The canvas that has been framing the altar of Nossa Senhora da Vitória for more than 200 years, in the Church of São Pedro, in Faro, is already being restored. The Millenium BCP Foundation acceded to the Regional Director of Culture's appeal to sponsor the recovery of this “great value” heritage element, which was at risk of disappearing due to its high state of degradation.
The protocol between the Foundation and the São Pedro Church Factory, which formalized the restoration of this canvas, was signed on Saturday. A ceremony that essentially served to make official the support of around 23 thousand euros that the Millenium BCP will allocate to recover this heritage element, which has even been removed from the wooden support where it was nailed since the XNUMXth century and sent to Lisbon, where it will be intervened.
As Alexandra Gonçalves, Regional Director of Culture explained during the ceremony, the value of the work of art that is being recovered is closely linked to that of the Church of S. Pedro itself, a property classified as a Monument of Public Interest. The piece, «by an unknown author, but dating from the second half of the 1577th century», was commissioned by the Order of Santiago, who built the church in XNUMX, where a chapel already existed, ordered to be built by fishermen from Bairro da Ribeira.
Susana Paté, from the Municipal Museum of Faro, explained that this is «a scenographic framing painting», created to serve as a frame for the altar. "It is made up of four oil-painted linen cloths, sewn together and nailed to the wooden structure that surrounds the altarpiece," he said.
Over the years, the nails that were used to fix the canvas began to rust, leaving marks on the piece. In some places, the nails were also coming out, which caused the screen to start moving out of place. On the other hand, there were water infiltrations that caused the paint to run off and ruined the work. The wooden structure that supports the cloths itself has problems, not least from beetle infestation and other pests, but also from unevenness.
The company Junqueira 220, which won the competition to restore the piece, will, roughly speaking, stabilize the piece, restore it as much as possible, without distorting it, correcting interventions made in the past - the canvas was repainted at a certain point - and intervene in the wooden support that surrounds the altar.
Over the centuries, the Church of St. Peter has, moreover, accumulated an estate that continues to exist, although not always in the best conditions. «I have to salute the growing commitment that there is in the recovery of heritage, here in the Algarve», something that, considered Fernando Nogueira, president of the Millennium BCP Foundation, has not always happened in the past, particularly with regard to belonging to the church.
“The preservation of heritage is one of the things that touches me the most. It is something that our ancestors erected, often at great sacrifice, and bequeathed to us», he said.
“This church was born from the will of men of the Sea. Then came a religious order. The 1755 earthquake destroyed a large part of the building, but desires rose to recover this heritage. What we are doing here today obviously does not have that dimension, but we are still here to rehabilitate one of the most important elements of this monument», stressed Fernando Nogueira, who was in faro to sign the protocol.
Canon César Chantre, parish priest of St. Peter's Church, admits that it has been difficult to maintain the church's vast patrimony, given the parish's financial limitations. But, he assured, "all those responsible for the parish, over time, have done their part."
Father Chantre has been, moreover, a great promoter of the recovery of the estate in charge of the Church of S. Pedro Church, either through the support of the State, as happened in the works of renovation of the electrical system quality recovery of the presbytery, or with the support of other entities.
Within the scope of the exhibition “Baroque Paintings in Seville and the Algarve – Contacts, Coincidences and Disagreements”, a work of this church was lent to the Municipal Museum of Faro. “We talked to the museum, authorized the piece to go and, in return, they would restore that canvas and we would pay for the recovery of another one”, explained the parish priest.
The responsible for the Factory of the Church of São Pedro said that he would try to introduce, within the funding given by the Millennium Foundation, the recovery of “another canvas, which is one that is there in the church and represents the Last Supper”.
As you can see, heritage to recover is not lacking in the Algarve. And the Millennium BCP Foundation, which allocates "about one million euros a year" to support projects of this nature across the country, is well aware of these needs and has not turned its back on giving its support.
«Doctor Alexandra Gonçalves presented this project to me on the day I came to the Algarve sign a protocol to support the restoration of the Castle of Paderne. This leads to me now always having a certain fear that she will put another request in my hands and pockets. I will continue to come to the Algarve, but with some care», joked Fernando Nogueira.
This time, the regional director of Culture of the Algarve gave this patron a rest, not least because, this year alone, there were three projects that the foundation supported in the region – it also financed the restoration of a work by the Museum of Faro.
In the Church of São Pedro, the results of the support can be witnessed as soon as Junqueira 220 finishes its work and puts back the canvas, this time with other cares, namely in terms of the elements to be used for its fixation.
Leak
Description: Painted canvas representing “Boca de Cena”, which frames the Altar of Our Lady of Victory, in the Church of São Pedro, Faro
Location: St. Peter's Church, Faro
Owner of the work: Church of St. Peter
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: Roughly, two upper triangles, 2,5 mx 4 m and two lateral rectangles with 5 mx 0,45 m
Author: Unknown
Dated: XNUMXth century
Comments