Carrier Context:
Unique Projects
Vatican records reveal that within 20 years after his death Michelangelo's frescoes were being "restored" to erase the effects of the environment \323 a pre-electric environment characterized by votive candles and flaming braziers used for heat and light. The earliest restoration attempts involved lightly scrubbing the surface with stale bread. Later technicians daubed Greek wine on the surface to remove soot. The most significant change began as 16th century restorers brushed animal glue on the frescoes to smooth a surface roughened by salt deposits that refracted light, dulled colors and reduced contrast.
The early restorers' attempts were successful, but only in the short term since animal glue, like the glop we used as aspiring five-year-old artists, darkens with age.
For months before the modern-day restorers began their actual cleaning, a battery of art historians and scientists used non-destructive evaluation techniques to probe the ceiling's plaster, the clumsy applications of glue, and sooty encrustations to determine which was Michelangelo's work and which came later.
Working at less than half the speed of Michelangelo, the restorers slowly began stripping away those centuries of gloom using distilled water and a paste of relatively benign chemicals, including ordinary baking soda.
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