Research Forum Spring Term 2011
research forum visiting conservator seminar
St Vitus Cathedral, Prague: Conservation of the 14th-century Last Judgement Mosaic
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
15.00, Research Forum South Room
View of the of the 14th Century Last Judgment Mosaic on the South Façade of St Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Photo: Francesca Piqué
Speaker(s): Francesca Piqué (Consultant for the Getty Conservation Institute and Researcher at SUPSI, Lugano)
Ticket/entry details: Open to all, free admission
Organised by: Dr Sharon Cather
For most of its existence, the brilliant colours of the Last Judgement have been invisible, covered by corrosion formed after each past cleaning. Despite repeated restoration—the first as early as the 15th century—the problem persisted. In 1992, the Getty Conservation Institute and the Office of the President of the Czech Republic initiated a major conservation programme. Francesca Piqué, a principal team member and editor of the publication, will present an overview of the history and conservation of this important mosaic.
Francesca Piqué is a chemist and wall painting conservator (The Courtauld 1991 and 1992); she was a project specialist at the GCI (1993-2004) during which time she worked in Benin, China, the Czech Republic, Israel, Tanzania and Tunisia. She is currently consulting for the GCI on the Herculaneum Project, and for the Opificio delle Pietre Dure on the investigations of the wall paintings by Giotto in the Bardi and Peruzzi Chapels in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.