Kovács Petronella (szerk.): Isis - Erdélyi magyar restaurátor füzetek 13. (Székelyudvarhely, 2013)
Puskás Katalin: Kísérlet a vörösbomlásos bőr kezelésére, avagy epizód egy 19. századi fotótartó mappa restaurálásából
Székelyudvarhely, the wall paintings in the church were made visible. Subsequently, József Huszka was charged by the National Committee for Historic Monuments to make a number of on-site aquarelle copies and photographs of the wall paintings. Because no measures were taken to conserve them, the wall paintings were again covered with lime wash shortly afterwards. In the 1930s, they were uncovered once more, this time partially. In 1943, the National Committee for Historic Monuments set their restoration in progress, but the work was interrupted by wartime events. The pictures on the west wall of the nave were uncovered by Sándor Vetési, the local minister, in 1966. On the north wall of the nave, three registers one underneath the other can be seen. The uppermost register, a series of paintings presenting St. Ladislaus I of Hungary, begins on the west wall, a wall of the tower, with a scene showing the egress from Nagyvárad Castle. On the left edge of the wall painting, the plaster has been smoothed away, thus indicating that the picture probably did not extend any further southwards. The scenes are not separated from one another. The wall paintings were made using earth pigments (red oxide, yellow ochre, grey, and black); for white, lime wash was used. The figures were drawn by means of a few lines only, and depiction is not excessively detailed. Because of the late Gothic vaulting in the nave, significant parts of the scenes have perished. It is possible that originally the series of wall paintings continued all the way round to the chancel arch. This, however, was rebuilt in the Gothic period, with the result that any scene or scenes there would have perished. Depicting the legend of St. Margaret of Antioch, the middle register begins in the western comer of the north wall. As was made clear by the investigations also, the fresco plaster of the middle register is the same as the plaster of the upper register. The two registers were, then, made the same time. This finding is valid from the stylistic point of view also. The lowermost register differs from the two registers above it stylistically but also from the standpoint of execution technique. The richness of the detail in these scenes and the fine transitions between the various shades of colour bear witness to a much surer and more practised hand. The wall paintings were sketched out in dark red. Body colour is shaded with green earth, similarly to Italian Trecento wall paintings. The impression of a bluish background is achieved by applying dark grey as a ground and painting transparent white on top of it. The hues of the wall painting amount to a wide range of earth colours: white (lime), black, yellow, and green earth. A significant part of the lower register is taken up by a large scene showing the Last Judgment. The chronological order of the wall paintings is as follows. The wall paintings of the uppermost register were made first. The joins do not everywhere correspond with the edges of the scenes. The pictures were painted from left to right. The middle register was painted after completion of the upper register. Both these registers were painted using the fresco technique. The wall paintings of the lowermost register were made partly using the fresco technique and partly the secco technique. This conclusion was corroborated by the investigation findings also. As discovered in the course of the research and as proved by archaeological excavations also, the exterior surfaces of the nave were at one time covered by wall paintings. Of these, one small fragment survives today, on the south wall. The decoration on the south wall covered the surface of the tower also. The masonry of the earlier chancel was incorporated in the walls of the present, late Gothic chancel. On the surface of some shaped stones, coloured fragments from the decoration of the earlier chancel have survived. During the restoration work, we removed the cementcontaining plaster at the base, the plaster filling put on in 1943—44, and the plaster and lime-wash surfaces partially covering the painted surfaces. During investigations of the painted surfaces, it emerged that most of the damage had been caused by two inexpert uncovering operations performed in quick succession. As a result of these, 15-20% of the painted surfaces were missing. The painted surfaces were interspersed with damage caused by blows, scratching, and scraping. In the course of aesthetic repair work, gaps on the painted surfaces were retouched using the velatura painting technique, while the surfaces that had been stopped up were repaired using the tratteggio technique, with short-line retouching. For the retouching, we used aquarelle, meaning that the repairs will remain reversible at all times. As a result of the restoration, one of most intact assemblages of wall paintings in the Szekler Land could become understandable and thereby a public treasure. Translated by Chris Sullivan István Bóna Applying the Minimum Intervention - Maximum Results Principle on a Series of Baroque Wall Paintings. The Uncovering and Restoration of Baroque Wall Paintings in the Bíró-Giczey House at Veszprém The baroque art found in Central Europe presents conservators with special tasks. In this era, a wall painting was not an independent work of art, but one important element of an artistic unity extending throughout the entire interior space. The purpose of this unity was to create an illusion as exciting and as interesting as possible. If this illusion is lost, then the meaning of the work is also lost. In other words, when damaged and decayed works are made good, the illusion must be made to appear and must work. Otherwise, there is no sense in the restoration operation. At the same time, one of the main basic principles of restoration is the preservation of original creations 216
