REVEALING A MURAL

Sammanfattning

This study explores what the best method, out of those tried, of removal is of the covering layer covering Josef Svanlund's mural that is located at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Art in Stockholm. The mural was painted 1910 by Svanlund who was a student at the Academy and has since partially been covered by a white layer. The study approached the problem with a methodology which included first assessing the mural and covering layer and bringing samples back to the lab to identify the composition of the covering layer. An on-site solubility test proved the covering layer to be water-soluble. Testing of the samples was done using different microchemical tests, as well as FT-IR analysis which showed that the layer consists of calcium carbonate as a filler and a carbohydrate binder. Mock-ups of the mural with the covering layer could then be made to test different methods of removal. The solvent, water, was used to soften the layer which would then be followed up by mechanical removal. The methods tested were mostly agar-gels and water with different percentage (2% and 4% each boiled once and twice) and contact time (2, 5 and 10 minutes), as well as removal with swab and water. Mechanical removal without water as a solvent was also tested. The three best methods were chosen to be tested on-site, where a 4% agar gel boiled once in contact for 5 minutes proved to be the best.