Parish Church of Covas

Conservation and restoration work of the main altarpiece and the ceiling of the presbytery. Like many other altarpieces, this one has also undergone changes that have corrupted its identity and concealed the nobility of the original materials. Through his contract of execution of 1696, it is known that the carving was left to Pedro Coelho, a native of Guimarães, and the gilding with “real gold” was probably carried out by the painter João de Sousa. Our work has been to remove all additions that have adulterated its original structure, as well as to remove the repaintings and to preserve the existing original gilding. The elements that had disappeared during the intervention of the 19th century, as is the case with the tabernacle and the pediment, in the impossibility of recovering the original elements, were replaced by functional, contemporary and as quiet elements as possible. The ceiling of the chancel, invoked to São João, in oil painting on boards, was cleaned and preserved, recovering the strength and expression of the colors used by the author. From the intervention in the chancel, we were not indifferent to the cross arch, which was completely covered by a thick layer of cement. Our insistence made it possible to remove the cement and to recover the traces of the painting that covered its stone. The side altarpieces and the pelmet, neoclassical elements, and most of the sculptures, were also preserved during this intervention. Watch here the trailer of the documentary that we directed about the work. 

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