Project “www.muzeach” from the point of view of art restorers at the National Museum in Lublin
The creation of a common website sharing digital resources of the five museums participating in the “www.muzeach” project was a complex and interdisciplinary task. Various specialists were involved in the fulfilment of the project: art historians, photographers, IT specialists, educators ... and, of course, restorers, without whom the objects stored in museum warehouses could not be included in the online catalogue.
At the National Museum in Lublin, three restoration studios participated in the project, each handling a different type of material: painting, paper and metal. Restorers supervised the entire process of digitisation of works of art – from the very first steps, i.e. moving the object from a gallery or an art warehouse. All digitisation work began in the restoration studio.
The first step for the restorers was to determine the state of preservation of the item, perform a restoration inspection, and then dust it and remove surface impurities. Only after that, the object was passed on to a photo studio. Some items required more extensive restoration and more complex works, e.g. a painting, the varnish of which was heavily darkened, which significantly changed its perception, was thoroughly cleaned, and strongly yellowed paper was cleansed and put in neutralising baths.
An example of one of the items that required significant conservation works was the icon “Christ the Grapevine” from 1709. It was probably originally the front wall of the tabernacle located in a wooden Orthodox church. Tempera on wood, framed in a Renaissance architectural detail, which is carved, polychromed and decorated with small gilded and silver-plated elements. The object belongs to the Orthodox art collection of the National Museum in Lublin and from the 1860s it was stored and secured in an art warehouse. After more than 50 years, it was decided to restore its original beauty.
The restoration began with the removal of wax-resin protection. Then, the dirt accumulated and fixed due to burning candles during church rituals was removed. This was done mechanically, using a scalpel and appropriately prepared mixtures of chemical solvents. Scaled paint was glued down while cavities in the mortar were filled with specially prepared chalk-glue putty. Where the paint layer was defect or abraded, it was retouched with water paints. The missing carved, gilded and silver-plated elements were completed and reconstructed. Finally, the surface of the tabernacle was secured with varnish. The gold and silver films precipitated on the red bole were protected with Paraloid B-72 and shellac solutions. The reverse side of the wood was cleaned and protected with a wax-resin barrier against temperature and humidity conditions.
After such thorough restoration, the icon was ready for digitisation and making it available to the public on the website of the National Museum in Lublin and at inmuseums.pl, where the collections of the five museums participating in the project are presented. After years spent in the museum warehouse “Christ the Grapevine” can be admired by art lovers and hobbyists, and also serve museologists and scientists.
The project “www.muzeach” is co-financed from European Funds and from the funds of the Ministry of Culture and National of the Republic of Poland. The project is implemented under the Operational Programme Digital Poland for the years 2014-2020, Priority Axis 2 “E-government and open government,” Action 2.3 “Digital availability and usefulness of public sector information,” Sub-action 2.3.2 “Digital availability of culture resources.”
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