We return the paintings of the church of Sant Climent de Taüll to their place of origin. We have restored and restituted the paintings of the apse and the presbytery, one of the most important jewels of the Catalan Romanesque and that are currently preserved in the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).
We have designed an installation adapted to the Taüll church structure that recreates the frescoes and explains the painting technique through a permanent mapping projection.
With 6 high-definition projectors integrated into the church space, the visitor can see both the original paintings and a complete recreation of the iconography that decorated the apse.
The audiovisual title, Taull1123, refers to the name of the church and the time when it was consecrated, and consists of three parts. The first part shows the paintings on the walls of the church, the second part reveals the paintings preserved in the MNAC and the final part immerses the viewer in the recreation of the paintings in the central apse of the church.
The projected image has been designed in such a way that it fits perfectly with the original remains in the church and the soundtrack transports the visitor emotionally to the time when the painting was created. The audiovisual presentation helps the audience to understand the pictorial technique of Romanesque frescoes and at the same time discovers the different iconographic representations that make up this mural with a high artistic and religious significance.
In order to achieve the goal of the mapping and show the visitor the paintings as they were in 1123, we have digitally restored the preserved remains and recreated the parts that have been lost.
The final recreation of the mural has been done from the preserved original remains as they provide a lot of information on their own: small details and large fragments of the curtains, the borders and the characters for example. The representation of the painting has been made digitally following the painting technique of the Romanesque, from the application of basic colors, to the shadows and the black and white profiles.
The process of musical creation has undergone extensive musicological research to reflect the instrumental and compositional aspects characteristic of the Middle Ages.
The research was followed by an artisanal work of instrumentation, composition and development of digital tools. The result is a soundtrack based on the sounds of the XII and XXI centuries that strikes a balance between medieval and contemporary music.
The mapping brings two major technical challenges: minimising the visual impact of technology on the church and achieving the highest level of image quality.
Also it is necessary to match and fit the remains of the apse with the originals kept in the MNAC museum.
The technical process is decisive on the number and position of the video projectors that cover the central apse. It is determined to place six projectors hidden from the audience sight with different optics and positions in order to reach the concave geometry of the apse and in order to mix the images appropriately.
From here, a virtual copy of the apse of Sant Climent de Taüll is made with great precision, taking into account the geometry and also the texture. At the same time, high-resolution photographs of MNAC’s originals are taken with the aim of merging everything into a single 3D model.
Project and Visual Production:
Burzon*Comenge
Project and Technical Production:
Eloi Maduell. Playmodes
Sound Track:
Santi Vilanova. Playmodes
Illustrators:
Albert Burzon
Xavi Mula
Animation:
Albert Burzon
Eloi Maduell
3D Modeling:
Carlos Padial
3D Scanning:
Captae
Photography and Textures:
Josep Giribet. Calidos
Idea and project managers :
Eva Tarrida i Sugrañes. Architect
Eduard Riu-Barrera. Archeologist
Albert Sierra i Reguera. Historician
Pere Rovira i Pons. Restoration
Jordi Camps i Sòria. Conservation
Architect:
Montserrat Cucurella-Jorba.
Light Design:
Antonio Sáinz. Haz Luz 17
Paint Restoration:
Mercè Marquès. Krom
Archeological Studies:
Isidre Pastor
Maite Rovira
Electrical Engineering:
RC Enginyers