Watch: Here’s How You Restore A Centuries-Old Mural—Properly
Video screenshot via Etrurio
You’ve definitely seen your fair share of botched art restorations on the internet, and might often ponder, “How could something turn out so bad?” Well, the question that will be answered today is, how do these turn out good?
On a search for a building for his company, Andrea Sozzi Sabatini, CEO of Tuscanian olive oil brand Etrurio, stumbled upon a 583-year-old fresco painting that had seen much better days. He then commissioned a conservationist, Marco, to revive the Italian mural.
Sabatini documented the fascinating process, and details Marco’s rejuvenation of the 15th-century fresco in a video by Insider. Here’s how the professionals do it.
You might think that art restoration simply involves repainting the piece, but that’s quite the contrary. In fact, Sabatini cites a conservation law in Italy that prohibits the filling of lost details in art.
Rather, Marco’s team first fixes up cracks in the wall and tears down plaster added to the piece over the years, before applying “Japanese paper” soaked in solutions to remove dirt and other environmental residues. This reveals more of the original fresco.
After, the crew can finally paint over the more faded parts and revive the mural’s vibrance with natural pigments.
The restoration project took about 18 months, but what stands before onlookers now is an intensely surreal depiction of the Crucifixion.
[via Insider, cover image via Etrurio]
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