The subject of preservating operations discussed by the author consisted in the polychrome St. Ann statue from Szczytna Śląska the wood material of which has been almost entirely destroyed by lignicole insects. The polychrome surface was secured by glueing on й the threefold layer of gauze placed on a bed prepared from the stearin-paraffin m ix ture. Then the decayed wood material was removed from the statue’s interior so that only quite thin layer of it has been left immediately underneath the polychrome paint coat and in turn saturated with 5 per cent solution of acetal polyvinyl acetate. The interior of statue has been lined with the layer of preparation and lime wood dust mixed together in 50 to 50 per cent proportion. For the third time the same medium has been applied in 5 per cent solution for glueing of the glass fibre fabric strips with which the statue’s interior was lined. It deserves to be pointed out that all the above three operations are fully reversible. To reinforce the whole the interior was lined with plates formed of the putty consisting of „Epidian 5” mixed with lime wood dust which in case of need may be easily removed owing to the presence of spacings especially left between them. The protective gauze layer has been removed mechanically from polychrome surfaces and, finally, the whole cleansed thoroughly with light petrol.
In the course of conservation work we intervene not into the material structure of works of art, but also essentially influence its final artistic form.The intention of the undertaking is, above all, to prolong the material existence of the monument, although an equally important task is to displav the authentic artistic merits of the artwork, and to reinstate a possibility of aesthetic influence. Those universally known truths in confrontation with a concrete monument - in this case, the monastery of the Holy Cross -designated for the conservationists a definite trend of work. The combination of circumstances due to the number of historical layers, their rank and state of preservation, the size of the object, technical possibilities and the function of the monument, compelled the team of conservationists ( Krzysztof Biliński, Marian Paciorek and Ireneusz Pluska ) to seek an individual path towards optimal solutions. In this sense, we can speak about conservation authorship i.e. the authorship of the conservation conception which in this concrete case indicated methods of realization. The authors of the conservation undertaking believe that the prime postulate of bringing forth the authentic value of the monument has been realized. The extensively damaged works have regained their ability to exert an artistic impact. The Holy Cross monastery on Łysa Gora ( 595 metres above sea level ) in the Kielce voivodship is of great prominence for national history and culture. This is the site of the first Polish apothecary and hospital, and a centre of writing in the Polish language. The architecture and decoration of the interiors combine various styles, from Romanesque, Gothic, the Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism up to modern times. Conservation and display was conducted chiefly in the Gothic cloister, the Baroque Oleśnicki chapel and the Gothic sacristy. In the cloister. conservation included the Romanesque wall of the original church, the brick arches of the vault, keystones ans corbels, stone portals and epitaphs dating from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, metal lattice from the seventeenth century, as well as a series of murals from the eighteenth century. In the Oleśnicki chapel conservation was conducted on missing fragments of murals by Maciej Reichan (1782) which were restored, while painted marbleization of the panneling was reconstructed. In the sacristy, a large fragment of a Renaissance painting was uncovered and subsequently displayed, and eighteenth-century wall decoration of the vault were renovated.
The conservation of decayed brick-stone facades has been proceeded by laboratory investigations as well as by a diagnosis of the causes of destruction. Descriptive, photographic and drawing documentation has been carried out. The first stage of the work consisted of archeological excavations conducted in the vicinity of the church. A series of construction-building operations of prophylactic importance has been conducted. All historical stratifications have been distinguished. The loss of bricks has been supplemented on the basis of mineral components, and the joints have been reconstructed following original forms, surface quality and colouring. The mediaeval stone socle of the church was reconstructed. A whole brick weft has been structurally consolidated and hydrophobized. A suitable aesthetic arrangement has been achieved through the removal of foreign and stylistically jarring material which was replaced with technologically new and aesthetically integral elements. The Gothic church of St. Mark is an example of a complex approach to technical and aesthetic conservation which involves the participation of experts representing different fields.
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