CHAPTER 21. Argentinean Murals: Conservation and Characterization of Pictorial Techniques

This chapter introduces the first research on Argentine mural materials. Ejercicio Plastico painted by Equipo Poligrafico (Polygraphic Team) and the Lunettes from Galerias Pacificos painted by TAM: Taller de Arte Mural (Mural Art Workshop). These two emblematic works for Argentine art of the thirties and forties were studied in an interdisciplinary way. The characterization was carried out from the point of view of the materials used and the execution techniques employed, and they were significant as the first investigations of this type on Argentine mural painting. Remarkably, both artworks suffered similar trajectories: they were sectioned, dismantled and abandoned for two decades, and afterwards they were recovered, researched, restored and located in a new context. During the process of revaluation, we had the opportunity to study these artworks and the data afforded us the possibility to understand the different states of conservation they were in and at the same time helped us to increase technological knowledge in this area, which is underexplored in Argentina.