Component Materials, 3D Digital Restoration, and Documentation of the Imperial Gates from the Wooden Church of Voivodeni, Sălaj County, Romania

Abstract

The wooden churches from Transylvania, Romania, are a unique and representative cultural heritage asset for rural communities, both in terms of architecture and the style of painting that defines them as monuments of national heritage. These churches are in danger of degradation because rural communities are beginning to abandon them for various motives (e.g., they are too small, are expensive to maintain, or are being replaced by modern churches, built of stone and modern materials). The reason behind their accelerated degradation is that they are covered with shingles that need to be periodically changed and repaired to prevent water from reaching the inner painting layer, a process that is, in many cases, ignored. Imperial gates are the symbol of these churches and separate the nave from the narthex. They are made entirely out of wood and were sculpted and painted manually by skilled craftsmen and still represent the central element of these churches, in terms of art and aesthetics. The digital preservation of these heritage assets is an interdisciplinary undertaking, which begins with the physico-chemical analysis of the pigments in the painting layer, continues with three-dimensional (3D) digitization of the monument and of the objects of interest (such as the imperial gates), and finishes with a digital restoration of these monuments and artefacts. This paper presents a working methodology, successfully applied in digitizing and digitally restoring imperial gates from wooden churches in Transylvania, namely from the wooden church of Voivodeni, Sălaj County, Romania (Transylvania region). X-ray fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopy were used to determine the pigments in the painting layer of these artefacts, and after they were identified, they were synthesized in laboratory conditions. The resulting color was digitized and used for digitally restoring the artefact(s) to its (their) pristine condition. To popularize these cultural heritage assets, the authors make use of virtual reality to mediate the interaction between the general public and heritage objects in their current state of preservation, in a digital environment. Moreover, to showcase how these heritage objects were degraded over time, a digitally restored version of the artefact in pristine condition is presented alongside a version in its current state (as is, digitized, but not yet digitally restored).

Exploration of a virtual restoration practice route for architectural heritage based on evidence-based design: a case study of the Bagong House

“…The introduction of digital restoration technology into the field of heritage conservation has become a common aim among scholars from various countries, whether in paper-cut patterns [ 24 ], clothing [ 25 ], other movable areas, the Great Wall [ 26 ], the Terracotta Warriors and Horses [ 27 ], frescos [ 28 , 29 ], wooden churches [ 30 ], ancient sites [ 31 ], and watchtowers [ 32 ]. Therefore, the application of digital restoration to architectural heritage is the topic of this article.…”

Alternative mitigating solutions based on inorganic nanoparticles for the preservation of cultural heritage

“…Most of the previous Romanian works investigated the microbial communities colonizing different Romanian heritage objects from wood, stone, or from the museum and library collections or evaluated the degradation level of different objects but not the alternative preservation treatment solutions based on NPs (Budrugeac et al, 2007;Budrugeac et al, 2014;Budrugeac et al, 2017;Lupan et al, 2014;Georgescu et al, 2016;Gomoiu et al, 2016;Gomoiu et al, 2016;Ilies et al, 2018a;Ilies et al, 2018b;IIies et al, 2021;Indrie et al, 2019;Onet et al, 2020;Neamtu et al, 2021).…”

The Use of Mixed, Augmented and Virtual Reality in History of Art Teaching: A Case Study

“…By way of example, Aldridge and Bethel [54] investigated the feasibility of patients with brain injuries participating in virtual art therapies. On another note, Chih-Long et al [55] analyzed an experience of appreciating artistic painting through several VR types and compared it with the appreciation of a physical painting. Panciroli et al [56] directly focused on AR-assisted education about art.…”