Amongst the interesting collection of paintings housed within the Church of Our Lady of Victory, is the canvas painting representing the Holy Virgin with Child, found at the foot of the titular painting of St Philip Neri, on the first altar by the right side. This restoration and conservation was made possible with the support of PwC Malta.
This painting is a copy after Carlo Maratta (1625-1713). The original painting is found at the Pinacoteca Vaticana. The figures of the Holy Virgin and Child are depicted closely entwined together and the composition unequivocally leads our attention toward a meditative encounter with the infant Jesus. The infant Jesus is depicted looking towards the viewer, while the Virgin has a serene gaze, as if in contemplation, looking slightly away from the viewer. The theme of the Virgin and Child was always prevalent throughout the centuries, however, most significant in the Middle ages and Renaissance and remained popular up to the present days.
An interesting feature of this painting is the coat of arms of Fra Wolfgang Philippus von Guttenberg (1647-1733), depicted beneath the Holy Virgin and Child. Fra Philip Wolfgang von Guttenberg, is thus, in most probability, the donor of the painting. It is therefore likely that the painting was executed between the late 17th century and early 18th century. Fra Wolfgang Philippus von Guttenberg was Bailiff of Brandenburg and a notable dignitary of the Order of St. John who lived in Malta for sixty-three years and contributed to several landmarks in Malta. In fact, a small mezzo-busto portrait of this great benefactor of the order, still hangs within the sacristy of Our Lady of Victory Church, over its dedicatory plaque.
State of conservation and past interventions
The painting of the Holy Virgin and Child was in a very poor condition and examinations revealed that it was also subjected to amateurish forms of restoration.
The strainer, onto which the oil-painted canvas was stretched, was structurally unstable, exhibiting open joints, fractures, as well as rusted metal nails which were further weakening the strainer. Insect flight holes in the strainer indicated that this had suffered from insect attack, whilst dust accumulation filled the space between the strainer support and the stretched canvas, causing some deformations along the lower area of the painting.
Attached to the verso of the canvas were several textile and 'duct tape' patches concealing tears and stuccoed losses in the canvas support. With regard to the ground and paint layers, these exhibited various signs of deterioration including lacunae, craquelure, cupping, lifted paint, retouched infills and flaking paint.
Conservation-restoration treatments
Subsequent to the preliminary analysis using non-invasive techniques such as raking light, ultraviolet flourecence and infra-red reflectography, which helped in gaining a better understanding of the manufacturing technique and state of conservation, the paint layer was faced. Facing or the attachment of Japanese paper to the paint layer using a suitable adhesive, ensured that any unstable areas of the paint and preparatory layers were not lost during handling and treatment.
The canvas painting was then dismantled from its strainer. Dust, grime and encrustations were cleaned off the canvas' verso using dry cleaning methods such as soft brushes, wishabs and scalpels.
Once the canvas' verso was cleaned, the tacking margins of the canvas support were gradually flattened using localised pressure, heat and moisture. When introducing moisture it is imperative for the conservator to test the sensitivity of the canvas support to moisture since this can cause considerable shrinkage. Areas in which the paint layer was overlapping on the tacking margins, were faced as well, making sure that unstable paint was not lost during handling and treatment.
Losses of the canvas support, including those which were in filled with gesso, were inlayed using a linen canvas having the same thickness of that of the original. Losses in the canvas should always be inlayed using a canvas as similar as possible to the original. Gesso should not be used for infilling lacunae in the canvas support (as was done in this case in a previous intervention).Different materials have different properties and would react differently to climatic changes, thus creating stresses in the painting.
For the above procedure, the shapes of the lacunae in the original canvas were traced onto the prepared canvas and then carefully cut and positioned in their place within the original canvas. It was made sure that the threads of the prepared canvas were perfectly aligned with those of the original canvas .Once positioned in place, the inlays were fixed using a synthetic adhesive having the desired properties.
Even though lacunae were inlayed and the surface was improved, however due to the original canvas being fairly oxidised, weak, rigid and having deteriorated tacking margins as well as exhibiting lack of adhesion between the various strata, relining was considered to be the best option. Relining involves the attachment of a new canvas support, to the verso of the original deteriorated canvas, using a suitable adhesive in order to reinforce the original support as well as improve the adhesion between the preparatory / paint layers and the original canvas. A closed-weave linen canvas, similar in texture to the original, was chosen for the re-lining process and a synthetic adhesive was used. Unlike organic adhesives, the latter is not susceptible to biodeterioration.
Once the painting was relined, the next step was that of restretching it. Since its original strainer was too deteriorated to be used again, a new auxiliary support i.e. a stretcher frame, was manufactured. The advantage of a stretcher frame over a strainer, is that one would be able to maintain the painting under tension without the need to dismantle the painting. The new stretcher frame was made from tulip wood. In conservation, this type of wood is chosen in preference over other types of wood mainly because of its good qualities.
Once restretched, the facing (protective paper) covering the paint layer, was removed. At this point, the paint and preparatory layers were well adhered to each other and to the canvas support. Thus it was safe to proceed with cleaning of the oxidised varnish layer which was obscuring the the paint layer. Preliminary cleaning trials were done along the periphery of the painting using cotton-swabs and examined under ultraviolet flourescence, so as to determine the most effective cleaning agent. Old retouchings and overpaint were also removed during this treatment, thus uncovering the original tonalities of the painting.
Lacunae in the paint layer were then infilled using gesso. These were levelled and textured, imitating the painting's surface. Texturing of gesso infills helps in obtaining a homogeneous surface which is therefore more aesthetically pleasing. Followingly, an intermediate layer of varnish was applied to the paint surface and major infills were then integrated using the tratteggio spezzato technique and reversible varnish colours. Tratteggio (including derivatives of this technique) is a system of integrating infills by drawing coloured vertical lines put successively in layers until the desired colour is achieved. When viewed from a distance, these layers of lines, form the colour (or pattern) that integrates the lacunae with the original. This kind of retouching makes the image more legible and at the same time recognizable to the observer from close-by.
Finally, a thin, synthetic and reversible protective coating of varnish was applied by means of a spray-gun to primarily protect the paint layer from mechanical damage, such as abrasions and from deteriorating agents including dust and pollutants.
Acknowledgments
With special thanks to senior conservator, Mr. Anthony Spagnol for his advice and constant support, and to wood conservator, Mr. Michael Formosa for the manufacturing of the stretcher frame.
Amy Sciberras is a Conservator-Restorer who, together with her colleague Sarah Yeomans Gafa', will be conducting a two-day restoration-conservation workshop at the Church of Our Lady of Victory, on 14 and 15 November. This activity, is being organised by the Youth Section of Din L-Art Helwa, in the run up to the Din l-Art Ħelwa's 50th Anniversary, with the kind support of the Hon. Evarist Bartolo and the Ministry for Education. The workshop will throw light on the general care and conservation of collections and cultural heritage so as to raise awareness among the general public, especially the young, regarding the importance of preserving our national patrimony. Schoolchildren from age 6 to 16 are invited to attend together with their parents and persons interested in conservation / restoration of paintings. Attendence is free of charge but donations to Din l-Art Ħelwa' will be appreciated. For further information, kindly contact Our Lady of Victory Church Custodian, Mario Sciberras on (+356) 99637409.
Guttenberg is particularly remembered for the auspices he extended to the Church of St Francis in Rabat, Malta and for being one of the main benefactors of the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy (tal-Madonna tal-Ħniena) in Qrendi.
Infra-red reflectography is a non-invasive techniquewhich gives the possibility of revealing various information, including underdrawings and pentimentiin paintings.
Japanese paper is a thin, strong paper made from vegetable fibres.
This high quality wood is in fact very light but very strong and is also structurally stable due to not having knots.