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Before

After

February Newsletter: Refurbishing Historic Stations

These historic Stations of the Cross had been salvaged from a closing church with the intent to restore them during new construction. Over the years, the Stations had been painted several times resulting in thick layers of accumulated overpaint as well as damages to the plaster. The Stations were brought to the Canning studio for repairs and polychroming. The condition of the pieces were as pictured in the before images above and below. Many of the figures were missing hands and a few had missing heads. 

 

With the plaster repaired, the Stations were polychromed to pay tribute to the historic design as well as to complement the interior color scheme. In order to insure consistency in paint application, the Stations were painted in unison. In the photo to the right, progress during the early stages of polychroming can be observed. 

 

By polychroming the scenes, the figures and their actions are easily distinguished. The color additionally provides depth to the artwork and intrigue to the imagery. 

Reclaiming and restoring historic pieces, either original to the space or brought in from another, is an excellent opportunity to revitalize the history of the interior and preserve beautiful work for the appreciation of generations now and to come.

 

Stations of the Cross: History

The origin of the Way of the Cross dates back to the legalization of Christianity under Constantine. As shrines were built on the sacred sites, many pilgrims traveled to the Holy Land to walk the Via Dolorosa and meditate upon Christ’s Passion and Death. As the devotion to the Way of the Cross grew, passion plays and reproductions of the Holy Land became popular for the masses who could not travel to the Holy Land on pilgrimage.

 

The Franciscans were given charge of the Holy Land sites in 1342 and are greatly responsible for encouraging devotion to the Way of the Cross. The number of stations varied until 1731 when Pope Clement XII fixed the number at 14 and permitted the Stations of the Cross to be installed within all churches. In 1787, St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote the Way of the Cross as a guide to meditate upon each of the scenes. This prayerful meditation is commonly practiced throughout the season of Lent in preparation for Easter.

 

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As experts in restoration, conservation and beautification of all things sacred, our blog content aims to provide a collection of informative pieces on how to approach restoration and beautification projects with insight on our design philosophy and artistic process as well as stories from sites and the studio. 

 

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