Conserving the Painted Past

Developing Approaches to Wall Painting Conservation

Post-prints of an international conference organized by English Heritage London 2-4 December 1999.

From an international perspective, English wall paintings offer much diversity in both history and production and are heavily linked with wider European artistic tradition. They range from delicate frescoes in Roman villa ruins to larger decorative and figurative schemes in both churches and cathedrals, as well as in domestic buildings. These vulnerable works of art suffer not only from environmental changes but also from the well-meaning but often irreversible treatments of the past.

The English Heritage conference Conserving the Painted Past continues an important tradition of international debate on the conservation of wall paintings, taking stock of current developments in the field, reviewing standards and practice and planning the way ahead.

The papers included illustrate the variety of issues and approaches central to modern wall painting practice from a multidisciplinary perspective. These conference Postprints thus record the state of the profession at the threshold of the 21st century.

Topics include:

• Domestic wall paintings and rock art 
• Causes and mechanisms of detrimental change 
• Techniques and treatments 
• Documentation and recording 
• The factors affecting large-scale site management 
• The wider issues of facilitating improvement in the profession and establishing achievable standards.

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