Swiatek Studios is a firm based out of the state of New York and recently they shared a bit of their impressive work at the church of the Holy Family in Buffalo, New York. The project involved the restoration of the painted work within and around the apse in particular -- which, if you look closely, you will see in the 'before' photo, had an different depictions; namely the image of the Holy Spirit at the top, followed by God the Father and various angelic hosts surrounding him.
While the 'before' design was decent enough in at least some regards, it lacked the richness and sophistication of the restored design. Let's take a look.
BEFORE
The restored apsidal space, by contrast, has a much richer, much less flat decorative scheme. The figures of the twelve apostles remain, but everything else has changed (and very much in a Beuronese spirit), including symbols of the Four Evangelists in place of the angels, while the image of the Holy Spirit has now taken the place formerly held by God the Father. As I understand it, this restores the original apsidal design that was executed by the well known liturgical firm Rambusch, and was specifically a design of Frode Rambusch.
AFTER
One will also see various other murals that have been recovered and restored by Swiatek Sutdios, including some that are rather uniquely inspired by the Book of Kells (and indeed, throughout the various design elements in this church one will find a distinctly Irish/Celtic influence throughout).
As the story so often goes, these were sadly painted over in what can only be considered a kind of quasi-iconoclastic movement that took place in some parts of the Church during the post-conciliar period, much of which is only now being once again restored and recovered from.
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| (Left: Before. Right: After) |
Two partially recovered murals have also been revealed, one showing Christ on the Road to Emmaus, and the other, the Supper at Emmaus. These have yet to be restored but will indeed be in due course. They provide an insight into the extent of the historical damages that was done here as in so many places, frequently in victim to minimalist interpretations of "noble simplicity.".
In the same vein, here is one other view of the whitewash stripped away to reveal the underlying polychromatic details that were rediscovered and restored.
All said, what we find here is that a greater sense of balance and harmony have been restored to the church by this restoration of all this colour, imagery and ornament. The 'before' felt akin to an unfinished church that was yet still in progress, visually weighting some sections of the building over others, but not in a good way. By contrast, in the restored decorative scheme, one can see how these parts now all work together in a greater unity and harmony with one another.
If you would be interested in more information about this project or the services offered by Swiatek Studios, I'd encourage you to visit their website and follow them on social media.
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