Boston — Perched on the high scaffolding of a historic Boston church, mural conservator Gianfranco Pocobene is trying to uncover eight angels hidden beneath layers of paint for more than 100 years.
Painted angels with round childlike faces and wings were one of the features of the Old North Church when it was painted around 1730. But officials at the church, an important site in the Revolutionary War, slapped a thick layer of paint over the angels in 1912. A coat of white paint, part of a rigorous renovation that restorationists are trying to reverse.
“When I first saw this project six months ago, I had no idea what was here,” Pocobene said, as the church, Boston’s oldest church building, prepared to take down its scaffolding and unveil eight of the 20 painted doors earlier this month. “I didn’t know,” he said. -More than an angel.
“It was truly amazing to discover on the walls of the church such a truly interesting and historic work of art that no one in our lives had ever seen before,” he continued. “America is really special.”
A popular attraction for tourists visiting Boston’s North End, the Old North Church was decorated by Paul Revere in 1775 with two lanterns hung from its steeple to warn of the approach of British troops. Best known. Revere was also the congregation’s teenage bell ringer. In 1860, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride,” which mentioned the church and introduced the phrase “one by land, two by sea.”
But as the 250th anniversary of Revere’s martyrdom approaches in April, church officials want to focus on its 1723 beginnings and its identity: a beacon of freedom and its connection to the slave trade. slavery. The church was built to accommodate Boston’s growing colonial Anglican community, and its interior was much more colorful and vibrant than what visitors see today.
“For most of the church’s history, people who came here would have seen those angels and seen the ornate interior,” said Emily Spence, associate director of education for Old North Illuminated, which operates the church. historical place.
“The color scheme was an important part of the identity of those who worship here as members of the Church of England.” She added that the interior decoration would have set the church apart from the Puritans who ruled Boston at the time. .
Exploration began in September in an effort to restore the sandstone and turquoise angels, Spence said. Eight were completed this month and another eight by spring. It was made to look like a piece of stone, but it is still unclear why it was painted over.
Researchers knew from historical records that the angels were on the wall, and they still have a copy of the contract they signed with John Gibbs, who painted them. A paint study completed in 2017 confirmed its presence, but its condition was unclear.
Painting conservator Corrine Long, who works with Pocobene, said one of the challenges was removing seven layers of paint without damaging the angel. The team first applied a solvent gel to soften the paint layer and then removed it manually using a plastic scraper. Afterwards, the angel was cleaned with a cotton swab and retouched to remove any signs of damage.
Once Pocobene and Long began removing the paint, they knew they had discovered something special.
“They all have their own unique characteristics. They’re not copies,” said Pocobene, who has her own studio in Lawrence, Massachusetts. “They were painted individually by artist John Gibbs and they are all in different poses. There is a really amazing rhythmic pattern across the surface of the church.”
For Long, one of the most satisfying parts of the project was returning parts of the church to what the founders intended: what tourists should see.
“Every time I go into a historic building, I’m amazed to find myself surrounded by paintings and decorations that were originally there,” she said. “If you repaint it white, it takes away some of its grandeur and history.”
On a recent day, the church was mostly empty except for the caretaker. But two tourists from California, Sean Dixon and Sarah Jardine, actually came in. They walked down the aisle and looked up at the scaffolding. It was difficult to see the angels through all the steel, but what they saw inspired them.
“I was a little shocked when I first saw it,” said Dixon, an accounting manager in San Francisco. “It looks really nice and I’m really excited to see the full picture once the scaffolding comes down.”
