Mural | Ceiling paintings from Villa Illaire (SPSG) covered with wallpaper

On behalf of the SPSG, students from the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam secured and restored the wallpaper from Villa Illaire in Sanssouci Park, which had fallen from the ceiling as a result of water damage. They also developed a plan for transferring it onto a new backing and for revealing the remaining traces of the paintings.

rückseitiges Freilegen späterer Übermalungen

Period:

15/10/2021 – 20/09/2024

Type:

Student project

Organisational Unit:

Department of CITY | BUILDING | CULTURE

Course:

Conservation and Restoration (BA)

Cooperation partners:

Foundation for Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Potsdam (SPSG)

Scope of work during the project period: Summer Semester 2022

Survey of the condition and state of the stripped wallpaper, including fragments of decorative painting
Mapping
Attempts to reconstruct and interpret the original decoration
Search for comparable examples
Analysis of archival materials
Analysis of the paint layers (layers/sequences of layers, pigments and binders)
Developing a concept for the possible transfer onto a new support, followed by the removal of the wallpaper from the front to reveal the respective ground
Developing presentation ideas

Scope of work during the project period: winter semester 2022/23

Ongoing research into methods for relining stretched fragments of paintings onto a new support system
Final documentation

Scope of work during the project period: Summer semester 2024

Implementation of the measures:
Exposure of overlying paint layers from the reverse side, thereby thinning the paint layer to be adhered
Adhering the wallpaper fragments to the new support, then exposing and removing the wallpaper layer → exposing the original painting
Creation of a reference pattern for the possible restoration of missing areas, thereby concluding the project

Students involved: