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Aula etap II

Stage II (The coping above the balcony)

The second stage of works on the matroneum included the conservation of the coping above the balcony and the fourth window recess located within the matroneum area. This stage was carried out from July to December 2017 and consumed almost PLN 1,000,000 of the funds provided by the Municipality of Wrocław.

Nearly one million grant was awarded to the University of Wrocław Foundation through a competition organised by the Municipal Office of Monument Restoration in Wrocław. The award was granted for the execution of a public task entitled: “Activities in the scope of the protection of cultural goods and national heritage in Wrocław”.

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Installation of the scaffolding necessary for the coping works above the balcony began at the end of June 2017. Photo by Dominika Hull/UWr CC BY-NC 2.0

The sculptural and painting decoration of the matroneum is symmetrical in relation to the rich decoration of the podium.

Together they form a complementary whole, but while the decoration of the podium is an apotheosis of the Habsburgs emperorship embodied primarily by Emperor Leopold I, the iconography of the matroneum combines with the emperorship of Silesia through the general staroste, Count Johann Anton von Schaffgotsch, which is indirectly constituting the glorification of the emperor.

The painted fresco decoration covering the area of the coping above the matroneum is nearly 140 square meters of Christoph Handke’s frescos, made in 1731-1732.

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Orthophotography showing the condition of the coping above the musical matroneum before the conservation, source: the final report of research works on the Aula Leopoldina (2018).

The painting on the coping is connected with the actual architecture through an illusionist entablature, over which another storey of non-existent architecture has been built.

From the western side, this scene is completed by an illusionistic, architectural and ornamental decoration of the coping stiffener with the motif of a rolled-up curtain. Unfortunately, at least in the two previous decades illusionistic painting no longer fulfilled its function, and the spatial effect was not visible. This changed completely after the end of this conservation stage, when at the beginning of January 2018, after dismantling the scaffolding, the visitors saw another storey above the Aula. “The end result is wonderful, and this illusion, the impression that there is another storey, it is breathtaking”, said the former rector of the University of Wrocław, prof. Adam Jezierski, while admiring the paintings.

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Before the conservation, illusionist architecture did not fulfill its function at all. Photo by Roland Róg
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After the conservation, the illusion became visible. A visitor viewing the painting from the auditorium level may get the impression that there is another storey above the balcony. Photo by Roland Róg
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A fragment of illusionistic architecture painted on the coping. On the left, the condition during the conservation, after removal of the re-painting, which revealed the poor condition of the primary polychrome layer; on the right, condition after the conservation. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0

A winged figure is present in the centre of the plafond. It has a helmet with a small cross on it, and is covered with armour and a draped robe. It is probably Michael the Archangel, although some researchers argue that it is Pallas Athene. This figure is accompanied, among the others, by a putto supporting the scrollwork cartouche with the eagle of the Silesian Piasts on it. On the right side of Michael the Archangel angels or winged geniuses are rising. One of them is throwing flowers and gold coins out of the cornucopia. On the left side of the scene, a rising putto presents probably the University’s foundation “Golden Bulla” granted by Emperor Leopold I Habsburg on October 21st of 1702.

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Michael the Archangel’s group before the conservation. Photo by Roland Róg
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Michael the Archangel’s group after the conservation. Photo by Roland Róg
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Fragment of the painting showing the coat of arms of the Silesian Piasts before the start of the conservation works (left), during (middle), and after (right). Photo by Anna Mossler, and Dominika Hull, CC BY-NC 2.0

A viewer with a sharp eye for detail will surely quickly notice that the two puttoes flying from the left to Michael the Archangel situated in the centre, seem to have one head.

Did Handke forget to paint the other one? It seems like he didn’t, because in theory, one head is hidden behind a tray held by one of the puttoes. However, while viewing the fresco from the auditorium level it is impossible to notice a certain anomaly. “The putto carrying the tray has six toes on his left foot. We know that this is how Handke presented them because this polychrome layer is primary” explained Anna Mossler, the conservator of works of art, responsible for the painting works. Why six toes? This question would have to be answered by Joseph Handke.

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Putto with a tray before and after the conservation. Photo by Roland Róg
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Putto with six toes. Photo by Kamilla Jasińska/UWr CC BY-NC 2.0

On the throne under the baldachin sits the female personification of Silesia. She is dressed in a red dress and an ermined coat, with a prince’s mitre on her head, a golden chain on her chest, and a regimental mace in her left hand. Two pairs of puttoes are presented at her feet: the pair on the left side holds a mitre and a crook, and the pair on the right side holds a mitre and a blue coat. The unnatural arrangement of Silesia’s right hand led the conservators to suspect that originally it looked slightly different or that she was holding something. A thorough analysis of a photo from 1863 confirmed the latter. It was an open book that she kept on her lap, which was not reconstructed after the war. Now a decision has been made to bring it back.

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Silesia on the photo from 1893 (no. 1), before starting the conservation works (no. 2), during (no. 3), and after (no. 4). Photo no. 2-4 by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0

From the side of the city centre, a personification of the capital of Silesia –Wratislavia is presented. From the side of the river – Viadrus, god of The Oder. Wratislavia is shown in a decorative coat, and with a crown on her head, she leans on the coats of arms of Wrocław and Świdnica. The crests of Wrocław and Świdnica alongside Wratislavia signify a pair of royal cities and close relations between two Jesuit centres. Viadrus is presented with his head decorated with leaves, with a paddle, leaning on the barrel and jug, from which a snake escapes along with the flowing water.

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Wratislavia before the conservation works (left), during (in the middle), and after (right). Photo by Anna Mossler and Dominika Hull, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Viadrus before the conservation works (left), during (in the middle), and after (right). Photo by Anna Mossler and Dominika Hull, CC BY-NC 2.0

There is an inscription on a large cartouche under the Silesia’s throne, it says MUNIFICENTIAE INCLYTORUM UTRIUSQUE SILESIAE STATUUM D.D.D (translation: Dedicates and devotes the generosity of both Silesias).

As you might have guessed, this dedication refers to supporting the construction of the University by Silesia, Viadrus, and Wratislavia. What could this support be about? The Oder is mentioned in the play that has been presented on the occasion of laying the cornerstone. According to the words of the choir, Viadrus initially disturbed the construction of the building, wanting to absorb a part of the land intended for the construction. However, he was stopped by Neptune and forced to help, by withdrawing his waters, thanks to that additional space, as well as necessary building materials, such as river sand, were obtained. Wratislavia’s help was of a different nature. Taking into account the previous unsuccessful attempts of establishing a local Jesuit facility and the disputes between the Order and the city, historians concluded that this way of showing the capital of Silesian districts is a good indicator of the political sense of the Jesuits. In this perspective, their arrival in Wrocław, and the fact that they organised a school not only gained approval but seemed to directly correspond to the intentions of the local community, as they provided the Society with generous help.

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Cartouche under Silesia before the conservation (left), and after (right). Photo by Roland Róg

On the sides, above the ends of the matroneum’s balustrade, there are personifications of the Silesian authorities. On the southern side (from the pl. Uniwersytecki side) there is the Imperial and Royal Chamber of Upper and Lower Silesia. On the northern side (from the Oder side), there is The General Staroste and the School Committee (in short, curia). The chamber is represented by a woman in a tiara, holding a cornucopia, from which silver and gold coins are falling out. The putto on the right side is handing her a sealed letter, and a head of a deer is leaning over the shoulder of the putto on the left side. The curia is also personified as a woman in a tiara, holding a sceptre in her left hand, and a rectangular card in her right hand, which she hands over to a mysterious figure, shown up to the height of the chest, holding documents and a book. According to the authors of the Study of Historical Interior and Furnishing of the Aula, prepared in 2008, the head of this young man was originally leaning over the illusionistic balustrade, which during one of the previous renovations was replaced with a richly draped robe of Curia. According to the researchers, it is very likely that this figure, which has distinct characteristics of a portrait, could be an imagination of the frescos’ author, Johann Christoph Handke himself. Putto on the left side of Curia’s personification is holding a sword. Each allegory is also accompanied by a pair of stucco figures and a cartouche with an inscription.

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Cartouches next to the personifications of the General Staroste and the School Committee (left), and also The Imperial and Royal Chamber (right) before the conservation. Photo by Roland Róg
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The personification of Curia and its surroundings during technical conservation. Cracks in the parget, and screws securing it to the base are visible. Large white surfaces are covers that desalt the painting. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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The personification of Curia and its surroundings during one of the final stages of technical conservation, just before starting the aesthetic conservation. White surfaces are a new parget prepared for the reconstruction. As you can see, the bottom part of the personification and the architecture above the telescope required reconstruction. War damages caused such large losses in the original painting layer, and one of the indications of that are areas in which, due to the bombing in 1945 the parget fell off. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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After the conservation, the personification of Curia, aka The General Staroste and the School Committee (left), and The Imperial and Royal Chamber (right). Photo by Roland Róg

Kamera and Curia appear in this part of the Aula primarily as institutions that co-financed the construction of Leopoldina. Their favourability is recalled by the inscriptions placed on both sides of the matroneum, in the windows’ lunettes: HONORI [ET] FAVORI (Glory and favour).

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We can see the scale of the losses, for instance, on the southern side (from the pl. Uniwersytecki side), where the inscription FAVORI in the lunette above the window in the cartouche is placed. The photo shows the condition before starting the aesthetic conservation. Photo by Agata Warszewska

At the base of the lunettes, on each side, there is a painting of a cartouche with a Silesian eagle on it. Four black eagles placed on two oval shields are part of the decoration of the eastern wall of the matroneum. Unfortunately, these parts of the painting required many reconstructions.

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Part of the painting on the eastern side of the matroneum showing one of the cartouches with eagles, before starting the conservation works (left), during (middle), and after (right). Photo by Anna Mossler and Dominika Hull, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Presented in accordance with the status of Silesian districts, Silesia – as a princess with bishop’s attributes and a court that is created by a puttoes, Viadrus, and Wratislavia, i.e. the main river and the capital of the province – serves a role of a background for the images of the imperial authorities. Portraying her alongside the portrait of the imperial governor and the images of Kamera and Urząd Zwierzchni [The Supervisory Office], clearly indicates compliance with the will and power of the imperial administrative unit, which was Silesia with its capital, from the perspective of Vienna. The figure of Johann Anton von Schaffgotsch (1675–1742), former general staroste of Silesia, whose bust decorates the central part of the balustrade, performs a special function here. In the viewer’s eyes watching the matroneum from the auditorium, Silesia is the one that makes up the background. According to the researchers, Schaffgotsch – as a representative of a gallant lineage dating back to the Middle Ages of Silesia, knowing the Polish language, and thanks to his agnatic grandmother, considered to be a continuator of the died out Piast dynasty – he embodies the continuity of the local historical tradition. Personal Silesian affiliations of the Count somehow legitimise his authority over the land, of which he was the main ruler, and thus sanction the ruling of the Habsburgs in Silesia. See more about the renovation of the balustrade with the Count’s bust.

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Schaffgotsch before conservation. Photo by Dominika Hull/UWr CC BY-NC 2.0
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Schaffgotsch after conservation. Photo by Roland Róg

On the one hand, the meaning of the decoration is to pay a purely political tribute, due to the alliance between the secular authorities and the Church, in the Habsburg’s monarchy, and the support that successive emperors have provided to the Jesuit order for a long time. On the other hand, the direct reason for honouring the representatives of the Silesian authorities and monarchs was their involvement in establishing, constructing, and developing the university. The correct meaning of the scene seems to be an expression of gratitude to the authorities and the Habsburgs: the benefactors, guardians and funders of the Jesuit University. According to the researchers, the authors of the Study of historical interior and furnishing of the Aula Leopoldyńska, the scene presented on coping above the balcony, on one hand, glorifies the Habsburgs, who provided the province with a blessing of knowledge, and on the other hand emphasises the great fact of the establishment of “zdrój nauk”, i.e. The Jesuit University. As the historians noticed, a similar message was contained in a versed panegyric speech, made on November 25th of 1702, on the occasion of the University inauguration. It mentioned the happiness of Silesia, Wrocław, and the whole country, which was under the rule of a wise and powerful Leopold I Habsburg.

The second stage of works also included the fourth window niche located within the matroneum area (as a reminder: works on the remaining three were carried out in the first half of 2017, during the first stage of the conservation works). 

Famous theologians and scholars are presented in oval monochromatic medallions situated in all window jambs. They can be easily identified due to the inscriptions on the dados. In the niche, which was conserved in the second half of 2017, i.e. just next to the entrance to the Aula Leopoldyńska, there is an image of Cicero (106-46 BC), the Roman statesman, famous speaker and philosopher, and Ovid (43-17(?) BC), one of the greatest Roman poets. The inscriptions on the dados: CYCERO PRINCEPS ORATORUM, and OVIDIUS APOLLO LATIUS mean respectively “Cicero the prince of the speakers”, and “Ovid the Latin Apollo”. The emblem in the arch of the coping of a window niche shows a theatre scene: two columns support a draped curtain that reveals the decoration set in the background, and in the centre of the scenography, there is a corridor that was elongated by the use of perspective. According to the historians, referring to the pre-war studies on the Aula’s interior, the unreadable motto should say ET DOCET ET RECREAT, which translates as “and teaches, and reassures, refreshes invigorates”.

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Orthophotographs of the paintings in a window niche before the conservation, source: Final report of the research works from 2008, on Aula Leopoldyńska
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The emblem in the coping of the arch of the window niche, where Cicero and Ovid are presented. A condition during the conservation. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Conservators work on the last window niche within the matroneum area. Photo by Dominika Hull/UWr CC BY-NC 2.0

The condition of the polychrome over the matroneum was in a really bad condition.

“It was undoubtedly the worst preserved part of the Aula’s coping”, said Anna Mossler, who supervised the conservation of painted works. After removing the re-painting and defective fillings, the conservators revealed the original parget and polychrome border. “As it turned out, the loss of the original parget in this part of the coping was significant and reached about 40%, while the loss of the original polychrome is certainly over 50% of the whole surface” explained Mossler.

In accordance with the procedures, the conservation was carried out in several stages. First, the preservative conservation was carried out, it consisted of exposing the primary paint layers and strengthening them. The next step – which was very complex – was structural conservation that involved, for instance, filling up the holes, injections, double sealing, and so on. This part of the works – due to the very bad condition of the painting – lasted nearly four months (July-October 2017), and therefore for the last stage – aesthetic conservation, consisting of the development of the fillings’ texture, retouching the paintings, reconstructing and gilding – there was very little time left, less than two months.

After completion of the conservation works carried out in this part of the Aula, Anna Mossler summed them up: “The current appearance is as close as possible to the original, but it is not exactly the same as when it was built. It is important to remember that we, conservators, merge the re-painting of the decoration with its primary layers, therefore we leave the original paint layer with a visible passage of time, i.e. for instance, paler. We are trying to interfere as little as we can, which in many cases is very difficult, especially with such a poor condition as in this part of the Aula. Just like in every historic monument, there were also “unknown” spots, in which – to say colloquially – “something” had to be painted. We painted some of these unknown areas based on the symmetry and analogy to the corresponding parts preserved elsewhere. In conclusion, we can certainly say that the colour scheme is now very similar to the original, and 50% of the painting is almost original. The reconstructed areas, i.e. re-painted, were created based on a humble image material, mainly black and white. In accordance with the art of conserving we did not paint exactly the same as Handke and his co-workers did, as we don’t know the exact colour shades, nor can we see the brush strokes.

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The coping lunette in the south-east corner, after cleaning. A very poor condition of the paint layers is visible. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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The coping above the matroneum before re-painting. On the left side of the new parget is visible an outline of illusionist architecture. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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The scale of the deterioration was over 50%. Here: a painting below the personification of Wratislavia, where the parts above both lunettes required reconstruction. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Huge gaps in parget (caused by bombings) in the part of the coping from the side of pl. Uniwersytecki, ineptly reconstructed afterwards, required reconstruction of extremely difficult llusionistic architecture, that in this case was supposed to imitate another storey Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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In addition to already removed and replaced post-war parget (in the upper left corner), the parts visible, for instance, in the lower-left corner of the photograph and just above the arch of the lunette also required removal. The layer of parget requiring removal has often reached up to 2-3 cm. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0

After estimating the area of historical parget, the conservators began organising the surface. For the painting parts that were very fragile and powdered even when lightly touched, for instance, almost all green and ochre areas, it was necessary to perform a pre-consolidation procedure, i.e. merging the painting with the base surface. Special compresses made from Japanese crape paper were used for this purpose. The entire polychrome (except for the parts reconstructed after the war and now intended for removal) was cleaned, desalted and disinfected several times, the screws securing the old parget to the wooden construction were replaced, and all the cracks were filled up with a mortar. Correction of defective, often too high putties was also carried out. In several places, where it was necessary to apply large mortar areas, the conservators installed a reinforcement made of wires that fastened to the old structure.

It took a long time to lock in place the loose parts of the painting and impregnate the bottom layers of the parget. 

“The most difficult part was removing the heavily set dirt because the painting was impregnated several times in the past. A lot of time and energy was spent working on dirty historical parget, especially because of salts, nitrates, and sulfates migrating to the painting’s surface. Due to the very poor condition of the polychrome layer, the work took us twice as long as last year, when we were working on the Aula’s podium” explained Mossler. “The poor condition of the polychrome in this part of the Aula was of course due to the war damage caused by the bombing. After all, one of the bombs fell only a few meters further, destroying, among the other things, Oratorium Marianum. External factors, such as atmospheric ones, were also very destructive.

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Fragment of the coping with a visible layer of dirt and re-painting, which the conservators removed, by using, among others, the wet method and AB paste, to be more exact, the same product as the one used during the conservation works in the Sistine Chapel. In Poland, it is just starting to get more popular. The photo shows how dirty the painting was. Only after removing the layers of this surface dirt and all the re-painting, the conservators could start the process of cleaning the polychrome from the more firmly set layers. These treatments, as well as multiple desalting, consumed the most time. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Pre-consolidation of the painting fragment using compresses made of Japanese crape paper (to the right of Wratislavia). Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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The painting was desalted at all stages of the conservation. The process is carried out with the use of special cellulose pulp, ammonium carbonate compresses and sodium sulfate and crape paper soaked in distilled water. You can see the salt coming out of the painting in the central part of the photo. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Areas, in which the parget losses were quite big required the application of new mortar. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Before applying the new parget, a wire reinforcement was fastened to the old structure and secured with anti-corrosion paint. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0
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Strengthening loose parts of the parget. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0

The next stage of the works was filling up the holes with mortar and preparing the surface.

“We imitated the texture of the original surface surrounding putty and other patches, and very precisely reconstructed brush strokes. Since our predecessors’ restorations carried out many years ago were technically and aesthetically flawed, this stage required a lot of effort” said Mossler. What required correction? “For instance, we had to reconstruct the architectural fault that our predecessors hadn’t restored. The rich and nonconstant texture of the painting required its continuation on the parts with a new parget” explained Mossler. We started the initial colour merging on prepared putty, and then we restored the polychrome defects.

During the reconstruction, the conservators relied on the photographs from the end of the 19th century, kept in the collections of the University Library in Wrocław, and also on photographs made by Rudolf Jagusch in 1944. “Unfortunately, this time we lacked more detailed archive materials that we had during the renovation of the podium. This caused additional difficulties in reconstructing already difficult and multi-layered painting, and the areas needing restoration were twice as large as the coping above the podium” said Mossler. Reconstructions in the eastern part of the coping above the matroneum turned out to be the most difficult. A similar problem occurred during the works in the ’70s of the 20th century, what may have prevented many details from being recreated. “We used paints based on an acrylic binder, and within the range of the primary parget, we used synthetic acrylic resin and powder pigments, with particular emphasis on the Handke’s colour palette. We made all the gildings with 23-carat gold leaf” explained Mossler.

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Conservators working. Photo by Dominika Hull, UWr/CC BY-NC 2.0
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Conservators working on a painting reconstruction. Photo by Anna Mossler, CC BY-NC 2.0

The painting works were done shorter than last year, i.e. very quickly.

The conservation team was composed of 12 people. In some stages of works of nearly 20 – mostly graduates of Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, and also Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. They worked for over 5 months, about 10 to 14 hours a day, six or even seven days a week to complete the task within the deadline. To summarise another year spent on the conservation of the Aula, Anna Mossler said: “The provisions of Polish law not only make our tasks more difficult, but they are also very harmful to the monuments. Firstly, a lot of time is spent on awarding the competition winner, and analysis of complex grant applications, then tenders, contract signing and so on. As a result, the remaining time is inadequate for required conservation works. More so, because the public grants, like the one allocated for the Aula conservation, have to be settled before a strictly fixed deadline within the current budgetary year. Less than six months for conservation of a surface such as the coping above the Aula’s matroneum or its podium is not enough. We always keep the monuments’ best interests in our minds and we want to do our job as best as we can, therefore we are forced to work for 10+ hours a day. Unfortunately, sometimes our good intentions are not enough because we cannot predict how long and how many times we will have to, for instance, desalt a painting. These are chemical processes that we have no control over, and they extend the time of our work”.

A separate team of 6 art conservators, led by dr Bożena Opiłło, worked in parallel on sculptures and mouldings. However, compared to the podium the extent of the works was much smaller. The figures of the atlantes holding up the balcony were cleaned, holes were filled up, the stucco was glued up, and its original colour was restored. The structural conservation, consisting of cleaning, glueing, strengthening, and filling up holes, was carried out within the entire sculptural and architectural decoration of the matroneum. Later the whole range of aesthetic conservation treatments was carried out – the fillings were colouristically retouched, and all the sculptural elements were restored to their primary tones.

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The beginning of the works on the sculptures and mouldings. Photo by Agata Warszewska
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Fragments of ornaments of one of the cartouches prepared for gilding. Photo by Agata Warszewska
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One of the atlantes holding up a balcony before (left) and after (right) the conservation. Photo by Roland Róg

The contractor of the works was consortium of companies: ANTIQUA Konserwacja Dzieł Sztuki Wit Podczerwiński, and AC Konserwacja Zabytków Piotrowski, Kosakowski sp.j.


Translated by Inga Schulz (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.

The project “Integrated Program for the Development of the University of Wrocław 2018-2022” co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund

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