Detachment of wall paintings

Have you ever stuck a sticker on your wall and then tried to take it off, but some of the sticky stuff stayed behind and it was hard to get rid of? Well, sometimes big paintings and drawings on walls can be like that too.

When an artist or craftsman creates a wall painting or fresco, they usually start by building up layers of a special plaster mixture on the wall. Then, they draw or paint the image onto the surface of the plaster. Over time, if the plaster gets old, damaged or damp, it can start to come away from the wall in patches. This is called detachment of the wall painting.

When the plaster comes away, it can pull the paint with it, leaving behind a bit of a mess on the wall. So, just like you might use a hairdryer or warm water to help get rid of the sticky stuff left behind by a sticker, restoration experts use special tools and techniques to carefully remove the plaster and paint that are coming away from the wall.

Once they have removed the loose or detached plaster and paint, the restorers can then start to rebuild the layers of plaster and paint, so that the painting or fresco looks like it did when it was first created. This is important, because the painting might be very old or very valuable, and we want to make sure that it is protected and preserved for future generations to enjoy.