Por Ismael Buendia 
El Gran Poder is one of the most anticipated images in the Semana Santa de Sevilla. Not only because it is a popular devotion that goes beyond the boundaries of Andalucía, but also because of the artistic values of a sculpture created by Juan de Mesa in 1620, considered a masterpiece of Baroque iconography. In the early hours of Good Friday, the also known as ‘Señor de Sevilla’ will once again process through the streets of the Andalusian capital, on a float designed and made by Francisco Ruiz Gijón in 1688, considered by experts as a «mobile altarpiece», whose design has become a model and inspiration for processional platforms for the rest of the brotherhoods in the autonomous community.
The float, the oldest currently making a penitential station in Andalucía, underwent a meticulous restoration almost three decades ago at the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH), an internationally recognized conservation institution under the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The intervention allowed the aesthetic values of a float that had significant support and polychrome problems to be reintegrated. After the process, they regained their dimension as a microarchitecture of great artistic quality, with its imprint of matte gold, the transparency of the latticework of the basket, and the combination of upholstered and gilded surfaces that give it its characteristic theatrical and Baroque ambiance.
This conservation project for the Gran Poder float marked a turning point, according to Rocío Magdaleno, head of the workshops department at the IAPH Intervention Center. «It transformed the way of approaching the restoration of floats with professional criteria. Previously, restorations were carried out by artisans, but since that project, they will be carried out with scientific criteria, turning the IAPH into a knowledge agent in these processes. The project was also the first funded through the Andalusian R&D Plan, in contact with universities and international organizations.»
Image and study of one of the angels from the Gran Poder float in Seville.
During this process, the institute’s technicians took X-ray photographs of the float, in which stand out, among other elements, twenty-four round sculptures of angels in various positions that, in a dynamic arrangement, engage with the viewer, complemented by six larger passion angels at the corners of the basket that frame the Gran Poder sculpture.
Some of these angel images taken at the IAPH are on display in the exhibition ‘The Revealed Image’, showcasing X-rays of 49 assets, from about thirty Andalusian brotherhoods and fraternities, subjected to study and restoration processes over the past thirty years, revealing a unique image of Baroque works by renowned creators such as Juan de Mesa and Ruiz Gijón, as well as Pedro Roldán, Juan Martínez Montañés, José de Mora, and Juan Bautista Vázquez ‘El Viejo’, among others.
The view of these X-ray images for a non-specialized audience allows us to «share our work with a didactic purpose,» says this restorer, expanding the scientific culture of society in such a sensitive topic as historical heritage, promoting the need for conservation and care. But the exhibition also offers the opportunity to approach these religious images «in a different way and enjoy their beauty. In the case of the Gran Poder angels, the X-rays are placed at the entrance of the exhibition, serving as a friendly introduction to the show, representing the revealed image and light as knowledge. Additionally, the beauty of the angels is very defined in these photographs.»
Pieces that can be visited in the exhibition ‘The Revealed Image’.
These final concepts, beyond the metaphor, also refer, explains Magdaleno, to the scientific data provided by these X-ray images, allowing us to understand the «internal structure of all the elements hidden in the sculptures that cannot be seen otherwise. Along with CT scans, this technique is essential for sculpture restorations and provides tremendous information, ranging from material density to interventions made on the artwork. It even provides historians with information about the construction technique or modifications made by the artist.»
Regarding the Gran Poder float, the angels have been repolychromed on several occasions since their original construction, but these interventions «maintained a quality that did not justify their removal. The angels on the float, specifically, have had three documented previous interventions: in 1775, there was a first intervention on the passionaries, which were reassembled; another between 1965 and 1969 at the workshop of Antonio Castillo Lastrucci, where pieces were mostly replaced; and a last one in 1988 at the workshop of Cayetano González. The IAPH restoration was carried out between 2011 and 2012.»
Detail of the basket of the Gran Poder float.
The IAPH restoration, with a budget of 137,000 euros – most of which was provided by the brotherhood itself – focused on support and polychrome issues, as well as fissures and cracks. In the case of the angels, «there were small losses, like the fingers of some pieces, and of polychrome, where there were some cracks. There was also intervention on the darkening of varnishes that concealed the original chromaticism. The angels, in general, as they were very well constructed, did not have assembly problems in the central body of the float.»
The results of the restoration have been appreciated by the brotherhood members for over a decade during the Seville ‘Madrugá’, but these days they can also visit the institute to discover the hidden light shown through X-rays of these angels from the float. Along with these images, the exhibition also displays other interesting X-rays of sculptures such as the Nazareno del Perdón by Juan de Mesa, the Cristo de la Providencia by Montes de Oca, and the Cristo de la Expiración del Museo by Marcos Cabrera, among others.
Float designed and made by Francisco Ruiz Gijón in 1688.
In this way, the exhibition showcases X-rays of sculptures of great historical-artistic significance that have passed through the image examination techniques laboratory of this institution under the Ministry of Culture and Sports in its thirty-five years of operation. It is worth mentioning that in the last decade alone, the IAPH has carried out over 200 conservation and restoration operations related to sacred art in Seville.
‘The Revealed Image’ can be visited in the exhibition hall of the IAPH Cloister of Laymen, at the Monastery of the Cartuja in Seville, from Tuesday to Friday, from 10 am to 1 pm and from 5 pm to 8 pm; Saturdays, from 11 am to 2 pm and from 5 pm to 8 pm; and Sundays and holidays, from 11 am to 2 pm. During Holy Week, the exhibition will only be open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The exhibition will remain open until May 30th and admission is free.