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But what exactly had occurred when the mural was removed from the wall? The piece was painted onto a 12 cm thick plaster wall. This wall was cut into eighteen pieces, the plaster panels were sanded down to a few millimeters and stuck onto wooden core-board. During the removal many pieces of paint got lost, especially near the cut lines. Unfortunately these small sections were not individually retouched; instead, entire areas of unaffected painting were painted over – all in all approximately 70% of it. This drastically changed the overall color impression of the mural. In addition to age-related color shifts of non-original coats of paint, a general graying has brought on a loss of luminosity and a decrease of abundance of nuances.
In addition to these invasive interventions to the original, the mural was also exposed to the influences of life in a bar for more than twentyfife years which left clearly visible marks. Even though the mural was spatially separated from the dance floor, it was in close proximity with the guests; chairs and tables were just in front of it. Since it was painted almost to the ground, much damage is to be expected especially in the lower areas. These damaged areas are presently not visible due to the newer, non-original coats of paint.
