{"id":27773,"date":"2021-06-03T11:48:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T11:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/?p=27773"},"modified":"2021-06-03T12:02:31","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T12:02:31","slug":"an-extraordinary-bestiary-san-pedro-de-arlanza-griffin-and-pardus-and-architecture-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/en\/an-extraordinary-bestiary-san-pedro-de-arlanza-griffin-and-pardus-and-architecture-2\/","title":{"rendered":"An extraordinary bestiary: San Pedro de Arlanza. \u00abGriffin\u00bb and \u00abPardus and architecture\u00bb \/ 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the previous article<\/a> we placed the fragments of mural painting from the group of San Pedro de Arlanza in context. In this article we shall discuss the recovery of the work in the storerooms, Pardus and architecture<\/a><\/em>, and compare it to the piece in the permanent exhibition, the Griffin<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two beasts: the Griffin <\/em>and the Pardus<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Griffin<\/em> from Arlanza <\/a>has always been present at the end of the visit to the Romanesque Art permanent room. But why has the Pardus<\/em> never been exhibited?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two fresco mural paintings, stripped off and transferred, are very large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer lies in the state of conservation of the two works, in the importance of the lost areas for understanding the depiction, and in the amount of original polychromy they offer. In the Griffin,<\/em> conservation is stable and the amount of colour makes it possible to enjoy the creature; in the Pardus, <\/em>conservation is very delicate and there is less original polychromy. The accumulation of traces of animal glue and wax on the surface were an impediment to the recovery of the fragment that was restored in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Griffin,
Griffin<\/em> from Arlanza<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/a><\/em>, front and back (measurements 191.5 x 325 x 5 cm). Photography: museum photographers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Pardus
Pardus i arquitectura<\/em><\/a><\/em>, front and back (measurements 189.5 x 326.5 x 5.5). Photography: museum photographers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why do the works have different supports?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Griffin<\/em> entered the museum in 1943 and the type of rigid support that was placed on the stripped-off and transferred fragments was a grid made of wood, cloth and plaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1960s, the methodology used to make supports changed. The grid made of wood, cloth and plaster made way for a wood and plywood grid. This new, more rigid support was attached to the Pardus<\/em> when the fragment entered the museum in 1973. The support of the Pardus<\/em> is hygroscopic like the previous grid made of wood, cloth and plaster, but it offers a more even layer on which to lay the adhered mural fragment and is generally far lighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the wooden support is more rigid and stable, why is the Pardus <\/em>in a worse state of preservation<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason is the amount of crystallized glue on the polychromy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the fragment is stuck to a more even support, the main problem lies in the traces of glue on the surface, which was used to strip off the pictorial film. So the fragment\u2019s poor state of preservation is due to the glue, regardless of the rigid support on which it lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal glue is a protein binder that can be one of the worst enemies of mural paintings. It is an adhesive that has been used since Antiquity and it is still used today. It is a very safe product, as long as weather conditions make it possible to use it. You have to be very careful about preparing it and the percentage that is needed for the function is has to fulfil. In a mural painting any organic glue that is not removed from the surface crystallizes, cracks and, upon contracting, with the outward force it takes the polychromy with it. The thickness of this material and its penetration when applied hot creates a skin that adheres to polychromy that is just a few microns thick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Detail
Detail of the result of glue on the surface. Photograph: Restoration Department<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The laboratory results obtained in samples from Pardus and architecture,<\/em> stripped off in 1942, were illustrative: the materials on the surface were basically animal glue and wax. The two products were used in the stripping off process or placing it on the new support, or in both processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conclusions show fundamentally that the thickness of the glue can be associated with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n