- Feb 5, 2002
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‘People with a heart for art’ support those who meticulously clean and maintain precious artworks.
VATICAN CITY — Ten thousand hours.
This is how long it takes to digitally analyze, map and conserve a marble statue, which could well be 2,000 years old. The work is not about restoring the statue to its original beauty. The team of experts in the stone materials restoration laboratories of the Vatican Museums are working on preserving such pieces in their current state for generations to come.
It is a meticulous work. First, the restorers need to identify the problem. They pay particular attention to the color of the artifact and how it may have lost pigment overtime. Then, stains need to be removed; small fractures should be mended. To clean the marble, a special kind of algae is applied. It removes any potential contaminants.
“Every piece here has its own history,” explained Msgr. Terence Hogan. A priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, Msgr. Hogan serves as the coordinator of the Office of Relations with the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums (ORPAVM). He appreciates the time he is able to spend inside the laboratories. After all, it is his job to ensure the operations keep running. Renovating millennia-old artwork is not only time intensive but also costly.
Continued below.
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VATICAN CITY — Ten thousand hours.
This is how long it takes to digitally analyze, map and conserve a marble statue, which could well be 2,000 years old. The work is not about restoring the statue to its original beauty. The team of experts in the stone materials restoration laboratories of the Vatican Museums are working on preserving such pieces in their current state for generations to come.
It is a meticulous work. First, the restorers need to identify the problem. They pay particular attention to the color of the artifact and how it may have lost pigment overtime. Then, stains need to be removed; small fractures should be mended. To clean the marble, a special kind of algae is applied. It removes any potential contaminants.
“Every piece here has its own history,” explained Msgr. Terence Hogan. A priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, Msgr. Hogan serves as the coordinator of the Office of Relations with the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums (ORPAVM). He appreciates the time he is able to spend inside the laboratories. After all, it is his job to ensure the operations keep running. Renovating millennia-old artwork is not only time intensive but also costly.
Continued below.
Preserving Patrons: Treasures of the Vatican Museums’ Vaults
‘People with a heart for art’ support those who meticulously clean and maintain precious artworks.
