Removal of three wall paintings

The St. Trinite Episcopal Cathedral collapsed after the earthquake on January 2010. The Smithsonian Institute contracted Viviana Dominguez, Mural Paintings Conservator and Rosa Lowinger Architecture Conservator to remove the three surviving murals.

The main nave after the earthquake.

Entrance Door

View from the Apse

The Conservation Team (from left to write): Viviana Dominguez, Wall Paintings Conservator, Rosa Lowinger, Arquitecture Conservator. Assistants: Shnyder Clerge, Franky Fontain, Jean Marie Darzin, Junior Racine, Michel Wanglish, Junior Norelus.

Three murals survived

"The Last Supper" after the January 12 2010 earquake

"Baptism of Christ" with temporary shoring

"Native Procession" by P. Duffaut under the tarp

Surface cleaning the painting with soft brushes

Doing small scale drawings

Fragment to be cut with a label

Spraying a fixative to the painted surface

Getting ready to protect the walls

Protecting the surface of Native Procession with gauze

Applying wood lattice to protect the surface

Cutting the edge of the mural fragment

Viviana chiseling from the side

Chiseling along the cracks

Junior R and Junior N consolidation of fragments
Removing one fragment (Viviana and Andris)

Viviana and Rosa bringing one fragment down

Junior Norelus applying M-90

Junior Racine and Michel removing gauze

Michel doing small repairs on the "Baptism of Christ"

Frankie removing gauze from one fragment

Fragment in stackable wood box

Fragments on trays inside container

2011 May Press Conference: Viviana with Frankie and Junior Racine

The three murals painted in 5 walls were safetly removed in 142 fragments

The last fragment to be removed was Jesus head from the "Last Supper" North Wall

In May 19th we celebrated the removal of the "Last Supper " fragments from the walls of St. Trinite Episcopal Cathedral. The process took conservators Viviana Dominguez and Rosa Lowinger with the "Hatian Dream Team" almost 6 months of work.

"Last Supper" North wall . Faced and cut before removal


Fragment from "Native Procession" after removal of facing

Chiseling "Batism of Christ"
Cutting "Last Supper" East wall
Junior with the grinder cutting "Baptsim of Christ"

Frankie removing a fragment from the "Last Supper" North wall