Restoration Projects at The Holy Innocents

     Constantino Brumidi, celebrated 19th Century painter and artist, is best known for his works in the United States Capitol Building. Fr. John Larkin, the first pastor of Holy Innocents, had the foresight to engage this prominent Italian painter to create a monumental mural over the main altar at Holy Innocents. Over the course of more than a century, Brumidi’s original work had been obscured by multiple restorations performed by other less known artists.

Work on the mural conservation process began with Christiana Cunningham-Adams of Cunningham-Adams Conservation in Washington, D. C., who is an internationally recognized specialist in the conservation of Brumidi’s works. The first phase of her plan for the full restoration of the mural involved stopping the disintegration of the mural, improving its appearance, and stabilizing the continued preservation. This phase was completed in February 2011.

The second and final phase of this project was to reclaim the original Brumidi artwork. Through the meticulous removal of multiple layers of unoriginal materials, including, veiling grime, discolored varnish layers, and massive over-paint, the true beauty and vibrancy intended by the artist has been revealed. The firm of Parma Conservation, a nationally recognized firm that specializes in mural conservation, was chosen to perform this task. Directed by Elizabeth Kendall and Peter Schoenmann, the firm undertook to clean the mural along with Christiana Cunningham-Adams, who was named an advisory counsel to the project. Their efforts revealed the full beauty of the Brumidi mural for parishioners and visitors to admire and worship, for generations to come.

     Please be a partner in this noble endeavor.