Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii Conservation and restoration of frescos

fresque des mytères, pompéi

for frescos of villa of mysteries in pompeii, conservation efforts involved removing frescoes, rebuilding or reinforcing walls, , reattaching paintings. first conservators applied coat of wax mixed oil clean paintings’ surfaces, preserve ancient pigments, , stabilize fragile works, giving frescoes glossy appearance ancient artists never intended them have. @ same time, wax filled in cracks in surfaces, sealing moisture inside walls, further weakening them compromising strength of mortar holding walls together. 2013 villa, of pompeii, in dire need of modern conservation, protective covering had been constructed in different phases throughout years. parts of paintings crumbling unstable walls , mosaics had been severely damaged millions of visitors’ feet. repeated applications of wax had caused pigments oxidize , darken, , frescoes yellow, altering appearance. surface decorations of villa, both mosaics , frescoes, had been conserved before, in irregular ways. of methods being employed have been used decades of conservators @ pompeii. frescoes have been cleaned hand using scalpel or chemical solution. painted surfaces have been consolidated acrylic resin diluted deionized water , injected cracks, use of antibiotics removal of bacteria. however, teams today have more high-tech tools @ disposal, including lasers clean frescoes, , ultrasound, thermal imaging, , radar evaluate level of decay of walls , paintings. , drones being used examine entirety of villa’s protective covering.