“Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany

In the last decades of the nineteenth Century, a paradigm change in the preservation of medieval wall painting conservation took place. Restoration as equivalent of repainting was definitely refused. The goal of all efforts was now to preserve the uncovered wall paintings in their authentic state. H...

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Main Author: Ursula Schädler-Saub
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association CeROArt 2013-10-01
Series:CeROArt : Conservation, Exposition, Restauration d'Objets d'Art
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ceroart/3551
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author Ursula Schädler-Saub
author_facet Ursula Schädler-Saub
author_sort Ursula Schädler-Saub
collection DOAJ
description In the last decades of the nineteenth Century, a paradigm change in the preservation of medieval wall painting conservation took place. Restoration as equivalent of repainting was definitely refused. The goal of all efforts was now to preserve the uncovered wall paintings in their authentic state. However, the presentation of fragmentary wall paintings in churches required compromises between historical values and liturgical needs. German examples with so called “Bildtapeten” (picture wallpapers) illustrate such a clever compromise: roller blinds with fully integrated versions of the scenes depicted in full size on paper, were mounted on the walls over the fragmentary wall paintings; they could be raised for the experts and lowered for the general public. Alois Riegl in his important essay of 1903, “Questions on the restoration of wall paintings”, criticised this method and emphasized the complexity of meeting the demands of modern wall painting conservation.  
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publisher Association CeROArt
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series CeROArt : Conservation, Exposition, Restauration d'Objets d'Art
spelling doaj-art-3e2334d800044352a3c45d72ea3980cc2025-01-30T14:13:24ZengAssociation CeROArtCeROArt : Conservation, Exposition, Restauration d'Objets d'Art1784-50922013-10-0110.4000/ceroart.3551“Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in GermanyUrsula Schädler-SaubIn the last decades of the nineteenth Century, a paradigm change in the preservation of medieval wall painting conservation took place. Restoration as equivalent of repainting was definitely refused. The goal of all efforts was now to preserve the uncovered wall paintings in their authentic state. However, the presentation of fragmentary wall paintings in churches required compromises between historical values and liturgical needs. German examples with so called “Bildtapeten” (picture wallpapers) illustrate such a clever compromise: roller blinds with fully integrated versions of the scenes depicted in full size on paper, were mounted on the walls over the fragmentary wall paintings; they could be raised for the experts and lowered for the general public. Alois Riegl in his important essay of 1903, “Questions on the restoration of wall paintings”, criticised this method and emphasized the complexity of meeting the demands of modern wall painting conservation.  https://journals.openedition.org/ceroart/3551conservationhistorytheorywall paintingtheory of conservationBildtapeten
spellingShingle Ursula Schädler-Saub
“Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany
CeROArt : Conservation, Exposition, Restauration d'Objets d'Art
conservation
history
theory
wall painting
theory of conservation
Bildtapeten
title “Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany
title_full “Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany
title_fullStr “Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany
title_full_unstemmed “Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany
title_short “Bildtapeten” and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in Germany
title_sort bildtapeten and the conservation of medieval wall paintings at the turn of the twentieth century in germany
topic conservation
history
theory
wall painting
theory of conservation
Bildtapeten
url https://journals.openedition.org/ceroart/3551
work_keys_str_mv AT ursulaschadlersaub bildtapetenandtheconservationofmedievalwallpaintingsattheturnofthetwentiethcenturyingermany