Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1266179
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 JULY 2020 7 HERITAGE 17th century altar painting and crucifix in Siggiewi Parish Church being restored AN altar painting and a crucifix, dating back to the late 17th cen- tury executed for the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows in Siggiewi Parish Church, are undergoing major restoration and conser- vation works which are being supported by Bank of Valletta. The Golgotha Group which was executed in Rome (possibly un- der the supervision of Lorenzo Gafà), was completed in August 1700 and arrived in Malta on the 4th January 1701. This is a testimony of the dy- namics involved in the com- missioning of important art- works, directly from Rome, by a modest village community. The Siggiewi parish church, designed by Lorenzo Gafà was completed in the 1690's and the construction of the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows was exe- cuted between 1694 and 1696. Gafà was in Rome to oversee works on the titular work for St. John's Conventual Church in 1699. It is possible that at this time he was also oversee- ing the execution of the Golgo- tha Group. The painting is attributed to Michelangelo Marulli, a Mal- tese artist practicing in Rome, while the crucifix is the work of sculptor Giovanni Battista Vanelli. Emerging data sup- ports the idea of a close collab- oration between the two art- ists and indicates that Marulli polychromised the crucifix. All this information was re- visited and complemented by physical evidence during this conservation project entrusted to Agatha Grima Conservators. "The consevation project started with the gathering of informa- tion through research of exist- ing records and documents, and through thorough scientific doc- umentation" said Agatha Grima. "This documentation consists of high resolution imaging, non-in- vasive physical-optical inves- tigations, testing and analysis. The new information shed light on the original manufacturing technique, the fragile and un- stable condition of the work and the numerous previous inter- ventions which had left the orig- inal layers hidden under thick opaque layers of grime, oxidized varnish and overpaintings". With this in mind, the Con- servators formulated a tailored specific treatment, split in three phases. The treatment started off with the cleaning and re- moval of all foreign materials currently hiding the readabili- ty of the work. In the coming days, with the commencement of phase 2, the weakened can- vas and wooden support will undergo structural consolida- tion and supporting. Phase 3 will incorporate the aesthetic integration and application of protective layers. Charles Azzopardi, Execu- tive PR & Marketing at Bank of Valletta, stressed on the com- mitment of the Bank in sup- port of the local Arts & Culture sphere. "Recently acclaimed with a prestigious award by Arts Council Malta, the Bank is once again proudly support- ing another conservation pro- ject which will enhance our commitment of passing on our heritage in a better state to our future generatons". The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year.