Portal de Lorca
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The Community has delivered this morning in Lorca the size of the Virgen de las Huertas, patron of the city of Lorca, to the Brotherhood of Santa María la Real de las Huertas after its restoration.
During the last six months, the image has been treated at the Restoration Center of the Region of Murcia, where it has recovered its original splendor.
The delivery was made prior to the Mass presided by the Bishop of the Diocese of Cartagena, José Manuel Lorca Planes, organized on the occasion of the blessing of the patron saint and attended by the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Miriam Guardiola, and the President of the Brotherhood, Isabel Giménez.
The size of Santa María La Real de las Huertas was made in polychrome wood and stewed, by José Sánchez Lozano in 1942. It is a small sculpture of 65 centimeters high as a replica of the previous image, which was destroyed during the War Civil.
Although it is a relatively young sculpture, its state of conservation was very deficient due to inadequate restorations carried out previously and which damaged, above all, the polychrome strata.
Guardiola, representing the regional government, shared with Lorca "the joy of the return of the patron to his city after the work done in the Center for Restoration, which have allowed this beautiful and delicate carving by Sánchez Lozano has recovered part of its original polychromy and its lost splendor ".
The person in charge of Culture recalled "the commitment of the regional Government with Lorca, with its complete patrimonial recovery after the earthquakes that occurred in 2011 and with the restoration of the size of its patron saint, emblem for Lorca and one of the most venerated images and with greater tradition in the Region ".
The intervention, explained Guardiola, "reaffirms the extensive experience that, in the field of imagery, the technicians of the Restoration Center have, from where it is ensured that our vast and rich heritage, a living legacy of the Region, is preserved in the best conditions and continue being a reference ".
From the regional government, he added, "we are aware of the importance of regional heritage, its tourism potential and its capacity to generate wealth and employment, and therefore its recovery and conservation will always be a priority."
Restoration process
After a detailed study, the technicians of the Restoration Center found that the original carnations of the Child and the Virgin were irreversibly damaged, with no possibility of recovery;
hence the existing repolicromy about them.
However, the polychromy of the mantle, which although it was also repainted and with significant alterations, was recoverable.
For this reason, the decision was made to remove the overcoat of the mantle but the repolicromies were maintained in the flesh of the Virgin and Child.
In addition to these pathologies other alterations were detected such as punctual repaints on the hair, on the cushions and even on the glass eyes of the Virgin, which have been solved during these months of deep restoration, as well as the punctual losses of polychrome strata and the absence of the little finger of the Child's right hand.
In general, the actions have consisted in the elimination of repainting and repolishing, consolidation of layers, sealing of cracks, reconstruction of the preparation layer, differentiated chromatic reintegration and final protection varnish.
The cleaning and the chromatic reintegration have been the two phases that greater duration and technical complexity have supposed.
As an anecdote, that of the Virgen de la Huertas is the first work that leaves the Restoration Center darker than when it entered, as it had a whitish overcoat on the entire mantle that now, once removed, has left the polychrome view original on which you can appreciate the patina of aging given by the sculptor, which gives a darker tone to the whole.
Source: CARM
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