Conservation of the Nativity Mural

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Hanover, Pennsylvania

Sacred Heart Basilica is a once in a lifetime project where the stars aligned allowing for the complete restoration of the church’s historic interior: reinstitution of the decorative scheme, fine art mural conservation, and new marble altarpieces to replicate the historic design. The parish’s 200+ history includes records of a Jesuit mission post in Conewago as early as 1637 with the first church church of the parish founded in 1730. The present construction was built in 1787, then enlarged in 1850, dates Sacred Heart as one of the oldest churches in America. Propelled by exciting discoveries hidden beneath decades of overpaint on the fine art murals and historic photographs that guided towards near perfect paint exposures of the historic scheme, we built momentum with the congregation towards the total restoration of the interior scheme dated 1887.

As a part of this project, the fine art murals on the far walls of the north and south transepts were conserved. These murals of the Nativity and Crucifixion, painted by Franz Stecher, mirror each other in placement and framing. Most of the figures were heavily overpainted, the background landscape of the painting had been obliterated in the 1950s along with the trompe l’oeil framing corresponding to the decorative scheme. Through a process of paint exposures and conservation testing, a conservation program was tailored to the specific needs of the paintings with replication. The overpaint was removed and the original hand of the artists was conserved as much as possible.

Nativity historic photograph

Nativity & transcept before restoration

When Canning conservators first arrived onsite to investigate the condition of the transcept murals, we knew from a historic photograph, shown above, that the Nativity scene was contained within a landscape and framed into the decorative scheme. Our conservators soon uncovered that the remainder of the original Franz Stecher painting lay just below the wallcolor albeit, significantly damaged. The figures had also been heavily overpainted masking the gentle features and mannerisms in the mural. The transcept mural of the Nativity depicts the humble manger scene with the sun setting in the hills beyond. St. Joseph and Mary knell on either side of the Christ Child, with the animals curiously observing from their stables behind, overhead soars an angel carrying a banner exclaiming, “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.” There is a quiet beauty to the composition of the painting that appropriately compliments the earthtone elegance of the church interior.

Paint exposure revealing some of the background of the Nativity mural

Once the mural was returned to the original paint layer, it was reassessed to confirm the conservation program addressing inpainting and repairs. The images below show details of the overpaint removed from the Blessed Mother figure and inpainting in progress. The background landscapes required reconstruction based on findings due to irreparable losses and instability of the paint layer however, all the figures were able to be carefully conserved, retaining the brushstrokes and artistic intent of Stecher. Once complete, the halos were gilded, adding the perfect amount of brilliance to compliment jewel tones and gilded accents throughout the interior.

Nativity conservation in progress: detail of the overpaint removed from the Blessed Mother figure and inpainting in progress

Nativity conservation in progress: Close-up details of overpaint removed and inpainting of Joseph

While the mural conservation was ongoing, the surrounding trompe l’oeil frame and supporting adornment were reinstated according to historic patterns discovered during an extensive paint investigation. Now, the transcept murals are properly contained within framing and balanced between the two flanking stained-glass windows. The image below shows the decorative arts and mural conservation complete. The architecture, decoration, and fine art are once again in harmony now that the decoration acts as a natural outgrowth of the architectural construction to balance the wall spacing and contain the fine art.