Application of Silicate Paints in the Restoration of Historical Buildings: Chapel of St. Anthony of Padua in Hršak Breg

Upotreba silikatnih boja za završnu obradu uglavnom vanjskih, ali i unutarnjih površina povijesnih građevina općeprihvaćena je u konzervatorskoj praksi već dugi niz godina, usprkos tome što se time dovode u pitanje dva temeljna konzervatorska načela: autentičnost i reverzibilnost. S obzirom na to da su silikatne boje primijenjene i prilikom obnove historicističke kapele sv. Antuna Padovanskog na Hršak Bregu kod Krapinskih Toplica, izneseni su osnovi podaci o kapeli te opisan tijek njezine cjelovite obnove 2014. i 2015. godine, posebno završna koloristička obrada površina. Nadalje tekst donosi osvrt na zastupljenost problematike bojenja vanjskih i unutarnjih površina povijesnih građevina u stručnoj literaturi. U zaključnom dijelu razmatraju se načela autentičnosti i reverzibilnosti te opravdanost i prihvatljivost primjene silikatnih boja u obnovi povijesnih građevina, koje nisu bilo izvorno njima obojene.The use of silicate paints for the final treatment of mostly exterior but also interior surfaces of historical buildings has widely been accepted in conservation practice for many years, despite the fact that it brings into question two conservation principles – authenticity and reversibility. Given that silicate paints were used in the renovation of the Historicist chapel of St. Anthony of Padua in Hršak Breg near Krapinske Toplice, some basic information about the chapel is given here, with an account of its comprehensive restoration in 2014 and 2015 and special emphasis on the final colouristic treatment of exterior and interior surfaces. The first part of the text brings an account of the historical continuity of the chapel of St. Anthony of Padua, as according to historical and topographical sources, an older chapel once stood at the site of the existing Historicist one. This is followed by a description of the chapel architecture and furnishings. A valorization is made of the chapel in the context of the great wave of Historicist renovations of church buildings, which swept across Hrvatsko Zagorje after the devastating earthquake of 1880 that brought down many historical buildings. A description is given of the poor condition in which the chapel was found during field trips in the period from 2010 to 2014 because of the damage caused by harmful workings of the atmosphere and a lack of maintenance. An account is given of the course of its comprehensive restoration in 2014–2015. Special emphasis is put on the final colouristic treatment of exterior and interior wall surfaces, where silicate paints were used for the fa軋des and sodium silicate for the inner walls. This is continued with a review of how the subject of the painting of exterior and interior surfaces of historical buildings is represented in professional literature, including the views of leading scholars in the field of cultural heritage protection. The use of silicate paints for the final treatment of mostly exterior but also interior surfaces of historical buildings has been widely accepted in conservation practice for many years, owing to its comparative advantages in terms of durability, endurance, and consequently efficiency, and is therefore applied with almost no exception in the Krapina-Zagorje County, as argued by the examples mentioned. As a conclusion, the principles of authenticity and reversibility are examined, and weather it is justifiable and acceptable to use silicate paints when renovating historical buildings, if these were originally not used