Sant Crist de Lepant, the most revered image in the Barcelona cathedral, has ceased to be black. The conservation and restoration process to which it has been subjected has revealed a colorful figure, “which highlights the passion of Jesus”, declares the dean of the cathedral, Santiago Bueno.
When it was discovered that the image could recover the last polychromy, from the end of the 19th century, when it still retained the light skin, the chapter decided to carry out this process, which could be executed with relative ease: “With hot distilled water and an eraser”, where there was only dirt and soot, explains the restorer of the cathedral, Ana Ordóñez. There is the circumstance that, in some cases, when the image had suffered a scratch, the black color had been recovered with paint. As with other sacred images, over time it was normal for the pieces to be polychromed again, so today this figure has a few layers of paint, as well as an added beard (it is known from x-rays, that reveal that it is fastened with more modern nails) or the blood in relief running from the side.
The current restoration has also changed the date of this image, made of a single piece of ash wood with the arms added, and the cross of pine wood. The belief that it was from the 16th century has been corrected by researchers, who will offer new data at conferences to be held at the end of the year. The new dating is between the 12th and 15th centuries, almost certainly around the 13th century, due to the overlapping position of the feet on the cross, therefore, Jesus appears nailed with three nails, instead of the parallel feet typical of the Romanesque crosses, where four keys are used. In contrast, the hands are still expressionless, unlike how they are depicted in later images. Therefore, it is a Gothic cross, and not a Renaissance one.
According to legend, the Saint Christ of Lepanto was present in the battle of 1571 in which the Spanish army faced the Ottoman Empire. The Christ presided over the galley of John of Austria, and this is where his name comes from. The legend also attributes the unique decanted position to two possible events that happened in this battle. One points out that the image was decanted to avoid a pipe, and the other points to the gesture that Christ made to cover with his body a passage of water that had occurred in the hull of the captain’s ship.
Last week, the bearers of the confraternity of Sant Crist de Lepant were able to see the result of the restoration and, after the initial surprise, they “welcomed with joy” the new image, says Robert Baró, curator of heritage and archivist of the cathedral. Yesterday afternoon, the first religious event was held in which parishioners could see the new image, coinciding with the festivity of the Solemnity of the Holy Cross, the cathedral’s title.
The teams of the restorer of the Barcelona cathedral, Ana Ordóñez, worked on the restoration; the restorer conservator of the Furniture Restoration Center of Catalonia, Esther Gual, and the intangible heritage technician of the cathedral, Nil Rider.
