Hill conservator restoring murals in Capitol Building

by ED MAHON

Chestnut Hill art conservator Steve Erisoty never had his fingerprints taken or his background checked until his latest job in Washington D.C. For a week at the end of June, Erisoty worked with five art conservators to restore murals in the Washington Capitol Building.   

Erisoty, wearing a magnifying visor and holding a surgeon’s scalpel, chipped away repaint, discolored varnish, and dirt from a mural by the 19th century painter Constantino Brumidi, known to historians as the “Michelangelo of the Capitol Building.”  

The work was at times challenging, and also dangerous.  Because the originals were done with lead paint, Erisoty had to wear a dust mask, rubber gloves, and a Tyvek jump suit. Erisoty worked in the Senate Appropriations Committee Meeting Room; hence the need for security clearance. 

However, Erisoty didn’t bump into any famous senators, since most of them were on vacation. The project will take about a year to finish, not only because of the difficulty of conserving the pictures, but also because of the difficulty in scheduling, since senators still use the room.

The plaster walls had been covered in decorated paint, divided into separate panels about 8 feet tall and between four and 10 feet wide. Each panel appeared to have been painted with classical images of women on a hunter green background. The ceiling was also painted with classical images. When the conservators chipped away at layers, they were surprised to discover that the original color was not hunter green, but sky blue.

“The figures look like they’re floating in the blue sky, “ Erisoty said, “They look absolutely beautiful.”

The change from hunter green to sky blue may seem strange, but Erisoty explained how this happened. Originally, Brumidi varnished over the blue paint on the walls.  When the varnish aged, it turned yellow, making the painting appear to have a greenish background. Dirt accumulated, so it was first repainted a pale green.

“Years go by, more dirt, more varnish, and more discoloration occur,” Erisoty said explaining why more repaints were needed. And as years went by, painters used darker green colors to make the figures easier to see. 

Different sections of the mural have been repainted between three and five times over the 150 years since the original painting. Scalpeling through these layers was no easy task.

“It’s a slow process,” Erisoty said, “It’s very challenging because usually you’re not removing as much repaint.”

“It’s very challenging, trying to get better. You don’t want to hurt the original.  You want to keep up the speed, but maintain the safety,” he added.

Although much work is still needed on the entire room, the conservators made dramatic improvements on certain panels.

“This project’s very rewarding because the difference is so dramatic,” said Erisoty, “And I’ve been told that the senators who have seen it are very excited. Barring accidental damage, [the paintings] should be fine for at least 20 years.”

The Italian-American Brumidi is most famous for the Brumidi Corridors—the richly painted hallways on the first floor of the Senate wing in the Capitol Building.  The decorative wall paintings were designed by Brumidi and executed by him and painters of many nationalities. Brumidi, born in 1805, left his native country and immigrated to America because of political upheavals in Rome. He arrived in New York City in 1852 and became a United States citizen five years later. 

In 1855 he was hired to begin work on the Capitol, which had hosted the Senate and House of Representatives since 1800 and 1807 respectively. In 1856 the classically trained artist began creating designs for the Senate corridors, based on a loggia by Raphael in the Vatican. Those who hired Brumidi had envisioned a similar decorative plan for the Capitol, with the walls displaying classical images and symbolic representations of American culture. The corridors were painted in a variety of techniques, including tempera, oil, and fresco.

Barbara Ramsey and Christina Cunningham Adams are the two women who put a bid together to perform this restoration of Brumidi’s work. Ramsey and Erisoty had worked together on a project at a Wilmington bank a few years earlier. They contacted Erisoty because they wanted additional help, and they have asked him to reserve time in August to continue the work, so he may be going back soon. 

Erisoty would be happy to go back, but he wouldn’t have much time for sight- seeing since the restoration work is so tiring. Erisoty is also busy working on a variety of paintings from private institutions and private owners.

The 45-year-old Connecticut native has Greek, and like Brumidi, Italian origins.  He majored in art conservation at the University of Delaware, which may be the only university in the United States to offer such a major. He graduated in 1980 and then earned a master’s degree in art conservation at the State University of New York in Cooperstown, one of only three schools in the country to offer such a graduate degree. The Cooperstown program has since moved to Buffalo State College. (The others are NYU and Winterthur through the University of Delaware.). His studies consisted of courses in art history, chemistry, and art.

Erisoty spent two years, one as an intern, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“I love Philadelphia.  It’s a vital, interesting city. There are wonderful cultural opportunities to take advantage of here,” Erisoty said.

Regarding the art museum, he said, “It’s one of the best museums in the country.”

Currently, Erisoty works in Chestnut Hill on Bethlehem Pike, where he receives paintings, painted furniture and other painted art objects in need of restoration.

His equipment includes a hot table used for attaching new layers of canvas to paintings and a surgeon’s microscope. His favorite painters are Vermeer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt.  In addition to restoring paintings, Erisoty also paints himself, though he hasn’t done much recently.

 Erisoty is part of the Art Conservators Alliance—a group of independent, experienced professionals with expertise in the care and repair of art and archival materials on paper, three dimensional objects, and paintings. You can check out their website at www.ArtConservatorAlliance.com.  Erisoty can be reached at 215-753-8808.