Sometimes we hear that an antique fresco has been uncovered and brought to light during the repair or thorough spring cleaning of an old hall or church, and this process of uncovering is especially interesting. As a rule, in order to bring out the original tones in their entirety the greatest care is required, and also a knowledge of the way in which the artist worked.
This process is analogous to the passage of every Christian Scientist from "sense to Soul" (Science and Health, p. 566), and its description may therefore prove illuminating, though it must be remembered that no material analogue can be carried beyond a certain point. In a sense, humanity may be thought of as made up of divine pictures, perfect and complete manifestations of God, expressions of His thought; but the crust of wrong thinking has so clouded and obscured the true idea of man as to make it practically invisible. As the fresco needs to be relieved of the dirt or plaster, so does human sense need to be freed from the accumulations of material thought in order that man, the true image, may be perceived.
In uncovering a wall-painting it is of primary importance to understand the character of the original, which is often so concealed as to be invisible to the casual glance. Sometimes, however, a dim outline of the under painting can be made out, and the discoverer in this case may waste much time in doubt as to the proper procedure, unless he has a definite rule by which to work and unless he fully understands the technical methods employed. A restorer uninstructed in the art may try to patch up the picture by repainting the more faulty parts as he thinks they may have been intended by the artist. Many works have been spoiled or temporarily withheld from us in this way, but such a method only adds to the accumulation which is hiding the picture, and makes the task of clearing it more prolonged and difficult.
