Tarxien paintings by Pietro Gagliardi and Francesco Zahra restored
Tarxien parish church, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin, was recently reunited with three of its paintings that were fully conserved and restored by PrevArti Co. Ltd. These include Francesco Zahra’s (1710-1773) work depicting The Virgin of the Rosary with Saints Dominic and Catherine of Siena, painted in 1770, and Pietro Gagliardi’s (1809-1890) The Annunciation of the Virgin and The Virgin of Christian Doctrine, both executed roughly a century later in 1874 and which bear his signature.
Gagliardi’s Annunciation holds pride of place as the parish’s titular altarpiece, while his oval sottoquadro of The Virgin of Christian Doctrine adorns the bottom of Zahra’s Virgin of the Rosary altarpiece in the southern transept.
Even in its original state, before conservation efforts, Gagliardi’s Annunciation stood out as one of his finest works on the island. The painting represents the Virgin at the lower right corner of the painting, dressed in a vibrant red dress, a blue mantle and a white veil, her gaze lowered as she receives the divine message from the Archangel Gabriel, who enters the scene from the middle left, adorned in white and gold. Despite technically being a modern work of art, it exudes a heightened sweetness very characteristic of Gagliardi’s style. This tranquillity is evoked through the luminosity of the palette, the gentle nuances of colour and tone – particularly the soft lilacs and yellows – the openness of the space in which figures and objects are placed, and the graceful movements of the figures, particularly as the Virgin serenely accepts the message from Gabriel, who descends gracefully upon a soft cloud.
Notably, the upper portion of the painting opens up to a celestial realm in the shape of a lozenge – another characteristic of Gagliardi’s works – from which emerges the white dove representing the Holy Spirit, while winged cherubs playfully engage with this divine presence. At the bottom left of the composition, on the side of a cushioned stool, is the coat of arms of the Abela family, patrons of the altarpiece, while at the bottom right are the date and signature of the artist.
Unfortunately, the painting had not only suffered from a deteriorated, yellowed and darkened varnish layer, but also from very severe cracking of the paint layer, the type of which is commonly referred to in conservation as ‘cupping’ due to the raised curved edges at the cracks in the paint, causing the appearance of cups. This phenomenon was most accentuated using a diagnostic technique known as raking light wherein light is shone at the surface of the painting from an extreme oblique angle to assess the condition of both the painting and the canvas support. Thus, apart from the severe cracking in the paint, it was also apparent that the canvas had sagged under its own weight throughout the years, causing it to appear deformed, especially at the upper corners.
Viewing the painting under ultraviolet fluorescence revealed that the painting had not undergone major retouching during past interventions.
Additionally, both the canvas and the stretcher frame were found to be in a weakened state of preservation.
The conservation procedure began by securing those areas in the paint layer that were raised the most by using acid-free Japanese paper in a process known as localised facing. The painting was then turned face down and dismounted from its strainer frame – this was replaced by a newly constructed stretcher of the same dimensions.
The back of the canvas was superficially cleaned from dust, dirt and accumulated debris, especially at the lower end of the painting. This was followed by the consolidation of the canvas wherein adhesive was administered to the back of the canvas to provide the fibres with additional structural integrity.
Considering the large dimensions of the canvas and the weight it bears, it was necessary to line the support with new canvas, adhering it to the back, to provide further strength. This process was facilitated by means of a low-pressure table that administered controlled heat and pressure throughout the lined painting.
While on the low-pressure table, the issue of the raised cracks was addressed. These were lowered by applying low pressure on them, successfully re-adhering the raised paint to the canvas support, in effect obtaining a smoother surface less liable to potential losses of the image.
The cleaning process carried out on the surface of the painting to remove its deteriorated dark varnish layer revealed just how clearer and vibrant Gagliardi’s tonalities and hues actually are. Cleaning was carried out using cotton swabs with a weak solvent, carefully removing the varnish and dirt one section at a time.
After restretching the painting onto its new stretcher frame, losses in the paint layer were infilled using gesso and aesthetically reintegrated with the rest of the composition using reversible techniques and stable materials.
The second of Gagliardi’s paintings, that of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine, represents the three-quarter-length figure of the Virgin, dressed in a similar manner to that depicted in the titular altarpiece, seated on a golden throne – the right side of which bears Gagliardi’s signature and date. On either side of the Virgin are pairs of winged cherub heads upon clouds, and
“Arguably one of Zahra’s more successful compositions
descending upon her is the Holy Spirit. She holds in her hands a book with pages quoting Latin verses from Old Testament poetry books, namely Psalm 33:12 on the left, and Ecclesiastes: 32:18 on the right. The verse from the psalm reads “Venite, filii, audite me; timorem Domini docebo vos”, which translates to ‘Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord’. The verse from Ecclesiastes – in fact only the first half of which – reads “Qui timet Dominum excipiet doctrinam ejus”, which translates to ‘He that feareth the Lord, will receive his discipline’.
In a similar way to the titular painting, this sottoquadro also exhibited a darkened deteriorated varnish layer, as well detaching paint and some losses. The raised areas in the paint layer were consolidated by means of administering the appropriate consolidant between the paint and the canvas support using a syringe mounted with a needle. By carefully smoothening the treated areas using a heated spatula, the paint was made to re-adhere to the canvas. Moreover, the varnish was cleaned with weak solvent, effectively revealing Gagliardi’s true hues and tonalities.
Francesco Zahra’s altarpiece of the Virgin of the Rosary with Sts Dominic and Catherine of Siena, dated 1770 at the bottom right, is arguably one of Zahra’s more successful compositions, notable for the artist’s excellent rendition of illusionistic space, within which his busy scene fits nicely. Although Zahra restrained his palette to a few colours, mostly using blue, red and yellows, he was able to produce a vibrant yet chromatically unified work.
The central figures of the Virgin and Child enthroned are bathed by light that enters the apsidal space from overhead. They offer rosary beads to the saints, dressed in their Dominican habits, situated lower on either side of the Virgin, recalling traditional pyramidal compositions used throughout the Renaissance and baroque styles. Surrounding
the scene – as is typical of the traditional iconography of the Virgin of the Rosary – are five sets of scenes each representing the (at the time) three mysteries of the Rosary, namely those of Joy, Sorrow and Glory.
Prior to conservation, the painting was found to be in a fair state of preservation. It had been treated during past interventions wherein various pieces of fabric patches and strips were attached to the back of the canvas to mend tears. Moreover, retouching had been applied to various losses in the painting, most of which was observed around the periphery. A new coat of varnish had also been applied to the surface of the painting.
Under raking light, it was observed that the paint layer and canvas were in a rather good condition (as opposed to Gagliardi’s titular), wherein the texture of the paint was found to be normal, and deformations were very minimal. The examination was useful, however, in the identification of previously infilled and retouched losses that had a different depth and texture to the rest of the original paint. Prominent deformations were observed above the heads of the Virgin and Child, attributed to the attachment of metal crowns that pierced the canvas.
The painting was initially dismounted from its stretcher frame. This was found to be in a weakened state, and thus, the crossbars were replaced with newly constructed ones. Bevelling was added to the inside edge of the stretcher frame, and expandable stretcher bars were inserted at all the corners of the frame.
The fabric patches and strips that had been applied at the back during previous interventions were carefully removed by means of a weak solvent and a scalpel blade, using chemical and mechanical action to act on the adhesive. The back of the painting was then superficially cleaned from dust and dirt, and consolidated with the appropriate consolidant.
Strips of canvas were then adhered to the edges of the canvas in a process known as strip lining. This reinforces the tacking of the painting while addressing the issue of deformations without the need of a full canvas lining.
The cleaning process on the front of the painting revealed the original brighter tonalities of the colours used. Cleaning of previously executed retouching showed that this was mostly executed at the outer areas of the painting, with minimal reconstructions in the main figures of the image. After infilling and texturing the losses using gesso, these were aesthetically reintegrated using easily discernible methods when viewed from up close.
The first painting to be taken back to Tarxien was the titular painting by Gagliardi. Given the size of the painting, a lot of care went into the logistics of the transport and the installation of the painting in its due place inside the church. A presentation was duly given on the restoration process so that all the community could get a glimpse from behind the scenes into the delicate work that was done to restore such an important painting.
It is a privilege that such artworks, which have both a spiritual and cultural value and are held in high esteem by the Tarxien community, are given the care they deserve for the benefit of our country’s cultural heritage.
Acknowledgements
Prevarti is grateful for being entrusted with this project by the parish community of Tarxien led by Fr Christopher Ellul, and Bank of Valletta which generously sponsored the restoration of these important paintings.
Pierre Bugeja is a warranted conservator and restorer of paintings and polychrome sculptures, and the director of Prevarti Co. Ltd.