Coinciding with the 275th anniversary of its opening as a parish, the church of San Andrés has completed the restoration of the Crucified Christ, popularly known as El Cegato, which was made of orange wood by the cabinetmaker and carpenter Francisco Marrero Gabrili, a resident of the town, who resided on Sacramento Street.
The origin of this image dates back to 1882 and it is recognized as the Christ of the Blind due to the lack of sight suffered by its author, which is why its creation is considered a miraculous event given the circumstances of its author. Under the feet, in a small reliquary screwed to the cross -pending to be placed-, the lace with which the image was made and the cartouche on which you can read: «This crucifix was sculpted with this lace by D. Francisco Marrero Gabrili and painted and given by the same author. Year 1882».
The parish priest of San Andrés since September 2016, Federico Armas Díaz, recalls that this sculpture was initially placed in the baptistery until in the 1970s it came to preside over the main altar, coinciding with the restoration works.
Given the state of deterioration, Father Kike, as the priest is familiarly known, promoted the restoration process, a meticulous work carried out by Pablo Cristóbal Torres Luis.
In the descriptive memorandum made by the restorer, it is stated that the carving corresponds to the 19th century and is found in the Canarian school, made of wood, polychrome and glued canvas that at the time of studying its condition had localized repainting that distorted the aesthetics of the work to several these of chromaticism.
The concern for the historical heritage led the parish priest of San Andrés to promote the restoration, which, according to the report prepared by Pablo Cristóbal Torres, presented a state of conservation that was not good. «The deterioration that appears in the work is a consequence of the natural aging of the materials that make it up, in addition to its misuse, all associated with a lack of maintenance and stable environmental control. These factors have caused loss of the properties of the materials, as well as movement in the support, affecting higher strata.”
The intervention was motivated by “a great attack of xylophagous insects that caused large cavities in some parts of the image and its weakening, causing lack of stability in the support. It also presents cracks in the union of the assemblies, loss of volume in the right hand; cracks, wear, friction and general polychromy faults. In addition, repainting is observed in the areas that have been affected by the attack of xylophagous insects and have been intervened ».
Christ of Good Friday
The Cristo del Cegato came to replace a previous one, smaller in size and whose elaboration dates back to the 17th century, which is still preserved and paraded as the Dead Christ in the Good Friday celebrations.
Together with Pablo Cristóbal Torres, she is also a member of the Leticia Perera team of restorers –which form Estudio 5 Conservation and Restoration–, who undertake an intervention to combine the artistic, aesthetic, historical, symbolic and religious dimension, as stated in the report.
In the analysis carried out, cracks and fissures are noted, especially in the union of the arms to the torso, as well as volume losses in the right lock of hair and the left hand, in addition to those that are hidden by the fillings of previous interventions. In addition, it presents a lack of adherence to the support, mainly on the arms and legs, as well as ridges and cracks.
Regarding mechanical damage, it supports losses of localized layers mainly in the arms and legs, as well as lack of adherence between the polychrome layer and the preparation layer. They also warn of damage to the legs caused mainly by the exposure of the image to the manifestations of popular devotion. To such an extent was the deterioration caused by its restoration that the report states the loss of all the fingers of the right hand, as well as some toes.
This is not the first time that the Cristo del Cegato has undergone an intervention to supposedly improve the Christ of the Blind, although the authors of the latest restoration state that the image shows numerous previous interventions that “consisted of filling in and modeling the volume losses caused by the weakening and cavities, effect of the action of the termite». “These interventions, although carried out with poor quality materials and with unorthodox techniques, always took into account the safeguarding of the work”, with the priority objective of preserving the work.
Experts note the intervention carried out in the mid-20th century to try to treat the loss of volume caused by termites, which entailed the filling of cavities and their subsequent rigging and repainting that greatly altered the morphology of the work, according to evidence. in the study carried out.
what was improved
After a radiographic study, which allowed to know the internal structure of the work, the type of support was determined. X-rays revealed that several pieces were held together with nails, especially in the area of the torso and head. A microsample of the torso was also taken to determine the technical characteristics, under the premise of “knowing to restore”.
Pablo Cristóbal Torres and Leticia Perera González also bring a more philosophical vision to the intervention, specifying that “we must not forget that works of art are not only material and technique, but also manifestations of the work of the human being, becoming a valuable document for history, regardless of its aesthetic quality. From there, the roadmap is drawn to save the Cristo del Cegato from significant deterioration. After the studies, the support was disinfected and consolidated, previous interventions that did not fulfill their function or damaged the work were eliminated, to undertake gluing and mechanical reinforcements, volumetric restoration, removal of oxidized varnishes that gave a greenish appearance due to oxidation. plus the repainted ones. Also stuccoing and destucking of the gaps to level the loss of the polychrome layer, chromatic reintegration with discernible technique, using watercolors and pigments to varnish and final protection, plus the restoration of the cross.
Precisely on the cross it is noted that it is not the original; the current one is pine and is in good condition.
Facing.
Given the unfortunate state of the image, a complete facing is performed, thus facilitating handling and transfer to carry out the radiographic study and thus proceed to wallpaper the entire surface with tissue paper and organic glue.
Fixation of the polychrome layer.
To fix the affected layers and guarantee stability in the work, organic glue is used by injection and impregnation.
Elimination of previous interventions.
Once the polychrome layer is placed, all previous interventions to which it was subjected are removed, such as fillings made with paper, plaster, paste…
Support consolidation.
Radiographic studies allow checking large galleries caused by insects, so the cavities caused by insects are filled with epoxy resin, adding sawdust applied by injection as filler.
Cleaning.
Superficial dirt, oxidized varnishes and repainting are removed, opting for a selective cleaning, from repainting to re-stucco, oxidized varnishes and wax drips.
volumetric reintegration.
At the end of the cleaning, the lost volumes are replaced, limiting the faults. The fingers of the right hand and the toes are reintegrated with resin, while pieces of cedar wood are even used in some cavities, modeling them volumetrically.
Glued and reinforcements.
The fingers of the right hand and the toes are glued with resin, reinforced with stainless steel wire.
Stuccoed.
The stucco made on the gaps where there was a lack of the preparation layer is applied, as well as volumetric reintegrations.
Chromatic reintegration.
The use of pointillism and stencil techniques allow to restore the original bleeding elements that started from a reddish stain on which glazes that emulated blood were superimposed, until achieving a result that rescues the image from deterioration, at the same time that gives almost factory splendor to the Cristo del Cegato.
