At a Boston church made famous by Paul Revere, mural restorers are working to unearth 20 angels hidden under layers of paint for more than a century.
Gianfranco Pocobene works to discover eight of the twenty angels hidden on the scaffolding of the Old North Church.
The angel, depicted with a childlike face and wings, was one of the features of Old North Church, Boston's oldest church building, when it was painted around 1730. However, in 1912 the Angel was given a thick coat of white paint as part of its construction. Renovations that restorers 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 prepared to unveil eight of the 20 angels. Ta.
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Corinne Long, a conservator in Dover, New Hampshire, restores a nearly 300-year-old painting of an angel on the wall of Old North Church in Boston on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. (AP)
“It was a real surprise to find on the walls of the church a really interesting and historical piece of art that no one had ever seen in our lifetime,” he continued. “Just to be part of a project that uncovers something from colonial America is truly extraordinary.”
Old North Church is best known for the two lanterns hung in its steeple on the night Paul Revere rode out in April 1775 to warn of approaching British troops. Livia also rang church bells when she was a teenager.
“For most of the church's history, people who came to church here would see angels and see the colorful interior,” said Emily Spence, Old North Illumination associate director of education. . Old North Illuminated operates the church as a historic site.
“This color scheme was an important part of the identity of those who worshiped here as Anglicans,” she said.
On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, an angel painted nearly 300 years ago will appear on the wall of Boston's Old North Church. (AP)
Efforts to restore the sandstone and turquoise Angel began in September, with eight completed this month and eight more expected to be completed by spring, Spence said.
Researchers know angels are still painted on walls based on historical records, and they have a copy of the contract signed with John Gibbs, a member of the congregation that painted them. I still have it. A paint survey carried out in 2017 confirmed that they were still on the walls.
Corinne Long, a painting conservator who works with Pocobene, said one of the challenges in restoring the angel was removing the seven layers of paint without damaging the angel. The conservator first applied a solvent gel to soften the paint layer, then removed the paint by hand with a plastic scraper. The angel was then cleaned with a cotton swab and touched up to remove any signs of damage.
“They all have their own character. They're not copies,” Pokovene says. “Artist John Gibbs painted them individually, but they're all in different poses, giving a really nice rhythmic pattern across the surface of the church.”
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A recently restored, nearly 300-year-old painting of angels (top right) adorns the arches of the historic Old North Church in Boston's North End neighborhood on Friday, December 20, 2024. (AP)
Long said one of the most satisfying parts of the project was restoring parts of the church to what its founders intended.
“I’m always amazed when I walk into a historic building and find myself surrounded by paintings and decorations that were originally there,” she said. “When it is repainted white, it loses some of its dignity and history.”
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On a recent day, there were few people in the church except for the restorer. But a pair of tourists from California, Sean Dixon and Sarah Jardine, were also there, walking down the aisle and observing some scaffolding that slightly obstructed their view.
“I was a little shocked when I first saw it,” Dixon said. “It's really cool. I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole thing once the scaffolding comes down.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
