| Closed to the public for almost a decade due to
structural problems, the 16th century Iglesia San José in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, was placed on the World Monuments Watch list of 100 Most
Endangered Sites in 2004. The church is the oldest surviving
masterpiece of Spanish colonial church architecture in Puerto Rico and
one of the earliest extant examples of Gothic in the New World. Within
its walls is the 17th century Capilla del Nuestra Virgen de Rosario,
containing the most extensive and possibly earliest murals in Puerto
Rico and in a serious state of deterioration. Outside, the chapel is
distinguished by an ornate sculpted Baroque dome of the same period. In
order to preserve the chapel as a legacy of Spanish Caribbean culture
and as a place of continued use and veneration, the ACL and its
partners embarked on a comprehensive conservation program including
documentation, analysis, and emergency stabilization of the plaster,
paintings and exterior ornamental dome. |
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| From
May to June 2004 an examination and graphic survey was conducted to
record the technology and condition of the mural paintings of the
Rosario Chapel dome. As part of the documentation process the
chapel was photographed and digitally montaged. Measured CAD drawings
were developed from these rectified images in order to document and
digitize the information recorded from the walls and the ceiling. The
condition survey was then prepared using a glossary developed to
establish a descriptive terminology of the conditions and building /
painting campaigns. This glossary corresponds to the on-site survey and
its digitized format. Painting campaigns were also identified in
situ and dated through the use of archival documentation and historic
photographs that described the church and it’s interior. The
condition survey of the mural paintings led to the development of an
emergency conservation / stabilization treatment for the areas at
immanent risk of collapse. |
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A view of the ceiling in the Rosario Chapel
shows the severe condition of the historic ceiling paint.
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Above: An interior
view of the main sanctuary shows how the building has remained while it
remained closed for more than a decade.
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The
2008 phase of work was a continuation of a 2006 investigation of the
decorative painting campaigns in the Rosario Chapel completed by
Cynthia Silva. In addition, treatment methods for the removal of
limewash and subsequent cleaning and consolidation of the original
painted finishes were researched, tested, and implemented. The work was
completed during four separate site visits between March and June 2008.
Lab testing and analysis were conducted at the Architectural
Conservation Laboratory (ACL) at the University of Pennsylvania.
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The
modern stylistic paint work on the roof of the dome conveys it's
original construction material which used hydraulic lime . In order to
achieve the hydraulic lime, brick dust was added to the lime making it
a reddish pink.
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