Luca’s “Holy Face” restores color – History Blog

Volto Santo of Lucca is one of the oldest known surviving wooden sculptures in Europe, which has been restored to its original versatility. In the 17th century, a black robe and brown flesh tones were then painted with a layer of pigmented wax, the figure of Christ and the round conical figure behind him were dull and dark, with the highest quality covering pigment of Lapis lazuli lazuli blue and gold.

The crucifix at St. Martin’s Cathedral in Lucca is the first radiocarbon in 2020, thanks to modern technology that makes the samples so small that bringing them to the holy relics is not considered a victim. Scholars have long believed that although its origins were taken to Luca after a miraculous boat trip from the Holy Land in 782, it was actually a 12th-century copy installed in the Cathedral in 1070. The results of radiocarbon prove that the legendary results are closer to scholarship than the facts.

In 2022, experts from the multi-stained wooden sculpture restoration department from Opificio Delle Pietre Dure begin a complex recovery process. It begins with a year of diagnostic analysis and then carefully removes Christ from the cross. This was done without damaging any part and was first exposed to six oaks and cedar pins anchored the statue to the cross.

Sacred faces, including head and legs – carved from single logs of walnut. The head that extends from the body is carved from a part of the trunk to the roots of the tree. The legs correspond to the part facing the leaves. The entire length of Christ is hollowed out at the back, just like the norm of wooden sculptures, by reducing its thickness and thus reducing the destructive expansion of the wood, the neck of the neck is closed by a wooden cover that was previously covered with red fabric, which might be placed in it. The cross is made of two different woods: the vertical arms are made of chestnuts, while the horizontal arms are made of white spruce.

Once all parts of the figure, the cross and the Nebus are fully accessible, the restorator starts removing the wax and paint. The flesh of Christ’s face and hands appeared under the brown color, with incredible gold painted ornaments painted around the bottom of the sleeves. His hair and beard ranged from almost black to light brown, and his robe was a rich blue color of Lapis Lazuli paint. There is also a lapis lazuli blue on the cross and a red border. Another surprise found on the cross is the golden leaf “Alpha and Omega” in Greek.

The most unique element in the statue restored by the restorator’s hand is the glass-paste eyes. The great and sadness of Christ, the rumbled eyes were made by restoring Roman glass. This is the only wooden sculpture known from this period with original glass eyes.

Although dark blue students can already see it, the white sclera is covered with 19th-century zinc-white paint, which has been removed. On the left eye, there is a gap in the sclera and is integrated with the resin for intervention. Intervention allows the gaze of the holy face that can be restored to its profound expression.

The semicircular shape of the large cone (date still under study) surrounding the Bible (about 240 cm in diameter) is also covered with thick dark layers, identified as the changing vegetable gum. Now admirable: on the wooden support are 14 silver plates of relief and chisels, with angel’s golden relief ribs, situated on 384 very intense Emerald green and ruby ​​red glass paste gemstones, with four plates of silver flowers in the center. Attached to the lower end are two gold-plated copper foil lilies.

On September 13, the restored Holy Face was sent back to the public display of the cathedral. It will remain in this position until next summer, after which it will be permanently relocated to the “Little Temple”, an octagonal church designed by Matteo civitali in 1484 to showcase the Holy Face, which is currently restoring its own recovery.