Photo: Nancy Gonzales/GBH News.
Gianfranco Pocobene worked to conserve the decorative angels from the 18th century at Old North Church in Boston.
Some of you may have visited Boston and walked the Freedom Trail, which includes the church that Paul Revere was watching for a signal on a fateful night in 1775. What he saw and what happened next is the reason most of us around here already celebrated the American Revolution’s 250th.
Kate Dellis reported at GBH radio on efforts to keep that church updated and spiffy.
“In Boston’s Old North Church,” she wrote, “tour guides shepherd a steady stream of visitors through the red brick building, pointing out the giant paned windows, chandeliers and instruments that embellish the sanctuary’s white walls.
“But … the tour is taking a slightly altered route to accommodate a preservation project and giant scaffolding towering 35 feet above the floor. Up there, crews are working to uncover the art — including a host of painted angels — that have remained hidden beneath layers of paint for generations.
“Built in 1723, Old North is the oldest standing church in Boston, made famous for the lanterns that hung from its steeple on the night of April 18, 1775, signaling to Paul Revere that the British troops had chosen to advance by sea, rather than by land.
“ ‘Spaces that allow us to touch history in a very palpable way — that allow us to connect over time with people — are very, very special,’ said Catherine Matthews, director of education for Old North Illuminated, the secular nonprofit entrusted with preservation, interpretation and education at the church. …
” ‘About seven years ago, we embarked on a paint study to see if the original paint scheme, which was so decorative, so ornate and so colorful, survived underneath this very austere, neutral palette that was painted in 1912. And much to our delight, we found that it did survive,’ she said.
“In 2016, a single cherub — nicknamed ‘Howard’ in honor of a late supporter of the church — was revealed to be in good enough shape to warrant an expansion of the effort. Under the guidance of head artist Gianfranco Pocobene, 15 additional cherubs and accompanying festoons of ribbon and flowers will be restored. …
“ ‘This is one of the earliest decorations in America that seems to be intact or mostly intact,’ said Pocobene. ‘And so that’s really amazing that we’re going back almost 300 years to see and understand what the congregation there would have been surrounded by.’ …
“ ‘We really have to go into it very carefully and slowly and test a whole range of materials and solvents and cleaning solutions. You just don’t want to make the assumption that the one thing you tried the first time is what’s going to work, and that’s a slow process until we really get going,’ he said.
“Conservation work is equal parts art and science, as testified by Pocobene’s assistant Travis Zuidema, a recent graduate of Queen’s University’s Masters of Art Conservation program.
” ‘As oil paint dries, it polymerizes, and you actually get a lot of cross-linking. And so the last layer is going to be a little bit more robust and want to stay adhered a little bit better. And we can kind of use that idea to attack the top layer without harming the bottom layer too much,’ Zuidema said.
“Drawn to the field by its use of analytical chemistry, Zuidema has a deep understanding of the chemical processes required to do this work. He said it’s probably helpful that the church’s walls — which were painted white during the peak of immigration in the tenement era — were likely filthy when the cherubs were sealed off.
” ‘The dirt actually creates a little bit of an air gap between each of the paint surfaces, and that helps with the physical removal,’ he said. …
“There is no avoiding the fact that the slow, quiet work of art restoration is at odds with the chaotic reality swirling 40 feet beneath the artists’ heads. Old North Church is both an active congregation and one of the most high-profile tourist destinations in Boston. …
“ ‘What’s really amazing to me is the sense of connection that Americans have with their history,’ said Pocobene. ‘It’s really strong, and I’ve come to appreciate it basically working on many of these projects in historic spaces, which really tell a lot about the attitude of America.’ “
More at GBH, here.
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