Naples, four precious oils on copper by Luca Giordano restored at the Tesoro di San Gennaro

Important restoration in Naples: in fact, four remarkable works by Luca Giordano (Naples, 1634 - 1705) painted in oil on copper shine with new light and are among the jewels of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro kept in the Chapel Sacristy. To show the result to the public, from June 7 to July 23, 2023 it is possible to visit the exhibition Luca Giordano. The Restoration of the Branches for the Nova Sacristia curated by Laura Giusti, the museum’s scientific curator, and the brainchild of Luciana De Maria, head of the cultural sector of the Chapel of San Gennaro. The intervention, promptly financed by the Deputation of the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, was carried out by Lithos s.r.l., under the High Supervision of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the City of Naples, and supported by an important scientific study and in-depth bibliographical research that has enriched the knowledge and studies on the history of the heritage dedicated to the patron saint.

The Neapolitan painter created the four works for the Deputation of the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of St. Gennaro in 1668: the works are the Madonna della Purità, St. Joseph, St. Anne and St. Joachim. The exhibition will allow visitors to see the magnificent works up close, displayed at eye-level, before being relocated to the top of the wooden cabinets, where they were located. The restoration on Luca Giordano’s branches has made it possible to bring back the original coloring of the paintings’ shiny, dazzling surfaces and, for the first time, has given the opportunity to examine the works up close, gaining valuable information on the techniques of mounting and execution of the paintings on copper, adding another important piece to our knowledge of one of the most significant painters of the second half of the 17th century.

The presence of Luca Giordano’s works on copper at the top of the wooden cabinets made by Giuseppe Lobrano had been planned from the initial stages of the design of the cabinets themselves. The Madonna of Purity was the first to be executed by the painter, placed in front of the entrance, in front of it St. Joseph stands out; while on the right wall are St. Joachim and St. Anne, both facing the Virgin. In September 2022, due to the failure of the support structure of St. Joachim, restoration work was immediately initiated thanks to the Deputation. A work that involved both the wooden supports and the paintings, concluded at the end of April 2023, and oriented primarily to the consolidation, conservation and reinforcement of the support structures of the branches and the disinfestation, reassembly and restoration of all damaged wooden parts.

The works were subsequently subjected to color fixing, cleaning and final protection. The extent of the lacunae was so extensive, particularly in the St. Joseph, that it suggested the advisability of not proceeding with the pictorial integration, and to limit oneself to the conservation operations necessary for the protection of the works and their greater legibility. The operation also allowed for a valuable close study of the works, which revealed the different size of the four paintings, probably conditioned by the structure of the Sacristy, which required a design of the decoration of the architectural space so that the variations in the proportions of cabinets and works were not perceptible. It also emerged that on the back of the painting of Our Lady of Purity, there are traces of an earlier decoration, a fragment of a Crucifixion left unfinished by an anonymous painter with a starry sky, moon and sun.

It was a choral work that involved the entire organization and scientific activity of the Museum, which led to the publication of a catalog that includes texts by Francesca Ummarino, director of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro, Laura Giusti, scientific curator of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro, and Luciana De Maria, head of the Culture Sector of the Chapel. Rosa Granato, archivist of the Deputation, edited the appendix, collecting published and unpublished documents on the works and the Sacristy; Marco Leone de Castris edited the bibliography and sitography while the photographs were taken by Simone Florena and Lithos s.r.l., the graphic design is by Vanni del Gaudio and the printing by Officine Grafiche Francesco Giannini & Figli spa.

In addition to the enjoyment of the artistic and cultural heritage of the Treasure of San Gennaro to ensure quality access to the public, among the goals of the new management of the museum by the D’Uva company and the museum’s management is certainly at theattention the deepening of scientific activity and the computerization of the bibliography that can be found, to enable greater knowledge of the artistic and historical heritage that is the basis of a museum’s activity.

“The presentation of Luca Giordano’s branches is a second important step in the study and deepening of the heritage of the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro that with the Deputation and D’Uva we are pursuing and working on with a close-knit team,” explains Laura Giusti, scientific curator of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro. "The intention is to continue on a path of research that, depending on circumstances, opportunities and needs, delves into a segment of the Museum and the Chapel, allowing us to also discover new and unpublished aspects that can always come to light. The common goal is certainly to enhance and promote the richness preserved here, but also to keep alive the activity and scientific research of the Museum, which is not only a place to visit, but a fundamental point of reference for the study, knowledge and continuous rediscovery of our heritage."

“With this second initiative dedicated to the Minimal Exhibitions, we are adding an important piece to the history of the Treasury and the masterpieces we guard, with the aim of promoting a new policy of valorization and protection of the heritage of San Gennaro that the Deputation is pursuing in collaboration with D’Uva,” explains Francesca Ummarino, director of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro. “The intention is to involve more and more all the valuable resources that collaborate with the museum and to give new impetus to its fruition, through a rich program of initiatives and cultural projects that allow everyone to know and discover the known and lesser-known history of the priceless heritage that we guard.”

The initiative is the second proposal of the project dedicated to “Minimal Exhibitions,” which started in September 2022 with the exhibition “Treasures Never Seen,” and which stems from the desire of the Deputation and the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro, directed by Francesca Ummarino with the scientific curatorship of Laura Giusti and the management of D’Uva, to deepen, from time to time, a focus of study and research on the heritage of the Treasure.

Naples, four precious oils on copper by Luca Giordano restored at the Tesoro di San Gennaro

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