Teresa Teves Reis & David Teves Reis
Epithets about the Old City of Goa such as Rome of the East were made possible due to the production of exemplary artworks by artists based there during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Today, due to current conservation condition and lack of comprehensive documentation, moveable artworks, especially easel paintings, are under threat of dissociation. Reversing this unfortunate trend requires a systematic co-operation and skill sharing between Goan and Portuguese professionals with expertise on Indo-Portuguese paintings towards its interpretation and proper conservation methodologies.
The religious paintings of this period would originally portray an idiosyncratic harmony of the Catholic scenes and a subtle inclusion of iconographic and stylistic traditions from Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Islamic art. The ingenious solutions adopted by local artists with regard material, construction and decorative techniques are also easily readable.
Many features of these Goan paintings have been hidden away or forgotten under layers of repaints or yellowed varnishes. These coatings were regularly applied to repair damage caused as a result of centuries of exposure to uncontrolled environments, humidity fluctuations and woodborers activity with devastating consequences to the base materials made of wood or canvas and the fragile paint layers.
In an early phase, damaged paintings would be over painted by renowned artists of the late 16th and 17th centuries. Progressively, this enriched circulation of artists and materials between Goa and Europe came to an end, reflecting on the poor quality of later interventions. In time, these artworks were often badly stored and repainted with inadequate techniques or used materials such as enamel and oil paints, thinners, saw dust fillings, linseed oil, shellac and bitumen in an effort to stabilize them or cover their damages. Once these paintings gradually lost their original values it then undermined people's ability to properly appreciate and interpret them.
In 2011, a successful cooperation took place between Goa and Portugal for conservation and restoration of the integrated heritage of the Santa Monica Convent in Old Goa. The Museum of Christian Art supported financially by the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology formed an international team led by the late Portuguese conservator-restorer Miguel Mateus who in turn collaborated with his colleague José Artur Pestana and team from Goan conservation and restoration firm Bico contracting and trading.
Within the convent, they found a large panel painting which was covered by layers of dirt and old varnishes and, apparently, without further damages. The implemented methodology clearly illustrates the challenging science of conserving Indo-Portuguese paintings. The team started treatment by stabilizing flaking paint layers and the wooden support of the panel. They then focused on removing old varnishes using cleaning protocols, developed by conservation scientists and chemists, which require a deep understanding of chemistry to be able to remove specific materials while avoid damaging adjacent materials. As the restoration progressed, they performed several tests before deciding on the proper solvent mixture, which allowed a safe and controllable method to remove the old varnish layer and disturbing retouches over the original colours. They gently and patiently removed the darkened layers of coatings while photo documenting all the steps of the process, already aware of the fragile surface underneath with its gilded decoration and delicate transparencies.
Once they restored the painting's material integrity, it was possible to appreciate its composition again. Miguel engaged with other experts like art historian Vitor Serrão. Together they came to a reasoned interpretation of this painting and their cooperation resulted in the identification of the two themes depicted in it - the Obsequies of Virgin Mary and Assumption towards Jesus Christ. This locally adapted and delightfully curious composition, attributed to Goan painter Aleixo Godinho, is inspired by the Flemish drawings of H. Wierix (1593), proving Goan artistic production during the beginning of the 17th century could compare with the best globally.
The next step in restoring this painting required further examination of repaints over the costumes of the figures and the background, which were suspected to be more delicate with colour gradations. The team wanted to be sure of repaints extent and the conservation condition of the primitive layers before moving further with theremoval of these later interventions. As modern scientific imaging techniques such as Infrared reflectography and X-Ray radiography were not available in Goa it was decided to keep the painting in its present condition, since the overall conservation of surface layers was satisfactory and interpretation of the object was achieved thus avoiding the risks of an irreversible procedure till opportunities for a better informed decision were available.
In this case, the darkened varnishes, covered well preserved paint layers, but in other Goan paintings, repaint or large areas of paint loss, may be revealed.
One must first assess ethical and technical issues before proceeding with restoration, especially in procedures like chromatic re-integration. Restoration procedures are complex and demand the restorer bridge different fields of expertise for well-grounded decisions and planning in order to get desired outcomes, which assure interpretation as well as the object’s authenticity, historical and material integrity.
Current international standards for conservation practice performed by qualified conservators-restorers in Goa has relied mostly on outsourced contracts, scholarships, training programmes or seasonal tenures due to the lack of permanent institutional based qualified teams.
Moving forward, the custodians of Goan paintings need to develop a more holistic approach to preservation of cultural heritage and address other urgent issues such as developing risk management plans, inventories, preventive and remedial conservation.
Miguel Mateus’ legacy to Indo-Portuguese heritage conservation lives in the works developed by his team and the ongoing projects of those who engaged with him in this quest for interpretation and conservation of Goan paintings. The conservation and restoration work developed in Santa Monica church, where the paintings can once again be appreciated, reflects such successful networking.