Mark Rothko, The Harvard Murals, 1962-1963
Panel One
Panel Two
Panel Three
Panel Four
Panel Five
The modern installation shots
Panel Five at Harvard in 1968
Mark Rothko in front of “Panel Two” and “Panel Three” inside Holyoke Center in 1963
The following is edited from ART NEWS:
Harvard university commissioned Rothko to create a series of murals in the 1960s. Unfortunately, the canvases were displayed in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the steady exposure to bright sunlight caused the works’ vibrant colors to fade over time. Eventually, they were removed to storage and largely forgotten.
The university was mindful of the art historical value of the works, and, in 2013 applied for and received an AXA ART Conservation Research Grant. AXA provides research support for conservation projects, and helped Harvard with technical analysis and the development of a brand new methodology for conserving the Rothko murals.
Thanks to the grant funding, Harvard was able to conduct innovative research and technical analysis, inventing a light-based conservation and treatment methodology for Mark Rothko’s Harvard Murals that utilizes custom-made software, as well as a system employing a camera and a projector.
Unlike traditional restoration methods, which involve physically altering the original work, the Harvard project did not work with paints or pigments to readjust the work’s hue or tone. Instead, a light-based method of noninvasive restoration tailored specifically to the Rothkos’ needs was specially created.
Recent photos of each mural were analyzed and compared to 1960s-era images depicting the original, unfaded color. Next, a “compensation image" was calibrated and sent to a digital projector that overlaid colored light that illuminated the paintings and restored their intended appearance, pixel by pixel
A group of art historians, conservation scientists, conservators, and scientists at Harvard, the MIT Media Lab, and the University of Basel, Switzerland, teamed up to complete the restoration and its accompanying research. The five Rothko murals will soon be ready to go back on display as part of an exhibition that will reveal the pioneering computer-based techniques used to restore the paintings’ formerly rich colors.
Visitors will be treated to a time capsule view of the illuminated canvases, now bearing their original colors. The projectors will also be turned off at least once each day, providing the opportunity to study the unadulterated canvases and to truly grasp the nature of the groundbreaking restoration.
The five Harvard Murals will be returned to their original home in the penthouse dining room of Harvard University’s Holyoke Center, in the same configuration they were first installed, fifty years ago, in 1964. A sixth Rothko completed for the project but never exhibited will also be on display, as well as related drawings and studies for a total of 38 works by the artist.
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