In 2008, Spanish microbiologist Pilar Bosch was searching for a PhD topic when she came across a paper suggesting that bacteria could be utilised in art restoration a field closely related to her mother's expertise.
At the same time, her mother, Pilar Roig, was grappling with the restoration of 18th-century paintings by Antonio Palomino in one of Valencia's oldest churches, Santos Juanes. She was particularly challenged by the glue used to detach the frescoes from the walls during a restoration in the 1960s.
"My mother had a very difficult problem to solve, and I found a paper about bacteria used to clean frescoes in Italy," Bosch, now 42, explained. This discovery inspired her PhD research. More than a decade later, the mother-daughter duo has partnered on a €4-million ($4.46-million) project, funded by local foundations, to apply these innovative techniques in Valencia.
According to NDTV, Bosch has been training bacteria by feeding them samples of the animal collagen glue, allowing the bacteria to produce enzymes that degrade it. The team then mixes these bacteria with a natural algae-based gel, which is applied to the paintings that were removed and reattached in the 1960s while still covered in glue. After three hours, the gel is taken off, revealing the glue-free artwork
"In the past, we used to work in a horrible manual way, with warm water and sponges that took hours and damaged the painting," Roig, now 75, said, noting that art conservation runs in the family her father and grandfather also worked in the field. Bosch added, "It certainly runs in the family," as they supervised the restoration in matching lab coats.
Bosch has also implemented her bacterial restoration techniques in Italy, specifically in Pisa and Monte Cassino, as well as in Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. She is now training different types of bacteria to help remove spray-painted graffiti from walls, showcasing the versatile applications of her research.