The Sacred Heart of Jesus is an 18th-century oil-on-wood painting attributed to Francesco Zahra (1710-1773), one of Malta’s foremost baroque artists. Painted on a wooden tabernacle door at the Nativity of Mary basilica in Senglea, it is a significant example of Zahra’s prolific work on tabernacles and stands as a prominent artefact in the basilica’s collection.

Detail photographed during the cleaning process. Photo: ASC Conservation Centre Ltd.

The painting, which is unfortunately undated, portrays a full-length image of Christ, gesturing towards his sacred heart while gazing directly at the viewer. He stands atop a mound against a backdrop of a clouded sky, with heads of small putti. He wears a traditional tunic symbolising his sacrifice and the shedding of his blood for the redemption of humanity, underneath a blue cloak, which represents his divinity, majesty and heavenly authority. The composition incorporates the traditional iconography associated with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Zahra depicted the Sacred Heart of Jesus on multiple occasions. The painting on the tabernacle door shares significant similarities with other half-length representations of the subject, at least three of which are known, all held in private collections. The variations among these works are primarily in the iconography of the Sacred Heart and the more prominent presence of putti in the background, rather than in the cloudy sky. In one version, Christ is shown wearing a halo, a feature absent from the Senglea tabernacle painting.

The attribution of the painting to Zahra was made recently by Keith Sciberras, ahead of the 2023 exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the artist’s death. This attribution was based on stylistic similarities with the artist’s work.

Born in 1710 and raised in Senglea, Zahra was the son of Pietro Paolo Zahra (1685-1747), a local stone carver, and grew up in a family of artists. Along with painting the tabernacle door in his hometown, he created other works in Senglea, including four paintings for the Oratory of the Crucifix, which had been carved by his father based on designs by Francesco Zerafa.

Zahra was a prominent late baroque artist and one of Malta’s leading local painters in the mid-18th century. Known for his extensive body of work and skilful brushwork, he contributed significantly to the decoration of Maltese churches, where he created various paintings, marble altars, silver objects and liturgical vessels. His artistic talent and prolific manner brought a dynamic energy to his work, showcasing the expertise of an artist who, despite not being known to have studied abroad, possessed remarkable knowledge and skill.

X-radiography revealed that under the brown overpaint, there were numerous details completely hidden from sight

The small size of The Sacred Heart of Jesus tabernacle painting demonstrates the artist’s skill in rendering a figure within such a limited space. In fact, the wooden tabernacle door at Senglea was not the only one painted by Zahra. He also created an image of the Risen Christ for the Eucharistic tabernacle wooden door for the altar of the Blessed Sacrament at St Helen’s basilica in Birkirkara, as well as the tabernacle door of the Salvator Mundi at the church of the Nativity of Mary in Naxxar.

X-radiography studies into the artifact’s manufacturing technique and of the original paint hidden beneath the thick layers of overpaint. Photo: Aldo Busuttil - Triton NDT Ltd obo ASC Conservation Centre Ltd.

Tabernacles were typically decorated in the style of the contemporary period. In fact, although differing in subject, the three doors painted by Zahra share stylistic elements typical of the baroque period, with each painting focusing on a different aspect of Christ’s divine role.

The Salvator Mundi, dating to Zahra’s mid-period, emphasises Christ’s divine authority as he gazes directly at the viewer, raising his right hand in blessing and holding an orb representing the Earth in his left. Similar to the Birkirkara Risen Christ, he also holds the Cross as a symbol of his sacrifice. The two doors differ from the Sacred Heart of Jesus door in their use of a gilt frame, a feature not present in the Senglea tabernacle, which instead utilises the natural colour of the wood itself.

Although small in size, the painting of The Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Senglea basilica remains an important work both in the church and within Zahra’s artistic oeuvre, particularly since it was painted on a tabernacle door. Through its recent restoration, this work of art can now be admired in its full splendour, providing new opportunities for more study of its artistic significance.

Conservation treatments

When the archpriest of Senglea’s basilica, Robin Camilleri, handed over the painted tabernacle door to ASC Conservation Centre Ltd [at the time known as Amy Sciberras Conservators], practically Zahra’s entire depiction was concealed by thick brown overpaint and aged dark varnishes.

A detail photographed in the early phases of the conservation showing the state of Christ’s face prior to treatments. Photo: ASC Conservation Centre Ltd.

The whole image appeared obscure and without any background details whatsoever. Furthermore, preliminary cleaning tests performed by conservation director Amy Sciberras, involving the use of a diverse range of cleaning agents, showed that such overpaint had become close to insoluble over the years.

For the above reasons, in addition to the multispectral imaging and examinations carried out during the initial stages of every conservation project, in this case X-radiography analysis was considered imperative to understand the artefact and what was hidden beneath the extremely thick layer of brown overpaint. The use of X-rays also permitted the conservators to look into the manufacturing technique of the wooden panel. Results showed that the support was stable, as was also confirmed by wood expert Michael Formosa. In fact, the wooden support only had a few splinters at the surface which the conservators stabilised and re-attached.

Multispectral imaging investigations carried out before treatments to reveal the manufacturing technique of the artifact, its deterioration and past interventions. Photos: Manuel Ciantar and Suzanne Ciantar Ferrito obo ASC Conservation Centre Ltd.

X-radiography results also revealed that under the brown overpaint, there were numerous details completely hidden from sight, including a rather detailed background consisting of a clouded sky, abounding with heads of small putti. It was also surprising to see that the previous restorers had changed the undulation and folds of Christ’s drapery.

Hence, such non-invasive X-radiography results were fundamental during the cleaning process, which turned out to be very time-consuming. The degree of cleaning involving the removal of overpaint and varnishes was also monitored under ultraviolet light. For the conservators, it was extremely rewarding to see the original painting emerge gradually from under the past overpaint.

Conservation director and founder Amy Sciberras during the cleaning of overpaint covering the original. Photo: ASC Conservation Centre Ltd.

Following this very delicate process, losses in the wooden support and in the upper pictorial layers were infilled and integrated. This stage of the project also entailed taking an important ethical decision.

Due to the panel’s manufacturing technique and the way it was built/assembled, when looking at the panel painting, one can see that there is a vertical joint in the wooden structure. Whereas generally gaps and lacunae in a painted surface are infilled, in this case the surfaces of the joined parts are not perfectly aligned, and subsequent to cleaning treatments, original paint was found in the gap along the panel’s vertical joint where the wood abuts. For this reason, after also liaising with the archpriest, it was decided not to infill the channel so as to preserve the original paint found over the panel’s joint.

More details photographed during the cleaning procedure that uncovered the original hues of the painted tabernacle door. Photo: ASC Conservation Centre Ltd.

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Finally, where there were losses in the paint layer, these were chromatically integrated using reversible varnish colours. A protective coating was applied to the surface both prior to and also after the retouching intervention. The first application served as a barrier or isolation layer between the paint layer and our chromatic integration intervention, which addressed losses in the painted surface.

Through the conservation interventions carried out by ASC Conservation Centre Ltd, today the Nativity of Mary basilica in Senglea can boast of having brought to light this beautifully executed artefact attributed to Francesco Zahra.

Acknowledgments

ASC Conservation Centre Ltd thanks archpriest Robin Camilleri; administrative secretary of the Malta Archdiocese, Michael Pace Ross; Senglea parish church curator Gino Parnis; volunteer Dame Kirby Attard Gilford; technical art photographers Manuel Ciantar and Suzanne Ciantar Ferrito; Triton NDT Ltd for the X-radiography; and Joseph Calleja, CEO, the benefactor Palombo Shipyards Company.

Amy Sciberras directs a team of conservators and has been entrusted with restoration projects of national and international importance. She is also the founder and director of the fine arts restoration company ASC Conservation Centre Ltd and may be contacted via www.amysciberras.com or e-mail info@amysciberras.com.

Nadette Xuereb is an art historian specialised on the role of women in the arts during the baroque period. She works in the cultural heritage sector and teaches history of art at A-level at the University of Malta Junior College, and may be contacted via e-mail nadette.xuereb@um.edu.mt.