Investigations of Painting Techniques: Edirne Süleyman Pasha Mosque Wall Paintings

Abstract

Decorative wall paintings created in the Ottoman era are called kalem işi, and they are generally created using various pigments and binding media on dry rendering, or via lime-paint technique. However, detection of some decorative wall paintings that were applied on wet plaster in Süleyman Pasha Mosque located in Edirne, Turkey, has led to a more detailed analytical examination. Our study aims to research the techniques used on some painting fragments which were found while removing cement renderings during the restoration of the Mosque. The fragments were revealed in 2019 and were taken under protection as these were stylistically different from the existing paintings of the Mosque. The original location of the fragments on the wall could not be located and in situ conservation is not possible, but research continues. Initially, traces of preparatory drawing, which is thought to be the incising technique, were found on the paintings drawn on the rendering fragments. Then, SEM-EDX, FTIR spectroscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy, and PED-XRF analyses were carried out along with examinations by optical microscopy. Following these results, experimental reconstructions of the paintings were made on test materials and a story about the painting techniques was revealed, indicating that these paintings were drawn on wet rendering (fresco). Therefore, it is considered that there may be different wall painting techniques in Ottoman architecture and that research in this direction should be increased.