[amc] Lasers uncover first icons of Sts. Peter and Paul
- From: Werner S <wjs3108@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:24:00 -0700 (PDT)
Lasers uncover first icons of Sts. Peter and Paul
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 22, 4:16 pm ET
ROME – Twenty-first century laser technology has opened a window into the early
days of the Catholic Church, guiding researchers through the dank, musty
catacombs beneath Rome to a startling find: the first known icons of the
apostles Peter and Paul.
Vatican officials unveiled the paintings Tuesday, discovered along with the
earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew in an underground burial
chamber beneath an office building on a busy street in a working-class Rome
neighborhood.
The images, which date from the second half of the 4th century, were uncovered
using a new laser technique that allows restorers to burn off centuries of
thick white calcium carbonate deposits without damaging the brilliant dark
colors of the paintings underneath.
The technique could revolutionize the way restoration work is carried out in
the miles (kilometers) of catacombs that burrow under the Eternal City where
early Christians buried their dead.
The icons were discovered on the ceiling of a tomb of an aristocratic Roman
woman at the Santa Tecla catacomb, near where the remains of the apostle Paul
are said to be buried.
Rome has dozens of such burial chambers and they are a major tourist
attraction, giving visitors a peek into the traditions of the early church when
Christians were often persecuted for their beliefs. Early Christians dug the
catacombs outside Rome's walls as underground cemeteries, since burial was
forbidden inside the city walls and pagan Romans were usually cremated.
The art that decorated Rome's catacombs was often simplistic and symbolic in
nature. The Santa Tecla catacombs, however, represent some of the earliest
evidence of devotion to the apostles in early Christianity, Vatican officials
said.
"The Christian catacombs, while giving us value with a religious and cultural
patrimony, represent an eloquent and significant testimony of Christianity at
its origin," said Monsignor Giovanni Carru, the No. 2 in the Vatican's
Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, which maintains the catacombs.
Last June, the Vatican announced the discovery of the icon of Paul at Santa
Tecla, timing the news to coincide with the end of the Vatican's year of St.
Paul. Pope Benedict XVI also said tests on bone fragments long attributed to
Paul "seemed to confirm" that they did indeed belong to the Roman Catholic
saint.
On Tuesday, Vatican archaeologists announced the image of Paul was not found in
isolation, but was part of a square ceiling painting that also included icons
of three other apostles — Peter, John and Andrew — surrounding an image of
Christ as the Good Shepherd.
"They are the first icons. These are absolutely the first representations of
the apostles," said Fabrizio Bisconti, the superintendent of archaeology for
the catacombs.
Bisconti spoke from inside the intimate burial chamber, its walls and ceilings
covered with paintings of scenes from the Old Testament, including Daniel in
the lion's den and Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. Once inside, visitors
see the loculi, or burial chambers, on three sides.
But the gem is on the ceiling, where the four apostles are painted inside
gold-rimmed circles against a red-ochre backdrop. The ceiling is also decorated
with geometric designs, and the cornices feature images of naked youths.
Chief restorer Barbara Mazzei noted there were earlier known images of Peter
and Paul, but these were depicted in narratives. The images in the catacomb —
with their faces in isolation, encircled with gold and affixed to the four
corners of the ceiling painting — are devotional in nature and as such
represent the first known icons.
"The fact of isolating them in a corner tells us it's a form of devotion," she
said. "In this case, saints Peter and Paul, and John and Andrew are the most
antique testimonies we have."
In addition, the images of Andrew and John show much younger faces than are
normally depicted in the Byzantine-inspired imagery most often associated with
the apostles, she said.
The Vatican's Sacred Archaeology office oversaw the two-year $73,650
(euro60,000) project, which for the first time used lasers to restore frescoes
in catacombs, where the damp air makes the procedure particularly difficult.
In this case, the small burial chamber at the end of the catacomb was encased
in up to two inches (five centimeters) of calcium carbonate. Restoration using
previous techniques would have meant scraping away the buildup by hand, leaving
a filmy layer on top so as not to damage the painting underneath.
Using the laser technique, restorers were able to sear off all the deposits by
setting the laser to burn only on the white of the calcium carbonate; the
laser's heat stopped when it reached a different color. Researchers then easily
chipped off the seared material, revealing the brilliant ochre, black, green
and yellow underneath, Mazzei said.
Similar technology has been used on statues, particularly metallic ones damaged
by years of outdoor pollution, she said. However, the Santa Tecla restoration
marked the first time lasers had been adapted for use in the dank interiors of
catacombs.
Many of Rome's catacombs are open regularly to the public. However, the Santa
Tecla catacombs will be open only on request to limited groups to preserve the
paintings, she said.
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