Preservation of the Past

Rome, or Roma in Italian, is everything I thought it would be: delicious food, phenomenal views, and a history like no other. The vast amounts of history that can be found in the artwork is unlike any other. I was completely overwhelmed by the collection of masterpieces in the Vatican, particularly the Michelangelo's The Last Judgment. I can't even begin to comprehend the thoughts of the genius Michelangelo during the years that he painted this fresco(wall or ceiling painting). Yet, as I stared deep into this piece, I couldn't help but think how our presence here was slowly deteriorating the colors of this piece so that future generations will be unable to enjoy the full affects of this piece.

            After being in the room that hosted this work, it was made apparent to me by our tour guide that photographs were NOT allowed. But why? How can one photo affect fresco? Well it can't. But if the millions (yes millions. In 2006 alone, there were 4.3 million people who visited the Vatican Museum) of people all decided to take a picture, it CAN. Photographs in a room as dark as this require flash to adequately capture the images. However, light emits UV radiation, which causes a pigment loss. As we all know, Michelangelo never exactly passed down his techniques to obtain such vibrant colors (since he was very proud and slightly insane), there is no way to exactly replace the colors lost to time.

            If that wasn't enough, just our mere presence is degrading the art. Humans naturally perspire and release moisture when we breath or open our mouth (that's why talking is prohibited). Enough moisture exposure can cause paint to peel or blister, resulting in a loss of color. Paint is very polar, and due to its large size, allows water to easily react.

Two very different structures of paint colors above.

            Just imagine how much moisture over 4 million people must produce in a year. In fact, the most famous cave frescos, the Altamira Caves, were damaged so badly that they were closed twice: once in 1977 for 5 years and once in 2002 for 8 years due to the damage on the paint from light exposure and moisture, even with a strict regulation on the number of visitors each year (the waiting list became so long at one point, that you had to book ahead 3 years!!).

Cave art from the Almatira Caves

             If we aren't careful, the pride of Italy, no the pride of the world may lose its luster for good.

Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/7814327/Spain-to-reopen-Altamira-Caves-despite-risk-of-destroying-prehistoric-paintings.html

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7330

http://www.vivilon.com/instruction-009.html

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/how-to-advice/paint-problems.shtml

And of course, http://www.wikipedia.org/ for background info