How wonderful that these were preserved...I wonder if the builders of the false ceilings knew they would help preserve the paintings, or if they really wanted to hide them because they didn't like them....
The way it was explained to us, Mary, it was all about preventing smallpox. They thought that having four walls and a ceiling that were whitewashed (that they could presumably wash down) would help. It's good they didn't cover the ceiling with whitewash. They did that on the walls.
How wonderful that these were preserved...I wonder if the builders of the false ceilings knew they would help preserve the paintings, or if they really wanted to hide them because they didn't like them....
ReplyDeleteThe way it was explained to us, Mary, it was all about preventing smallpox. They thought that having four walls and a ceiling that were whitewashed (that they could presumably wash down) would help. It's good they didn't cover the ceiling with whitewash. They did that on the walls.
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