KONSERWACJA XVII-WIECZNYCH MALOWIDEŁ W CELACH NOWICJACKICH KLASZTORU OJCÓW BERNARDYNÓW W LEŻAJSKU

One of the essential recent phenomena in the conservation of historical monuments in Poland was the discovery of seventeenth-century murals in the novitiate cells of the Bernardine monastery in Leżajsk. The murals embellish seven interiors with a cross vault, placed along a second- -storey corridor of the western wing of the building. For centuries they had been concealed under later layers lime, sand-lime finish, paint and plaster. The characterstic feature of the murals is great stylistic diversity. The themes of the figural depictions are religious or allegoric, accompanied by plant-geometrical inscriptions. The south wall of cell no. 1 is decorated with traces of a landscape sequence including a figure of a monk, while the west wall – with a drawing of a monk and on the window embrasure – a monogram of the Holy Family. The north wall features the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels, a town panorama and, in many places, fragments of geometric ornaments. The east wall of cell no. 2 displays horizontally arranged lines, a figure of St. Margaret and within the door embrasures – the Golgotha with a figure of Satan and an emblem of death. The south wall contains a figural and genre scene as well as a wreath with the monogram ”IHS”. The west wall features a symbol of the Name of Mary and an outline of a clock. The north wall is decorated with a text of a prayer, fragments of a wreath, a genre scene and a figure of a man. Cell no. 3 displays a predominance of geometrical ornaments. The west wall shows the contour of a Latin cross and a figure of Franciscan, the west wall – a figure of a (statuesque) woman, and the south and north walls – inscriptions and individual figural accents as well as monograms of the names of Jesus and Mary. The east wall of cell no. 4 is adorned with a painted portal, a cornice and a motif of flowers in vases. The upper part of the south wall preserved fragments of inscriptions and a radial gloria with the monogram “IHIS”. The motifs on the west wall include the Golgotha, a clock face and three rosettes. The upper part of the north wall contains a Marian emblem surrounded with a nimbus and flanked by bouquets of flowers in vases, while the lower part is composed of a scene with a monk portraying in front of a cross. In cell no. 5 angels had been painted above the door, with an allegory of death to the left of the door, a figure of monk and an owl within the door embrasures, and the Crucifixion encircled by relics of lesser scenes. The west wall preserved a depiction of the five wounds of Christ while the north wall features fragments of angels and the emblem ”IHS”. Each wall has an inscription along the ceiling arch. The east wall in cell no. 6 is covered with figural, plant-ornament motifs, inscriptions and monograms of Christ and the Mother of God. The left door embrasure is embellished with a figure of a Franciscan, while the south wall has a Marian monogram encircled with a decorative rosette, a wreath, a Latin inscription and lesser monograms. Similar elements are to be found on the west wall. The upper part of the north wall shows two monograms of Christ, a Marian monogram and a monogram of St. Joseph, while the lower one – two wall hangings, a rosette and lesser monograms and genre scenes. In cell no. 7 murals are extant on the east wall. Legible elements include the inscription ”MEMENTO MORI”, fragments of plant-geometrical ornaments and architectural motifs. The murals were executed in the al secco technique. Due to extensive gaps produced by repairs, redesigning and mechanical damage, their state of preservation is highly unsatisfactory. The examination revealed 23 technological strata and 14 chronological ones. The first stage of conservation consisted of disclosing the murals, their fixation, the removal of putties and the reinforcement of the structure of the base as well as supplementing, cleaning and introducing the uniform colour of the original plaster. In the case of certain gaps conservators applied retouching. Niches in the north walls and window embrasures were restored in all cells. The mural in cell no. 1 on the left door embrasure was lifted off the wall by means of the stacco method due to threats connected with repairconstruction undertakings. A fragment with a mural on the east wall to the left of the door in cell no. 3 was removed in a similar way and placed on the west wall. After the conservation, the group stratigraphy of the murals revealed eight technological layers. The titular murals deserve further thorough studies.