book is the result of a two years-
Planner: University of Parma, Department of long research, conducted by University of
Civil engineering, Environment, Territory Parma, under the guide of Architect
and Architecture. Michela Rossi, together with the
Place: Municipality of Parma Municipality of the city, in order to set up
Period: 2005-2007 a strategy of valorisation and
conservation of the nine cemeteries
which constitute the city of Parma
funeral system. By defining architectural
and political features of the principal
There are many ways to enter into a cemetery.
cemetery of the city, called “the Villetta”,
We could inquire it by reading stories of
the study has investigated the landscape
ancient poets, looking at old paintings on
by focusing on its link to the other signs
its surrounding walls, or searching for old
on the territory, represented by the
documents about its foundation. Alternatively,
smaller funeral structures all around it,
we could walk all around the city, through
ancient strongholds of a power which
fields drawn by channels and trees, trying
doesn’t care the passing time.
to detect a network of buried structures.
The result it’s a strange mixed book,
There, a system of cemeteries seems to be
created by different authors, each one
created for an unexpected escape. Probably
with a story to tell and with a personal
from life.
way to do it.
Then, there are several ways to bring a lost
Starting from the history of a cemetery,
architectural system back to its original
we could read about its foundation,
significance.
finding out the way of construction of the
We could try to preserve these architectures
city of deaths, looking at its political and
from the outside, by restoring them to their
architectural grown, in order to resume a
ancient brightness and arresting their
lived memory, as if we could recognize
evolution in a static time, or we could try to
all the inhabitants of this lost city.
transfer them outside, in the network of
Religion and communities are
cemeteries which represents a different city.
investigated in their relationship with
It’s the city of deaths: the place in which
death, also focusing on the original urban
our past is preserved from life.
connection between the city and the
cemetery, through an analysis in which
the boundaries between architecture and
social features are not so defined.
Ancient maps show the boulevard
Review by Federica Ottoni planned at the time of the cemetery
89
Book Review
construction, which represents both a becomes a pretext to research a correct

physical and symbolic road from life to way of managing a real system of several
death, and from present to past. separated structures, which could recover
Sculptures and paintings, architectures their connection in an architectural
and plan, connections and cloisters, general plan.
become the elements of a great collective The past seems to be a good point from
wall painting, from which the characters which start an investigation on the future.
of our past continue to tell us their So a statistical analysis of social and
stories, buried by soil and stones. political data represents the natural
The original architectonic point of view evolution of a study which involved
involves then other type of analysis, structures and functions, aesthetic and
extending itself on a urban scale. In this social relationships; it seems to give
way, the previous object of this study, the fundamental hints for the following
main urban cemetery of the “Villetta”, planning of the burial-places of a city.
As if the architecture could

be the common place on
which all the problems
involved in a urban and
social organization would be
solved, the last pages of this
dense and interesting trip are
reserved to the new projects.
Three different ways of
thinking death are showed in
three designs of new
architects, concluding a
research always suspended
between life and death.
To recover a lost city to
present.
Contact:
web: www.unipr.it
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90 e_conservation
Book Review
LASERS IN THE
CONSERVATION OF ARTWORKS
LACONA VI Proceedings
Vienna, Austria,
Sept. 21-25, 2005
(Series: Springer Proceedings in Physics Vol. 116)

by Johann Nimmrichter; Wolfgang Kautek;
Manfred Schreiner (Eds.)
2007, 647 p. 419 figures.
ISBN: 978-3-540-72129-1
Hardcover
Price: $260 / €210
LACONA VI was held in Vienna in in Venice back in 1972, where he

September 2005 but the proceedings describes in detail an unthinkable and
were only recently published by Springer. incredible series of events that started in
LACONA is the conference of reference to 1942 and culminated with his discovery.
all those interested in laser applications A must read.
to Cultural Heritage, from scanning to
cleaning and analysis of works of art. Metal (part I) is an important material
but it is still far from being one of the
The proceedings of LACONA VI present most studied. This section contains 5
74 articles organized in 6 parts: metal, articles about laser cleaning of corroded
stone, inorganic materials, organic steel, gildings, coins and the follow up of
materials, analytical techniques, the laser cleaning of Ghiberti's Porta del
scanning techniques and safety and Paradiso in Florence (page 29).
miscellaneous.
Besides being the first material where
The book opens with an independent laser cleaning was employed, stone
article by John Asmus, the scientist that (part II) is the most studied material.
discovered the cleaning application of However, on the middle of so many case
laser when using holographic technology studies and articles focused on the use of
e_conservation 91
Book Review
laser, it is interesting to read a reflection materials investigated, such as

about the demand of laser cleaning in polyurethane foam (page 295). On this
Austria. Pummer (page 143), based on regard, Staal Dinesen and Westergaard
his 10 years and 40,000 man hours investigated the usefulness of using laser
experience, reveals that this technology cleaning instead of vacuum cleaning of
(Nd:YAG laser) “or equivalent” is polyurethane foam (PU-foam), a normal
currently too often used in official service material used in Contemporary art. It
agreements, mostly without awareness. was proven that laser cleaning is more
The author compared 2 usual techniques effective than vacuum cleaning on dust
– microblasting and Nd:YAG laser - and removal despite damaging some PU-
concluded that, apart the high difference variants. However, laser cleaning on PU-F
of cost per hour between them, the was found recommended on the given
methods can not be referred to as parameters.
equivalent concerning the cleaning results.
Despite the fact that part III is dedicated Part V (analytical techniques) is devoted
to inorganic materials, a very to material characterisation. Many of the
comprehensive category, in this section materials characterised, either for their
are included those materials which didn’t study or identification, are pigments or
fit the previous sections. Perhaps the stone-based materials followed by paper,
most uncommon material in this section ceramics and others. The analytical
is the eggshell. Cornish et. al. (page techniques are mostly recurrent, such as
169), used a scanning electron Raman spectroscopy, laser-induced
microscope (SEM) to assess Nd:YAG breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), laser-
laser cleaning on eggshell. Preliminary induced plasma spectroscopy (LIF) and
results show that Nd:YAG has potential, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF).
as no visible difference was identified by
SEM, but that other more sensitive Without disregarding the importance of
analytical techniques should be employed other materials in this section, I believe
in order to fully establish the usefulness that the characterisation study of
of this technology. cinematographic film, by Oujja et. al.
(page 421), stands out by its unusual
The second biggest section is the one subject. The study reflects the suitability
dedicated to organic materials (part IV). of LIBS to characterise silver-gelatine
Textiles, paper and resins use to belong photographic film, to identify different
to this section, as well as Nd:YAG and gelatine types and to obtain information
excimer laser. However, Er:YAG lasers on developers and hardeners used on
start to be often used and other the film.
92 e_conservation
Book Review
The scanning techniques section (part VI) (120 fs) lasers. Among other conclusions,
proves itself to be a highly considered it is stated that femtosecond lasers
field as it is the biggest section of the produce finer particles. Health
book. Its 18 articles confirm the huge recommendations are also suggested
range of this type of application to such as the use of a built-in fume
Cultural Heritage: from examination of extraction.
paintings (page 487) and its cleaning
(page 473) to damage assessment (page Concluding, I will be expecting the next
543) and diagnosis of historical proceedings of the recently finished
monuments (page 583). A good example LACONA VII which was held last
is given by Bajraszewski et. al. that used September in Madrid, Spain.
optical coherence tomography (OCT) to
Reviewed by Rui Bordalo
assess the environmental influence on
canvas paintings. Under laboratorial
controlled conditions, the sample was
submitted to humidity changes. OCT
analysis revealed a 170 µm translation of
the whole painting surface and quantified
the morphologic change of the sample
crack system, confirming the suitability
and sensibility of this technique.
Part VII (Safety and Miscellaneous) is the

last and the smallest part of the book,
with only 3 articles. Despite that laser
presents exceptional advantages on laser
cleaning, health safety assessment is a
current necessity. Ostrowski et. al. (page
624) verified, using a nanosecond laser
(15 ns), that at the highest laser fluence
78% of the particle matter is in the nano-
particle size range (30-100 nm).
Barcikowski et. al. (page 631),
collaborating with the previous author
within the same project, draws a similar
conclusion. However he compares
nanosecond (15 ns) with femtosecond
93
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e_conservation

the online magazine No. 2, December 2007

It is a fortunate coincidence that this issue is launched just before Christmas.

NEWS 6 2007 Worksites

10 Berlin Conference on Preservation of Himalayan Culture

EVENTS 12 Upcoming Events

PROJECT 15 Cultural Project

ARTICLES 24 Material Studies

34 Conservation of Contemporary Art

ORGANISATIONS 66 Conservation Organisations in Europe

ART HISTORY 70 The Crucifixes of Marginime

DOCUMENTATION 78 Documentation for Architecture Conservation:

79 Formal References in Funerary Architecture

81 The Urban Planning of Parma Cemeterial System

83 The Master Plan for the Safeguarding and Restoration of La Villetta

86 The Virtual Museum - The Memory of the Cemetery Heritage

BOOK REVIEW 88 Lost City, Resumed Architectures

91 LACONA VI Proceedings (Laser in the Conservations of Artworks)

MEDIEVAL VALUES DISCOVERED AT THE

Period: 2006 - 2007

The conservation works of the The discovered frescoes were entirely

conservation project. Several stratigraphic Two conservation projects were submitted

In the north-west side of Argeş

During the intervention - different stages of the

Whereas the ulterior layers

Text and photos by Mihail Gabriel Bîrhală

30 November 2007, Sintra, Portugal

The Leal da Câmara Museum is a small

4-5 December 2007

A project implemented by:

Safeguarding traditions & ancient

working in Himalayan areas with different

Speakers included architect Prof. Dr. Peter

Reviewed by André Alexander,

Restoring the Royal Pavilion

Date: 12-20 January Read more...

The Royal Pavilion will host a series of lectures

and guided tours exploring the craftsmanship

Date: 17-19 January Read more...

Pigment, extender or Napoleon’s Legacy

A discussion on artists' white, watercolour The Development of

Date: 25-26 January Read more... Terra 2008

Presented by the Getty Institute. 10th International Conference on the Study

The Science behind Holding it all together

Was David Hockney Polychromed Wood

Date: 8 February Read more... Date: 22 February Read more...

Risk Assessment and Date: 27-29 October Read more...

DALA Cultural Foundation

alternation between well preserved areas established DALA Foundation acquired a

Image 1, 2. Wood houses from Răşinari village (left)

view of the traveller and the last seen

Image 3, 4, 5. Wood houses from Sibiel village

The Ecomuseum program will be the Ecomuseum and the accommodation

Image 6. Old house moved to new location and rebuilt.

Image 7. Wood house from Fântânele village.

finding technical solutions with minimal Project team:

- Ecomuseum – old house moved to new

- Workshops of the ecomuseum Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest

- Multifunctional building with research offices