Późnobarokowy kościół pielgrzymkowy w Krośnie na Warmii : zagadnienia konserwacji malowideł ściennych

Krosno, near Orneta, is located on a meander of the Drwęca Warmińska river. Since the 16th century, it has been known as a pilgrimage site, owing to the presence of a shrine which was built in the place where a small stone figure presenting the Holy Mother with the Child was found in the river. The shrine building was completed in 1777., although decoration works were later performed at the beginning of the 20th century by the Italian artist Zanetti of Königsberg and Ferdinand Busch of Berlin. Currently, the entire layout requires urgent restoration work. The immediate intervention of a conservator is particularly necessary for the interior of the shrine where the painted decorations on the vault are endangered. The condition of the wall-painting in the church is disastrous. As a result of the total degradation of the organic binder, the entire surface of the wall paintings is powdered. In 2007, the conservation of one of the scenes in the wall painting was undertaken by Agnieszka Markowska, a student of the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art of the Academy of Fint1 Arts in Warsaw. This task constituted the practical part of her master’s thesis. The works consisted in the requisite technical and technological treatments and the reconstruction of all the missing parts of the paint layer. In the course of the conservation works thus carried out, the student performed a series of typical treatments, such as the disinfection, desalination and cleaning of the painting surface, as well as the consolidation and supplementation of the missing parts of the base. However, the most difficult task was to strengthen and reconstruct the paint layer. A question hangs over the future of the entire pardon complex. Such a large building requires huge financial commitment. Apart from repair works on th<; convictus of the priestly congregation and galleries, an exhaustive restoration of the church is required. For such extensive works, comprehensive and scheduled activities are normally required. It is necessary to develop a uniform and cohesive conception, together with a sweeping conservation and arrangement design encompassing the interior and furnishings in their entirety.