The year 2016
During the conservation works on the decoration of the dais, on many levels of the scaffolding, two teams were working in parallel. One dealt with paintings on the coping, walls, and window recesses, while the other dealt with sculptures and mouldings. They often worked two shifts, so the work started in the early morning and ended in the late evening. Usually, there were no free weekends because some processes had to be carried out without long breaks.
Work on paintings and sculptures always begins with recognising an object, followed by cleaning, which includes elements such as desalination. On selected parts of the painting, the conservators had to apply special desalinating pulp.
The works on sculptures and paintings were carried out at the highest level of the scaffolding, right under the coping.
It took several storeys to climb to the top of the scaffolding, which was especially difficult when the conservators had to carry buckets of water carefully to the top. Those “treks” took place many times a day for over three months.
Several people worked in parallel on one group of sculptures.
Sometimes the simplest tools have proved to be the best…
During the works, meetings were held many times. The progress of the works was also monitored by the Rector of the University of Wrocław – Adam Jezierski, and Katarzyna Hawrylak-Brzezowska – at the time – municipal conservator of monuments in Wrocław.
Conservation committees were also an indispensable element, on which the most important decisions were made together.
The work of an art conservator is very demanding. Not only do you need the right skills, but you also have to be strong, sturdy, and patient because the effect of your hard work can only be seen after a few months.
People working on the coping paintings spent most of the time standing with their arms raised.
Filling in cracks and defects in the coping requires a huge level of concentration and a steady hand.
The multi-stage gilding process, consisting of applying gold leaves also requires special skills.
The work can often be dangerous to health, therefore some tasks can only be carried out with a mask protecting from dust getting into the respiratory tract.
It takes a lot of time not only to work physically but also intellectually. Such work includes tasks such as analysing iconographic material, comparing it with the identified layers and techniques in which the predecessors worked, and deciding on what to do next.
Working under time pressure is also an indispensable element of the conservator’s work, although there are some chemical processes that they do not have control over. It is impossible to predict how long it will take to desalinate a painting or remove surface dirt from various parts of a sculpture that is very complex in terms of texture.
Translated by Inga Schulz (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
