2024-04-19 09:19:55
Miglė and Vakāre are about to graduate: they are in the second year of their master’s degree. They like the restoration major because there is art, science (you need to know about chemicals, etc.) and history.
The choice of the girls was determined by the fact that both had an artistic nature and wanted to study at the Vilnius Academy of Arts. After some time still doubting which field of study to choose, they finally settled on restoration. They were satisfied with their choice.
Later, when it was necessary to decide on a more specific specialization, both chose the restoration of wall paintings.
“Perhaps the most fun part of our work is when you just clean old plaster or paint from the surface with a scalpel – and you don’t know what you will find under it.” And then a detail of a beautiful fresco, painted some two centuries ago, opens before the eyes – when that secret is revealed, even the heart trembles,” Vakare said.
Both students agreed that they were most impressed by the exploratory work in the Palūšė church. The inside of that wooden church was just crudely painted over. When the restorers decided to find out what might be under them, they discovered an impressive 18th century. baroque painting, portraits of saints and clergy, painted with oil paints (there are very few wall oil paintings in Lithuania). The whole church is decorated – not only the walls, but also the ceiling, altars.
The Department of Restoration at VDA has been operating since 1999. In the past, one restorer was trained by painting, sculpture or other departments, and since 2014. this specialty can be studied at the Vilnius Art Academy from the first year.
Restores both handbags and furniture
In the first year of studies, future restorers – there are few of them, up to ten (last year there were a little more than 20) – learn more general things necessary for restorers. For them, knowledge about various techniques and technologies, documentation of heritage protection, restoration ethics is important for them: for example, sometimes, when uncovering the wall of an old monastery, you find not one, but several frescoes plastered on top of each other – so how to choose which one to restore, and perhaps it is worth preserving all?
After studying more theoretical subjects in the first year, in the second year students touch more on practical conservation and restoration work, and in the third year they have to choose their desired specialization. This can be the restoration of easel painting and wood polychromy, wall painting, sculpture or textiles. At the VDA faculty in Telšiai, restorers of metalwork and artistic furniture are still being trained.
Many people tend to imagine that textile restorers work mainly on tapestries. In fact, the nature of their work is much more diverse, here is the final work of one student – the restoration of a handbag belonging to an interwar opera soloist. Textile workers also restore church clothes, theater dolls, various accessories, etc.
The Restoration Department of the Vilnius Faculty of the Vilnius Academy of Arts cooperates with the Pran Gudynas Restoration Center and other social partners, where students gain useful skills and the experience of older colleagues.
The chosen specialty, which requires diligence, does not prevent the artistic nature of students from revealing themselves – during their studies, they learn the basics of drawing, painting, sculpting, create their own works, with which they participate in exhibitions organized by the VDA.
Revitalizes palaces and churches
A. Mandeika showed the cozy workshop of restorers in VDA. “This is where, after starting to study wall painting restoration, students painted frescoes – and then broke them (although it is often a pity to do it yourself, it is better to give it to a colleague) – and then try to revive and restore them one layer at a time,” said the docent. Third- and fourth-year students, under the supervision of qualified specialists, are already undertaking serious work in solid facilities. Sometimes, in order to reveal a thin, so-called “baked” layer of paint, it has to be scraped off one grain at a time with a scraper.
The students’ contribution to the restoration of Lithuanian art and architecture heritage is tangible. Under the supervision of professionals, they worked a lot on restoring the wall painting and sculptural decor of the Bernardine Church and the extremely impressive corridor of the monastery. He also worked at the revived Sapiegi Palace in Antakalni.
Other public objects, where the significant contribution of students can be seen – VDA gothic hall wall paintings, Kaunas St. St. George’s Church, Perloja Church’s interior decor made with sgraffito technique, Vilnius St. The sculptural decor of the tower of the Trinity Greek Rite Catholic Church, the wall paintings and sculptural decor of the central chapel of the Rasa Cemetery, the vault paintings of the Vilnius Dominican Monastery, etc. restoration.
“When you go out to admire the old buildings of Vilnius, in many places you will see works of art, the revival of which has been touched by our students,” remarked Assoc. A. Mandeika.
He has been working since the second year
Although the work of restorers is related to objects of the past, students also get to know new technologies. Materials for restoration are constantly improving – for example, nano lime is being used to strengthen weak plaster.
If necessary, the restorers use modern computerized CNC machines at the VDA, which carve three-dimensional objects from wood.
A. Mandeika remembered that this machine came in handy when it was necessary to restore the broken wooden wing of the angel of the Bernardine church’s side altar – one wing was preserved, and the other, as it was known, was analogous. True, the student had to finish it afterwards, because all the delicate curves and indentations are too difficult to get out with a machine tool.
The next time the machine was used, when it was necessary to restore St. A fragment of a painting painted on a wooden base in St. George’s Church. An ax or similar object was thrown into the painting and part of the board was missing – that fragment replicating the break point was recreated with a machine tool, after being scanned with a 3D scanner. Well, the missing fragment of the painting was painted later, because a photo of it survived.
Restoration students, like many others, can take advantage of exchange programs to study and practice in Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and elsewhere, or choose post-graduate internships.
At the end of the interview, I asked the students Miglė and Vakare if they are not afraid that it will be difficult to find a job after graduating from such a relatively rare specialty. The girls answered that not really, they have been working since the second year – after the internship, they got a job at one restoration company, then moved to another, and they are calm about the future. There are jobs for restorers of wall paintings in churches and monasteries, and in particular, they are currently waiting to be purchased by private owners and revitalized Lithuanian estates.
2024-04-19 09:19:55