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Parma works with architects, preservation officers, restoration firms, and private clients who have architectural art in need of preservation. Parma provides historic paint analysis, feasibility studies, and proposals for recovering historic paint finishes and decorations which have been painted over, damaged, or obscured by time. As with all fine art, this work should only be entrusted to an experienced conservator who understands both the original materials that were used, and the unoriginal materials that need to be removed, such as an overpaint. Architectural art may include murals, trompe loeil, decorative stencil work, faux marble, secco murals, hand painted wallpaper, and handpainted wood. See also Projects in Italy | |
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| This ceiling panel was originally produced for a late 19th century mansion in Chicago. Over the years the panels had been successively painted over by various owners. The current owner wished to retrieve the original handpainted stencils. Parma was able to successfully remove the asphaltum, oil paint, and casein overpaint that had been used to cover over the stencils, revealing a 19th century decoration that had not been seen in decades. | ||||||||||
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 | Lyncrusta is a type of wallcovering that was fashionable during the 19th century. The material could be made to look like embossed leather, though it was actually made from a mixture of wheat pulp and linseed oil that was poured into moulds and mass produced. It would also have been hand painted by artisans. In the photo, a portion of this delicate material was cleaned of decades of accumulated grime and smoke (the bright square in the right section of lyncrusta), to reveal the vibrant original color. | ||
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| Like the ceiling panels described previously, this panel had been painted over several times and was finally wallpapered. It was understood that this ceiling originally had an elaborately stenciled design, based on historic photographs. Parma used solvent gel technology to explore the overlying layers, until the extremely delicate, metallic foil stencil design revealed itself. | ||||||||||
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 | With handpainted woodwork, the varnish layers should not be removed entirely (stripped), but they may be reduced by a skilled conservator. As with the example on the left, the right side has been reduced to the original varnish layer, and the painted elements have been gently cleaned utilizing an emulsified solvent gel, yielding conservative, yet impressive results. | ||
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Parma Conservation, located in Chicago, is one of the country's leading resources for the conservation of paintings and murals. |  | ||||||||
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