The large baroque crucifix that hangs above the altar of the chapel of the blessed sacrament, also known as the chapel of the crucifix, at the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin in Tarxien is in its initial stage of restoration. The pictures on the left show the process.

The crucifix which is sculpted in wood and beautifully polychromed dates to the late 17th century. It was traditionally attributed to Melchiorre’ Gafa’ or the school of Melchiorre’ Gafa’, mostly because of the particular details such as the flow of the hair as well as the facial types which do point to possible analogies with the work of the artist. However, the actual artist remains unknown.

The work shows the final moments of Christ on the cross; the body is placed in a slight contrapposto with the slight turn of the torso being counteracted by the uplifted head. A sense of drama is mostly enhanced in the face where the upturned eyes and the slightly open mouth emphasise Christ’s suffering. Heavy folds are used for the perizonium, the flow of the folds are brought to a knot on the left side of the body. The anatomy of the body is executed with great sensitivity which clearly shows the masterful ability of the artist; the modelling of the hands and torso are testimony of this.

The sculpture is in a structurally stable condition but the wood has specific areas of biological infestation. The originally polychromy was unfortunately corrupted by numerous layers of varnish and pigment together with embedded dirt. This had completely transformed the original character of this important sculpture. There were also areas where the original pigment was lifting. The conservation treatment includes the process of documentation, consolidation, integration, cleaning and the aesthetic recapture of the original characteristics of the statue.