The Vatican Museums are proud to present the new restoration project of the bozzetti of the Angels of Saint Peter by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. These angels recently received conservative attention in 1981, thanks to the generosity of our New York patron Mrs. Lucy McGrath, to allow their transportation to the USA for the exhibition “Angels from the Vatican”. Presently, they need a more in-depth restoration. Two of these preparatory models are for the famous angels that stand guard next to the monumental Cathedra of St. Peter at the end of the main nave of St. Peter’s Basilica. Two smaller angels are part of the same collection of bozzetti for the Cathedra of St Peter but they were never used for the final statues in bronze given that Bernini adjusted his original plan as the works progressed. There are also two bozzetti of the heads of Sts. Athanasius and John Chrysostom, two of the four saints that hold up this same cathedra. Finally, two others are the models for the adoring angels that flank the glorious tabernacle in the majestic Blessed Sacrament chapel in the Vatican Basilica. These magnificent statues made in bronze and gold are symbolic of the genius and elegance of the baroque style. The unique value of these bozzetti lies in the fact that they reveal the method used by Bernini and the other great bronze sculptors of the 17th century. A broken piece of an angel’s wing reveals to the viewer how iron rods were bent to form the skeleton of the model. Then vines were tied together with twine and wrapped around the iron rods to form the base around which a heavy mix of clay and dried grass was applied. Finally, a softer clay layer was laid over the whole model, and it was in this softer coat that the final sculpting was done. The eight bozzetti of this collection were the last step of Bernini’s sculpting process, just before fusion. The procedure consisted in using these models as the base around which different clay molds were produced for each part of the statue. Then the interior of each clay mold was painted with wax before fitting them all together, creating an empty shell of the statue. Finally, the melted bronze was slowly poured in. Once the bronze had cooled, the mold was removed and thrown away. Thus nothing remains of the creative process of these famous Bernini statues except these models. Being that these bozzetti are made with an extremely fragile clay material they rarely survive over the years, let alone over the centuries! The two large angels found at the sides of the throne of the Cathedra of St. Peter are the most important pieces. Bernini himself worked the clay of these angel models during the spring of 1665, making them the last elements of the cathedra to be melted into bronze. The sense of the dynamism of this group is achieved by the torsion of the bodies contrasted with the gentle flow of the clothes. Two smaller angels are part of the same collection of bozzetti for the Cathedra of St. Peter, but they were never used for the final statues in bronze given that Bernini adjusted his original plan as the works progressed. Two more angels belong to the altar of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Peters, which was accomplished during the pontificate of Clemens X (1673-74). The project for this altar is a perfect example of Bernini’s care and attention to the smallest details. In the drawings Bernini made for this altar, which date back to 1658-61 (now in the Ermitage in St. Petersburg), the plan calls for four angels but they became just two angels in the final version of the altar. The final two models that make up this collection are bozzetti for the heads of St. John Chrysostom and St. Athanasius. These are the only surviving pieces of the bozzetti for the four statues of the Fathers of the Church, which Bernini placed holding up the chair of St. Peter. Bernini thoughtfully chose two fathers from the East and two from the West, symbolic of the two principal theological schools of the early doctors. The statues were executed betweeen1662 and 1663. Despite the simplicity of the features and the immensity of their dimensions, the faces of both these fathers communicate the passion of faith that drove them and the noble morality that sustained them.

Deposits and incrustations covered the whole surface. The raw clay was an extremely fragile material, and therefore the angels presented multiple cracks and fissures. Unfortunately, the fragility of the raw clay also caused the deterioration of parts of the wings and clothes which were kept in storage in the Vatican Museums.

Kneeling Angel for the Chapel of the Holy Sacraments

Large scale and final model inv. D6561

Work began last October 2014 on the restoration of the Kneeling Angel of the Chapel of the Holy Sacraments and it is now exhibited to the public in Room XVII of the Pinacoteca in the Vatican Museums. As in the previous models, the restoration includes disinfestation, consolidation, securing detached fragments and potentially dangerous crumbling, the treatment of the supporting wrought-iron and wood structure as well as the careful removal of all modern-era restorations done in the 1980s which used white plaster. It was particularly challenging to remove a large area of stucco that disfigured the face: it was composed of a mix of plaster and foreign fragments used to fill in the area of the missing left eye of the sculpture. The removal of the stucco and the aforementioned fragments revealed a large gap in the face and extended to a depth that permitted the observation and restorative treatment of the wrought-iron armature that formed the head. For structural reasons, and to harmoniously restore the interior volumes of the face, it was decided to reconstruct the missing areas, using a criterion that makes it easily recognizable and using a completely reversible process.

Large-Scale Angels, produced for the altar in St. Peters Cathedral

Completing the project of restoration of seven large-scale models that were cast in bronze and created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the Alter in St. Peters Cathedral, the last are these two large-scale angels, on the right and the left. To properly transport these two large works, each with a height of 2.40 meters, from Room XVII in the Pinacoteca to the restoration lab, it was necessary to make steel bases with a maximum weight capacity of 1500 kg; these have been fitted with a vertical structure of anchors and safety wheels with adjustable suspension as well as tracks for sliding the base. This solved the various problems related to the incline and interrupted pavements that were met along the path leading the outside worksite. To allow the works to exit the exhibition hall it was necessary to reconstruct one of the former doors of the Pinacoteca, which was too low to allow passage of the Angels. The room was dissembled and structurally modified to allow the passage of these specific works. All handling operations for the Angels were supervised by the conservator in charge of the restoration; transporting the works from their original bases to the steel bases, transport to the worksite, the structural modifications to the door of Room XVII in the Pinacoteca. All were followed rigorous standards in accord with the protocol standards used by the Vatican Museums. The two large-scale Angels were moved to the worksite, at different times, and to date, they have been subjected to the treatment of disinfection in an anoxic environment. This treatment, together with an important preliminary restoration study, was carried out and continued for all stages of the project and executed by the dedicated specialists who are part of the Maintenance and Museum Support Team. A recap of the main operations, carried out on all models, and now concluded for the restoration to date and also involving work on the last large-scale Angel (left) which will begin next week, is described as follows: 

• reviewing the state of conservation and the first microaspiration 
• highlighting the various stages of the modern-era restoration (plaster, vinyl glues, application clay and color)
• cleaning the surfaces of the vinyl colorings and paint
• removal of the additions in white plaster, from the modern era
• structural integration and consolidation
• search for replacements for dispersed fragments and study for their reintegration
• re-composting
• consolidations
• removal of corrosive elements and conversation treatment of all metal parts followed by the protection that isolates this area from other materials 
• chromatic integration of reconstructed areas, using a small brush
• dry cleaning of modeled surfaces to highlight color (flesh and clothing folds)
• photographic documentation and conservation mapping

The conclusion and delivery of this restoration project are forecasted for the end of 2016, with the relocation of these last two large works in Room XVII of the Pinacoteca Gallery in the Vatican Museums. 

Large Angel (right) – large-scale and definitive model inv. D6562

Parallel to the relocation of the Kneeling Angel of the Holy Sacraments in the Pinacoteca, the Large Angel (right) was transferred to the worksite in October 2014. The restoration work was begun immediately, while the treatment of pest control, under the Direction of Works, has been postponed until the final stages of the operation; for the above reason, the anoxic disinfection was undertaken at the beginning of September 2015 and will be concluded during a timeframe necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the treatment. The restoration has been completed, except for some delicate operations to be performed on portions of the head and upper area of the left wing, which will be completed in a few weeks, as soon as the disinfestation treatment is finished. Scaffolding will be constructed, which will be essential for the conservation of the last Large Angel (left) which needs a higher-level apparatus. In particular, some stages of the cleaning of the face and hands were very challenging because it was necessary to remove considerable amounts of stucco plaster and vinyl adhesives heavily applied in the past, which were present especially in large areas that were representative of the modeling; the glues were applied to match the tone of the clay to cover the white plaster gaps (on the face, hands, and feet) and the colorless glue was applied over large areas of the front drapery front. On several areas of the work, it was necessary to remove and then correctly replace certain fragments assembled with glue and plaster, with the addition of a new fragment to the modeling of the drapery. The cleaning of the wooden base led to the recognition of an inscription in graphite. It would appear to represent numerical calculations. For more technical and scientific analysis of these markings, the Scientific Laboratory for Conservation Diagnostics will take on this task.

Large Angel (left) – large-scale and definitive model inv. D6558

The Angel was transported to the worksite in April 2015. During the successive months, the work underwent a disinfestation treatment, concluded in September 2015. The Angel is currently still protected by a polibarriera sack and awaiting the preliminary conservation consensus before continuing the conservation. The steel transport base construction was improved in technique, as compared to the previous one, and for this motive, the Angel (left) appears much taller than the Angela (right). For various motives geared to the ideal procedures and to complete the entire project, it was necessary to request a higher safety scaffolding, which will be furnished soon.