The Clarion

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: courtesey of http://www.du.edu/art/galleries/myhren/news.htm The mural by John E. Thompson was covered by five layers of paint. [Click to enlarge]

Who would have guessed that Juliet Capulet and Shakespeare himself have been lurking in Margery Reed Hall?

DU Art!, a volunteer membership organization that supports the DU School of Art and Art History, hosted a panel Sunday about a mural in the Little Theater in Margery Reed Hall that has been hidden for 70 years under five layers of paint - black, purple and several rust colors.

"We were alerted to the possible existence of this mural by DU's newspaper The Source," said Dan Jacobs, curator of university art collections. The Source is the university newspaper published by the Office of Communications and Marketing.

In March 2007, conservator Lisa Capano completed a preliminary test of the proscenium and confirmed the mural's existence.

The mural shows several of Shakespeare's most famous characters, including Juliet dressed in a gold-colored gown against a background of a garden. King Lear, regal in a golden robe, and Lady Macbeth are thought to be depicted beneath the black paint still left on the mural. Centered directly above the stage, between the black stripes, a gilded portrait of Shakespeare grins down at the audience from its perch.

Artist and DU professor of art John E. Thompson painted the work in 1929. The mural was of both local and national interest: stories about its conception were published in the Denver Post as well as the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal.

Thus far, about 40 percent of the mural has slowly emerged as conservators scrupulously remove the layers of paint. What is particularly startling is that the mural was painted over only 13 months after its completion.

Pre-art-conservation majors Stefani Shulte and Nicole Saint have helped conservator Capano unearth the mural.

"The process is really painstakingly slow," said Capano. "You have to have passion; you have to love what you do."

Part of what has kept the conservationists working is the desire to honor Thompson's legacy.

Continued...

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