The General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands has completed a project of restoration, conservation and enhancement of the two murals painted in the 50s of the last century by César Manrique in the Building of the Old National Tourist Inn of Arrecife, now headquarters of the National University of Distance Education (UNED) in Lanzarote.
These are murals of regional theme painted between 1949 and 1951 by the artist from Lanzarote, in which the influence of the classicist Picasso and the cubist breath is evident. The set of works represent elements that condition life on the island, such as traditional architecture, archeology, agriculture, flora and fauna, and ultimately the landscape of Lanzarote.
The paintings are integrated into the interior decoration of the UNED building. One of the murals consists of three individual scenes: 'The Wind', 'The Fishing' and 'The Harvest' decorate the room that was the old Restaurant of the Parador, currently the Aula Magna, while the mural 'Allegory of the Island' is located in the Library.
As explained, the series of three scenes had been restored in 2001 due to a fortuitous fire, but already presented "new symptoms of deterioration that warned of its state of material conservation and worsened its aesthetic and presentation aspect." This last intervention has been carried out by Claudio Carbonell and Beatriz Galán, who solved damages such as peeling, cracks, repainting, stains, losses and remains of dirt that "did not allow to see the authenticity of the works".
“Understanding and enjoying these artistic works that César painted in his beginnings in Arrecife is a necessity. Perceiving its beauty helps us understand its concept of landscape, territory, identity and its homeland island”, declares the general director of Cultural Heritage, Nona Perera. Once this intervention is finished, “now the objective is to enable a greater number of visitors to whom the necessary documentation is provided to better understand César”, she emphasizes.
A "great deterioration" due to humidity
These glue tempera paintings, applied on plaster plaster, presented "a great deterioration due to direct humidity through leaks". Therefore, the intervention process has been based on the consolidation of the pictorial layer, the superficial cleaning with elimination of stains, suspended particles and whitish halos, to finally achieve the consolidation and chromatic and support reintegration, among other details.
From the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands it is pointed out that the intervention criteria in this type of restorations are, in general, respect for the work, its appearance and its original materials, the minimum possible intervention, the reversibility of the new materials to be used, among other aspects. "We seek to stop the deterioration, return to the work the closest possible appearance to its initial state and thus preserve all its expressive potential to transmit it to future generations," it adds. .
In this case, although it is indicated that the conservation problems "were not serious", the restoration team has advanced a series of recommendations to keep the works in good condition, since "prevention is the best tool to avoid irreparable damage in the future". In this sense, the regional Executive affirms that "it corresponds to the UNED to maintain a clean environment in the room and especially monitor the humidity problems, in addition to trying to ensure that the lighting that affects the murals is natural light or suitable LED bulbs".