The conservation and restoration of Pompeian frescoes describes the activities, methods, and techniques that have historically been and are currently being used to care for the preserved remains of the frescoes from the archeological site of Pompeii, Italy. The ancient city of Pompeii is famously known for its demise in A.D. 79 after the fatal eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped out the population and buried the city beneath layers of compact lava material. In 1738, King Charles III or Charles of Bourbon, began explorations in Portici, Resina, Castellammare di Stabia, a Civita, where it was believed that the ancient cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum were buried beneath. The first phase of the excavations at Pompeii started in 1748, which led to the first conservation and restoration efforts of the frescoes since their burial, and in 1764, open-air excavations began at Pompeii. Pompeii has a long history of excavation and restoration that began without a strong foundation or strategy. After centuries of cronyism, recurring financial shortages, and on-again-off-again restoration, the city's frescoes and structures were left in poor condition. In 1997, Pompeii was added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
Significant sites
Villa of the Mysteries
The Villa of the Mysteries is one of the best preserved homes in Pompeii.
Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
The Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale was excavated in 1900 and many of the frescoes were stripped from the walls and auctioned off. One of the more notable conservation and restoration projects has taken place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY, where they have restored and installed the paintings (2002-2007) from the Villa's cubiculum, or bedroom, for the new Greek and Roman Galleries.
House of the Vettii
The excavation of the House of the Vettii from 1894 to 1895 by Giuseppe Fiorelli led to the policy of completely restoring and reconstructing (select) houses and leaving all finds in situ as far as possible. The House of the Vettii, located in Regio VI of Pompeii, suffered significant damage and loss of its fourth style artwork during bombings in WWII.
Praedia of Julia Felix
The Praedia of Julia Felix, located in Regio II of Pompeii, was one of the first houses to be thoroughly explored and is the site where the first complete mural of the tablinum was detached in 1755, led by sculptor Joseph Canart.
Composition and materials
Pigments
The pigments that were primarily used in the frescoes at Pompeii were mostly naturally occurring earth pigments such as: Red and yellow ochres Green earth Calcium carbonate (chalk) Black produced from soot or charcoal Egyptian blue (artificial pigment consisting of ground blue glass frit) Bright red cinnabar (toxic mercuric sulfide)
Application
Pompeian frescoes were executed in the buon fresco (true fresco) technique, in which the pigments were painted onto a freshly applied, damp/wet plaster ground. The plaster contains liquid lime (calcium hydroxide). In the process of drying, the liquid lime in the plaster combines with the paints and turns into carbonate of lime, which is chemically equivalent to limestone or marble. Upon drying and setting, the pigments permanently fuse to the plaster to form a solid, durable painting.
Examination and analysis of frescoes
After the Irpinia earthquake in 1980 caused further weakening of Pompeii's crumbling walls, systematic initiatives were put into place to evaluate the damage. The excavation team took documentary photographs, conducted a systematic survey, and recorded the qualitative data through a computer processing system. From these findings, Mariette de Vos calculated that the number of existing paintings made up only ten percent of what was originally found in earlier excavations, while another ten percent was only known through drawings and photos. For the first time, the team was able to show that Pompeii had indeed been over-excavated, and provide a comprehensive view of how, where, and to what extent conservation and restoration was needed.
With innovative advances in technology, conservationists and archaeologists have now been able to reconstruct navigable 3-D models of the ancient Pompeian buildings and the rooms that held the frescoes. Through virtual models, and the introduction of digital architectural line drawings, missing parts of the frescoes have been virtually filled in. The use of archival photographs of the frescoes from past excavations and reconstructions have also aided in the digital reconstruction of the paintings, and have allowed for their digital preservation for the future.