K. Palágyi Sylvia szerk.: Balácai Közlemények 2008/10. (Veszprém, 2008)

KIRCHHOF, ANITA: The decorative system and reconstruction of the red dining room at Baláca - A balácai vörös ebédlő dekorációs rendszere és rekonstrukciója

The mortar served as the ground of the wall-painting was completed by the application of three or four layers over each other.

249 Below the lowermost layer of mortar even the traces of a clay grounding can be discovered, similarly to the one found under the mortar of other contemporary Baláca paintings.

250 The thickness of the mortar of the Red Dining Room is thinner at the upper part of the whole wall-painting and becoming thicker downwards. Before the application of the pink layer were made the measuring and construction of the zones, picture fields of the wall-painting. Over the uppermost, white setting coat (intonaco) at first a pink

251 coating, mixed up with brick-dust, was applied over the whole painted surface, which can be observed not only under the red surfaces but also under the candelabrum and the painted stucco-decoration. The pink coating covered the surface up to the top of the red closing strip over the stucco-decoration, over that there was already a white surface, without decoration. This pink ground can be observed below the layers of the subsequent colour coatings not only on the other paintings at Baláca

252 but on other contemporary Pannonian

253 wall-paintings as well. It is present on almost every contemporary wall-painting therefore it could have been some special requirement for wall-paintings at the turn of the 1

st and 2

nd centuries A.D. It was known and applied by every painter. The possible explanation of its use is given by Vitruvius. He suggested to mix up the mortars over the floor with smashed earthenware 254 because surfaces mixed up with brick-dust stay the oozing up of water from the ground. Following Vitruvius we, too, may attribute impermeability to it, though, presumably the clay grounding layer observed on the back side of the mortar layers had the same purpose or the layer with the brick-dust could guarantee the durability of the grounding colours as well. After it one or two coatings of dark red colour

255 was applied on the still wet surface with al fresco technique to give the ground colour of the panels, taking care that paint get already on the measured major surfaces. This is the explanation for the existence of dark red paint flows which can be seen below the plant-decoration of the black candelabrum. (Fig. 20.) The application of the red layer was followed by that of the black background colour. Most probably it is due to the thickness of the mortar that at the time of the application of the black coating the pedestal was still wetter than the candelabrums of the main zone, that is why the painted surfaces and motifs of the pedestal had survived in a better condition, their quality was almost as exquisite as that of the red panels. At the same time at the candelabrums the black paint adhered less and here and there it had worn off considerably. With the application of the two contrasting background colours the vertical and horizontal divisions of the wall-painting was outlined. The additional patterns, motifs and bands, together with the stucco-decoration, were applied on the fields of different colours already by an al secco technique. After it the camouflage of the contact of the surfaces of different colours, the painting of small columns with creamy and white colours at the candelabrums and the drawing of the strip between the pedestal and the main field and after it the elaboration of the motifs were carried out. The three main colours of the wall zone, that is the red, green and blue, can be found in the decoration of almost every zone, to a certain degree, as well as the parallel application of certain motifs. The dark and faint green and yellow colours of the plant decoration of the pedestal are repeated on the vine leaves of the candelabrum and on the vegetation at the bottom of the candelabrum. In the stucco course the green colour appears as the background colour of one of the picture bands. A green band gives the border of the main field above it and at its two lateral margins, furthermore it is present in the embroidery motifs of red fields. The blue colour is