A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

319 Famke Peters 17 318 Summary – Limburg Sculptures in the ‘Restorer’s’ Hands: Archival ­ Documents as a Source for the Reconstruction of a Piece of Restoration History The present appearance of many of the sculptures from the Elsloo group is the result of modifications carried out in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. In that period many churches were refurbished, often in neo - Gothic style, and it was not unusual to include a ‘restoration’ of the old statuary in the process. Some statues were given a new, brightly coloured polychromy while others were stripped of their paint, leaving the bare wood visible. Evidence of such campaigns can be found in the church records and the archives of the Royal Commission for Monuments and Sites, which was and still is an important advisory and control body. Some of these ‘restorations’ were carried out by local artisan - artists, others by established sculptor - restorers under the Commission’s supervision. An example of the former is the early - twentieth - century restoration of the St Anne with the Virgin and Child from St Catherine’s Church in Maaseik, under- taken by three local artisan - artists. The same individuals were also involved in the restoration of the Calvary in St Martin’s Church in Beek around 1917 - 1925. During the partial refurbishment of that church in the 1930s, carried out under the Commission’s supervision, the Calvary was also moved to a new place in the building. Another important campaign, likewise carried out under the Commission’s aegis, was the redecoration of the interior of St Lambert’s Church in Neeroeteren in the last decades of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth. This also included the treatment of the numerous late - Gothic sculptures, which were stripped of their paint. The archives provide information about the restorations themselves and about the material condition of the statues at the time, and contribute to a better understanding of the prevailing ideas about restoration and aesthetics.