Painting and Fresco Restoration at St. Patrick’s
Painting Restoration
Conservators climbed multiple levels of scaffolding to access the tall triptych fresco located behind the altar at St. Patrick’s Church in New Orleans. The fresco dated to 1841. The first process involved cleaning the frescoes.
Paint mixing
The frescoes had been previously restored, so our conservators matched paint colors and mediums as best as possible at each location. We corrected new water damage from a roof leak as well. Mass was still being held in this church as work progressed.
In-painting
As is common with large-scale frescoes and murals, some colors were in better condition than others. Here, we matched the dark blue sky. We primarily used egg tempera paints, which allowed us to match sheen and achieve reversibility.
Juliette Hotard carefully cleaning the top of a fresco at St. Patrick’s Church in New Orleans
Before and After images of the painted fresco in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. The Before photo shows accumulated dust, dirt, and water damage.
Raking light over any area with heavy water damage and previous repairs.