Disputes on the painting methods of Goguryeo murals can mainly be categorized into whether the murals adapted eastern secco or western fresco; however, the murals have their own unique methods as well. There are different viewpoints among experts on interpreting the painting methods. This study involved the creation of research samples to discover the painting methods under dispute and may help discover the methods based on scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy~SEM-EDX! studies. Goguryeo murals introduced pseudo-fresco rather than buon fresco methods. Unlike fresco techniques in the West, Goguryeo painters mixed traditional soft binders and adapted typical secco painting techniques for paintings, borders, and corrections after drying. The disputed issues may be resolved by these techniques, and samples may be produced based on the analyzed data. Therefore, many questions can finally be answered through SEM-EDX elemental mapping.

In the past, European material and method were applied to conservation of Buddhist mural paintings in Korea. At that time, there were inadequate to selection of materials in consideration of porosity and hydrophilicity, therefore insufficiency to assessing their suitability for materials. The treatment result of mural painting are dissatisfied with consolidation of painting layer using synthetic resin. Therefore, it has experimented on applying fixative for reinforcement of painting layer on Buddhist mural painting in order to establish the effects of conservation. In relationship of binder's viscosity, adhesion and penetrating depth, adhesion increased in high-viscosity specimen whereas it decreased in low-viscosity specimen. While the binder's penetrating depths show similar patterns, the surface's response and combination adjacent to painting layer have differences. Animal glue and methyl cellulose (MC) shows excellent performance in their reaction with soil and painting layer. It is estimated that the fixative penetrates deep into soil to produce a stable fixing effect. The viscosity of polyvinyl acetate resin (PVAc) and acrylic resins are low, and thus penetrates well into soil, but they adhere poorly to soil.

This study examined the production technique of bracket murals in Daeungjeon Hall, Gaeamsa Temple by conducting a analysis of their wall structure, material characteristics, and painting layers. Wall was a single-branch structure with support layer, middle layer, finishing layer, and painting layer. The support layer, middle layer and finishing layer, were produced by mixing sand (quartz, feldspars etc.), and loess. The ratio of above medium sand to below fine sand was approximately 0.7 : 9.3 in the support layer, 4 : 6 in the middle layer and 6 : 4 in the finishing layer, which had a more percentage of above medium sand than the support layer. The analysis of the painting layer showed that natural soil pigment was used to establish a relatively ground layer of up to 50 μm, and pigments such as Lead sulfate, atacamite and mercury sulfide were painted on top of the layer. This study’s results confirmed that the bracket mural paintings in Gaeamsa Temple are within the category of the production style of murals during the Joseon period. However, the points that the middle layer was formed several times, the significant difference in particle size distribution between the wall, and the absence of chopped straw in the support layer are a feature of bracket mural paintings in Gaeamsa Temple. These properties of murals as material and structure may be viewed for correlation with the degree of damage to wall structure of mural painting and would serve as an important reference to diagnosis the conservation conditions of murals or prepare conservation treatments.

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