Volto Santo, 8th–9th century, Cathedral of San Martino, Lucca

Data

Period8th–9th century
Object typePolychrome wooden sculpture
MaterialsCarved, painted and gilded wood
DimensionsCrucifix 269.5 × 249 cm; Cross 442 × 286 cm; total weight 157.1 kg
LocationCattedrale di San Martino, Lucca

Activity information

Information on the work

Historical and descriptive information

The Volto Santo is a monumental polychrome wooden sculpture depicting a tunicated Crucifix, described in legend as an acheiropoieton. It has been, and remains, the object of extraordinary veneration across Europe since the Middle Ages, and has come to embody the religious identity of the city of Lucca. It is housed in the Renaissance tabernacle made by Matteo Civitali in the left nave of the Cathedral of San Martino. Scholarly consensus had previously placed the work between the 12th and 13th centuries; however, a recent campaign of radiocarbon (¹⁴C) dating has pushed the date back to the 8th–9th century.

Technique

The Volto Santo consists of three elements in walnut: the body, carved from a single trunk hollowed out entirely at the back, and the two arms, which connect to it via tenons inserted into corresponding housings. Six tapered wooden pins secure the Crucifix firmly to the Cross, in which the two elements forming the upright and the crossbeam are joined with a half-lap joint, reinforced by a wooden pin and four large metal nails clinched on the front. The total weight of the sculpture is approximately 157 kg. The polychromy currently visible, on both the Crucifix and the Cross, is the result of successive overpainting and layers of different film-forming materials. As is common with ancient wooden sculptures, the work is characterised by the coexistence of several materials alongside the wood and the preparatory and paint layers: the incamottatura canvas lining, applied at the junction of the arms with the body and beneath the gilding; the glass paste eyes; certain textile elements decorating the ends of the belt; and the metalwork of the Nimbus, itself composed of wooden parts, coloured glass pastes, and silver and gilded copper alloy sheets. The technique of the Volto Santo has been studied through careful direct observation — made possible after the transfer of the work to the site workshop set up in the left transept of the Lucca cathedral — supported by the results of diagnostic investigations: in particular, X-ray images proved fundamental to understanding the structural features, while stratigraphic sections and multispectral analyses were used to characterise the polychromy and the non-original film-forming and deposit layers.

Conservation condition

The sculpture is structurally stable: no cracks, fractures, delamination or significant signs of xylophagous attack are observed on the wooden substrate. The lines of disconnection between the arms and the body are nonetheless visible. The Cross likewise presents no particular structural concerns. The paint layer, on both the Christ figure and the Cross, is affected by numerous areas of lifting, abrasion and widespread paint loss across all stratigraphic levels, from the earliest layer to the various overpaints. The legibility of the work is compromised by the substantial and widespread presence of coherent deposit material, degraded film-forming layers and numerous retouches.

Diagnostic investigations

The results of several diagnostic campaigns, conducted by major public and private institutions from 2012 to the present, have contributed to the study of the Volto Santo, both in terms of its historical circumstances and in understanding its technique, characterising its constituent materials and formulating hypotheses on the causes of deterioration. The invasive and non-invasive investigations carried out to date are:
∙ Weighing;
∙ 3D survey;
∙ UV fluorescence;
∙ Black-and-white and colour infrared;
∙ X-radiography;
∙ EDXRF spectrometry;
∙ FT-IR spectroscopy;
∙ Xylotomic analysis;
∙ ¹⁴C dating;
∙ Stratigraphic analysis by optical microscopy and SEM-EDX, including microchemical tests
∙ Macro- and micro-Raman spectroscopy
∙ Chromatography and mass spectrometry (PY-GC-MS, GC-MS, HPLC-MS).

Description of the intervention

Description of the Intervention
The intervention aims to stabilise the deterioration present, recover the legibility of the modelling and polychromy, and reinstall the work in accordance with correct conservation standards. Given its historical, artistic and religious significance, the overall project includes careful consideration of the requirements of religious use, as well as those relating to the iconographic and historical record.
The phases of the restoration project are:

Securing (facing)
Transport from the tabernacle to the site workshop
Anoxic treatment
Removal of facings
Re-adhesion of preparatory and paint layers and gilding
Cleaning
Review of the stability of the arm joints
Filling of losses
Inpainting and chromatic balancing
Final varnishing, if required
Reinstallation in the tabernacle

For updates on the phases and progress of the restoration, see also: https://voltosantolucca.it/

Bibliography

∙ S BASSI, S. ROSSI, L’apertura del cantiere di restauro del Volto Santo a Lucca, in OPD Restauro, 34, 2022
∙ A. GIUSTI, Quel legno venerabile e antichissimo, in Medioevo, 283, 2020, pp. 32-45
∙ S. MARTINELLI, L’immagine del Volto Santo di Lucca. Il successo europeo di un’iconografia medievale, Edizioni ETS, 2016
∙ A. C. QUINTAVALLE, Rosano e i Crocifissi viventi della Riforma, dal Volto Santo di Lucca a Batlló, in OPD Restauro, 20, 2008, pp. 162-167
∙ M. C. FERRARI, A. MEYER, Il Volto Santo in Europa. Culto e immagini del Crocifisso nel Medioevo, Atti del Convegno internazionale di Engelberg (13-16 settembre 2000), Lucca, Istituto Storico Lucchese, 2005
∙ M. ZINCONI, La Santa Croce di Lucca: il Volto Santo. Storia tradizioni immagini, Atti del Convegno, Villa Bottini 1-3 marzo 2001, Empoli, Editori dell’Acero, 2003
∙ P. LAZZARINI, Il Volto Santo di Lucca, M. Pacini Fazzi, 1982
∙ Z. DE FRANCOVICH, Il Volto Santo di Lucca, in Bollettino Storico lucchese, 1, 1936