Exhibition on painting's restoration

The National Museum of Fine Arts in association with the St John's Co-cathedral Foundation is presenting an exhibition on the conservation of the painting San Carlo Borromeo by Agostino Masucci (1691-1758), recently restored in the restoration laboratories of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

The painting is normally hung in the Chapel of the Anglo-Bavarian Langue, also known as the Chapel of Relics, in the conventual church of St John's.

After having been damaged during World War II and restored by the art section of the National Museum in the mid-1940s, it subsequently developed further conservation problems due to a combination of various factors.

The painting was accordingly taken again in hand by the National Museum of Fine Arts in 1998 and treated initially by Mario Galea and completed by George Farrugia, senior restorers of painting with the museum.

Prior to its being returned to its original location, the restored painting is now expertly displayed at the Contemporary Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta along with various information panels that detail the restoration process of the painting besides a brief artistic appreciation.

The exhibition remains open until April 18, between 9 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. daily except public holidays. Admission is free.