This image by Laura Sbordoni Mora depicts course participants during the preparation of wall paintings at ICCROM premises in 1972.
It was taken during the second regular International Course on Mural Painting Conservation, held in Rome. Directed by Paolo Mora and Laura Sbordoni Mora, this course began in 1968 in collaboration with the Istituto Centrale del Restauro (ICR).
During the course, participants had to reproduce wall paintings from different cultures around the world to learn about mural painting materials and techniques. In addition, practical work was undertaken in selected palaces or churches in Rome. In the 1970s, fieldwork was carried out in Palazzo Farnese on its 16th-century frescoes: the Ceiling of Camerino with stories of Hercules by Annibale Carracci (in 1971-1972) and the Salon des Fastes Farnésiens by Salvati and Zuccari (in 1975).
At the time, this course addressed the need for training on the conservation of mural paintings. Similarly, the absence of appropriate didactic texts on this subject prompted Paul Philippot (then ICCROM Director-General) along with Paolo and Laura Mora to write a seminal work in the field: La conservation des peintures murales (1977). A publication which deals with the history of the mural painting techniques, causes of deterioration and treatments. It was used as a primary reference during the Mural Painting Conservation Course, together with the Mora Samples Collection, which not only had a research scope but also an important didactic component for course participants, who could acquire first-hand knowledge on the materials and techniques used in mural painting in different countries and cultures.
Documentation on the Mural Painting Conservation Course from 1968 to 1998 is available in ICCROM Archives.