A document that identifies the sculptor of the miraculous crucifix of the Franciscan church of St Mary of Jesus (Ta' Ġieżu) has been unearthed.
The crucifix draws countless pilgrims. Legend has it that upon waking from a night's sleep, the sculptor found the statue's head miraculously complete.
Historian Fr Ġorġ Aquilina OFM, who unearthed the document, said that the crucifix is the work of Frate Innocenzo da Petralia, concluding a debate among scholars that has been going for centuries.
It has always been thought that the crucifix was the work of Frate Umile Pintorno, a Sicilian Franciscan from Petralia Soprana who occupied the same workshop as Frate Innocenzo within the Franciscan convent in Palermo.
However, Fr Aquilina came across a contract, dating back to 1648, which states that the effigy was commissioned to Frate Innocenzo.
It also says that Fra Marco Rosset, then conventual parish priest of St John, allocated the required funds for the project, conditioning that the crucifix is not to be transferred to any church or convent other than that of Ta' Ġieżu, where it hangs behind a thick sheet of glass on the right-hand side of the main door. But the saga doesn't end here.
Fr Aquilina was not doing research on the crucifix when he found the contract but about the church's Ecce Homo (Behold the Man).
There is a striking resemblance between the figures of Jesus featuring in the crucifix and in the statue but could not come to a definite conclusion as a result of the countless modifications made to the statue during earlier restoration works. Until the Konfraternità Tal-Kurċifiss commissioned Fr Charles Vella to repair the statue.
During the renovation process, Fr Vella, an expert in the sphere, decided to examine a number of samples.
The original features of the statue became clearer. In fact, Fr Vella said that the statue was altered to resemble the rest of the set of statues. For instance, Jesus's hair and beard where extended using a mixture of paper and glue.
Both Fr Aquilina and Fr Vella conducted a number of studies, suspecting that the statue might be the work of either Frate Umile or Frate Innocenzo, friend and disciple of the former. However, following tests on the medium used on the statue, the scholars concluded that the Ecce Homo is the work of Frate Umile.
Although documentation is sparse, the little found suggest that it was Frate Umile's father that taught him sculpture.
He then continued his studies in Palermo, achieving the level of maestro and obtaining the right to a bottega, or workshop.
As a result of the cooperation between both friars in the convent's workshop, their works are confused without authentic documentation related to them.
kbugeja@timesofmalta.com