Restoration works at the historic mural in the Aula Magna hall of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest (ASE) were completed in March this year, after six months. The unveiling of the restored painting took place on April 6, when the university celebrated its 109th anniversary.

Local developer One United Properties supported the restoration project. The working and coordination team was formed by Maria Dumbrăvician (Faber Studio, associate professor Dr. UNArte), Cristina Serendan (associate professor, PhD), Ioana Olteanu (Faber Studio, PhD) and Laura Hangiu ( Faber Studio), all Faber Studio specialists being certified by the Ministry of Culture. Also, under the same coordination, Master students of the Department of Conservation and Restoration within UNArte Bucharest contributed to creating specialized documentation.

The 100 sqm mural, titled “History of the Romanian commerce,” was created 88 years ago by artist Cecilia Cutescu-Stork, the first woman in Europe to hold a university degree in Art, One United said. It illustrates over a hundred life-size characters, arranged in six successive registers, telling the story of Romanian commerce over time.

“It is a joy for us to be part of the story of restoring and preserving a work of art that has become a symbol. We want to continue to be involved in such actions supporting education, but also cultural heritage, which future generations deserve to enjoy,” said Andrei Diaconescu, co-founder of One United Properties.

“We are happy to be able to teach today to the generations to come and proudly admire, over the years, the unique beauty of the famous „History of the Romanian commerce” mural in the Aula Magna of the ASE Palace. Made by Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck, the painting is a symbol of the first economic university in our country. It was restored to its original beauty through a necessary, thorough, and complex restoration procedure, fully supported by our Platinum Partner, One United Properties,” added Prof. univ. dr. Nicolae Istudor, Rector of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest.

The conservation and restoration project started with an analysis of the mural surface, the technique in which the painting was made, and the degradations that appeared since the last restoration. The identification of technical details and the evaluation of the state of conservation, made by the restorers, were completed at the highest level by physico-chemical investigations carried out by the research team of the National Institute of Optoelectronics. The specific conservation and restoration operations followed, respectively: stabilization of the colour film, its cleaning, consolidation of the support, varnishing and, finally, the chromatic reintegration.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Opening photo: Fratelescris/Dreamstime.com)