Reviving Art: The Science Behind Saving Old Church Murals

In the heart of Pennsylvania, a unique blend of art and science is at work. The goal is to preserve a set of 80-year-old murals that have seen better days. The murals are in a church in Millvale. These murals are not just any artwork. They are the work of the late Croatian American artist Maxo Vanka. He created them in 1937 and 1941. The murals mix religious themes with powerful images of war, immigrant struggles, industrial hardship, and moral contrasts. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka has been working on this project for the past 15 years. The conservation team has been focusing on the upper church. Over the past three years, a crew of 16 has been working intensively on this section. From January through May, their efforts were concentrated on the upper-right walls and ceiling. This area includes an Old Testament panorama featuring Moses and portraits of St. Matthew and St. Mark. The team cleaned off grime, extracted corrosive salts, carefully reattached peeling paint, and delicately added pigments where they had been lost. The process began with installing a 32-foot-high scaffold to provide close-up access to the murals. The initial steps involved brushing and vacuuming off surface dirt and soot. Wet cosmetic sponges and thin cotton swabs were used to clean surfaces and grooves. The grime on the murals is a result of decades of pollution. This includes everything from Pittsburgh’s once-thriving steel mills to nearby highway traffic. The team used fine tools to reach inside smaller indentations. They went through thousands of soot-covered sponges in the process. The team also cleaned the aluminum leaf that forms the backgrounds of some sections. They used a solution with a neutral pH to avoid damaging the material. In areas where the aluminum leaf had deteriorated, the team experimented with different mixtures. They found that a combination of watercolor and other materials gave the right amount of sheen and tone to blend in with the original aluminum leafing. To remedy paint loss, the crew used pastels and watercolors to fill in certain areas. They made sure to retain Vanka’s original brushstrokes. The team took a conservative approach, filling in only where necessary and using materials that can easily be removed. This allows for future adjustments if needed. A primary goal is to reveal as much of the original art as possible. One of the major challenges is dealing with sulfate salts. These salts occur naturally but can be especially prevalent in areas with more air pollution. The salts react with moisture in the walls and cause deterioration. The crew used poultices to address this issue. These are bandage-like containers of fine cellulose fibers. One type of chemical compound in the poultice leeches out the salts. Another type strengthens the plaster. In some areas, paint had curled, flaked, or cracked. Workers gently reattached it with funori, an adhesive derived from seaweed. They used a tacking iron to help secure the paint. The preservation society has also worked with the parish on improvements. These include roof repairs and a new climate control system. The aim is to prevent future damage from the elements. The team prefers to use the term “conservation” rather than “restoration. ”Conservation is a more comprehensive term. It includes everything from documentation to preventive care while making Vanka’s original work as visible as possible. The goal is to reveal what he did. That’s what’s most important to the team.