Picturi murale extrase. Istorie, restaurare, monitorizare

Abstract

Mural Paintings Extracted. History, Restoration, Monitoring is a book that follows the historical thread of mural painting removal practices—from the pioneering period to the present day. It inventories collections of fragments across the country; presents extraction methods and the conditions under which these mural surfaces became “movable heritage”; and discusses the conservation of components, as well as exhibition and storage conditions. It is also a book that raises questions for its readers.

The content reflects the author’s experience, accumulated over more than 20 years of contributing to various stages involved in the conservation of extracted mural paintings, as well as 5 years of inventorying, monitoring, and information gathering.

Prof. Univ. Dr. Tereza Sinigalia, art historian, invites readers “to open a book with a title that may seem strange and incomprehensible to laypeople, yet attractive and engaging to specialists. Whoever you may be, do not refuse to read the text alongside the images, which are not simple illustrations but complementary sources of information, understanding, and keys to entering the very intimacy of a process concerned with the conservation of works of art—in this case, mural painting.”

“Maria-Magdalena Drobotă has demonstrated in this book a perfect combination of her professional achievements and her documentary-historical ability to gather disparate information about unfortunate events that have marked the conservation of mural paintings in Romania. It is about the unjustified impulse to extract mural paintings, for various reasons. Following these events, Maria-Magdalena Drobotă offers us a documentary book that records, to a large extent, a history of irreversible losses. Among the extracted mural paintings, more or less preserved, some are kept in museums,” notes Prof. Univ. Dr. Oliviu Boldura, expert restorer.

The book was awarded the “George Oprescu” Prize of the Romanian Academy.