The Restoration of the Murals in the Church of San Clemente de Tahull. Contributions to the Study of the Pictorial Group

Abstract

The concept of uniqueness as an essential characteristic of an original work is contradicted in the case of the group of murals in the church of San Clemente de Tahull. The detaching of the murals in 1920, 1922 and 1960 separated the Romanesque group. One extremely important part of the decoration was transferred and forms part of the MNAC collection and the other part remained in the church. Original scenes, discovered when restoration work was being carried out have been preserved in situ, as have the deep layers of the murals detached using the strappo method.

This paper describes the distinctive restoration processes used in the treatment of the deep layers and the results obtained by employing a study methodology of the mural group from a preservation-restoration perspective.