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Škofja loka, Loka Castle

In November 2015 we completed the first phase of the conservation and restoration work to the paintings in the Loka Castle chapel.
Avtor: Anita Klančar, Thursday 21.07.2016

Renovation of the Loka Castle

In November 2015 we completed the first phase of the conservation and restoration work to the paintings in the Loka Castle chapel.

Paintings

The paintings we completely painted over in the period following World War II. In 2013, the IPCHS Restoration Centre carried out the probing and studies of the paintings, and in 2014–2015 it carried out an extensive project of discovery as well as conservation and restoration of the paintings in the dome of the chapel.

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The murals in the Loka Castle chapel in Škofja Loka were created in 1915 by the painter Anton Jebačin and his associates upon the request of the Ursulines. In the spirit of the era of humanism and World War I, they depict images of the seven virtues that, together with archangel Michael, images from the New and Old Testament, and a realistic skyline of Škofja Loka from 1915, address the observer in an educational way.

The first studies of the lime whitewash and layers of paint showed that the paintings were preserved on all the chapel walls. The uncovering of the paintings in the dome followed. Layers of hardened whitewash that were tightly bonded to the layer of paint were gradually removed, first using scalpels, then thinned using a mini orbital sander. The remains of the calcified whitewash and insoluble salts were left on the surface of the paintings, together with a layer of dirt, and were removed with the combined methods of chemical cleaning treatment.

Smaller damage to the otherwise well-preserved lime plaster was filled in and the extensive retouching of dispersed damage to the coloured paint layer was repaired. 

The uncovered and restored paintings in the Loka Castle chapel bring the spirit of the chapel to life and, through their colours, symbolism and beauty, with their educative and humanistic aspects, tell of the fundamental values of human life – just as they did a century ago.

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