The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) reported this Monday (19) that the restoration of the panel History of Petropolismade by modernist artist Djanira da Motta e Silva in 1953, is at an advanced stage. The process is being monitored by the agency together with the municipality of Petrópolis, which signed a conduct adjustment term (TAC) eight years ago.
The panel began to be restored in 2021, but the work was interrupted after the death of the owner of the company hired for the service. The restoration was resumed on April 9 of this year. The schedule is divided into eight stages, lasting ten months. The work, listed by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) since 1982, is expected to be on display to the public for a period.
Measuring 12.75 x 3.50 meters, the panel illustrates typical landscapes and scenes from Petrópolis. It features symbols of the city such as the Imperial Museum, carriages, and ceramic and textile factories. The artist Djanira lived in Petrópolis during the period in which she painted the panel for the Liceu Municipal Prefeito Cordolino Ambrósio.
Report
On July 30, the MPF received a report from the city of Petrópolis with details of the work that had already been done. The document states that a structural review was carried out on the panel’s storage bed. It was weakened and in no condition to serve as a base for the work. A new bed had to be made.
A table protector with silicone paper was also added. In stage four of the schedule, the work site was sanitized and disinfected, with chemical and mechanical cleaning, with the removal of ingrained dirt.
In a meeting with Iphan technicians, the interventions and methodologies used were presented. The next steps, according to the report, will be the review of the original support joints (with the execution of a prototype) in treatments such as tears; review of fillings and edges; and relining with natural linen, imported from Belgium.