By: Carlos de Jesús Hernández Fernández y Gisell Bárbara Pons Aguilar

Since its creation at the end of the 20th century, the mural work has been exposed to agents of deterioration. In the 2021 intervention in the Pozo de Gracia store, the contaminating agents and alterations of the mural painting were studied and analyzed existing there; with a view to the study, diagnoses and conservation treatments.

In the case of the diagnosis of a mural, it becomes more complex due to its relationship with architecture, a point to take into account when carrying out the examination and documentation of this manifestation.

About the work can mention human factors or anthropic damage, caused by the movement of people on the sidewalk and the friction caused by various objects. As well as children and young people who use the Bedoya square area as a recreational place to play ball and soccer, affecting the public furniture and in particular the façade that houses the mural.

The alteration and deterioration of the different materials that make up the mural work are linked both to natural processes and to the physicochemical characteristics of the material and the environment in which it is located.

The diagnosis

Thermal conditions and light radiation, caused by sunlight, have caused the colors to weaken over time. In the tests, applications for mobile devices were used with the functions of lux meter, ultraviolet radiation meter and colorimeter. In the latter, measures were taken to check the specular reflection of the sun’s rays on the pavement.

The square is characterized by being a very open area, with sunlight behaving in such a way that the sun’s rays refract on the pavement (glow), helping this increase due to the fact that it does not have green areas. The action of ultraviolet rays makes the organic pigments pale and favors the oxidation of the binders, making them glassy. As the work faces East and taking into account the dominant direction of the wind from the East and Northeast, it also causes the erosion of the pictorial layer by the wind, especially when it is loaded with particles of sand or dust. The action of rain is also a factor to consider.

The state of conservation of the different strata that make up the mural work in question was regular, as it had perforations in the plaster layer. The pictorial layer had missing parts, peeling and large areas of layers of cement mixture, a product of the capital intervention work carried out in the warehouse. Scratches, graphite writing, vinyl paint stains, heavy accumulation of dust; among other effects.

For its restoration

Throughout history, in the restoration of pictorial works, different procedures have been applied, where the criteria of the time have prevailed. The objectives currently pursued are to restore the work’s legibility from an aesthetic point of view, preserving its documentary values intact, without eliminating contributions from other periods for the testimony that they represent, as long as they do not degrade its physical matter.

That is why the ethical principles were taken into account in the intervention of the work, the use of materials compatible with the originals, stable and reversible, to avoid additional damage and facilitate future interventions. Do not make hypothetical reintegrations or by analogies and that these are easily recognizable, to avoid mimetic confusion and falsifications, preserving the potential unity of the work as a whole. Carry out a good diagnosis prior to the restoration and properly document the actions.

For the conservation strategy, it was proposed to maintain monitoring and control over the property (roof, coatings), as well as the protection layer and the pictorial film. When planning construction maintenance and painting on walls, restorers must be careful not to damage or dirty the surface of the work to avoid subsequent interventions.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García