The sculpture of the Sorrowful Christ from the Boim Chapel has returned to Lviv. The statue was successfully rescued after two years of conservation work carried out by the Polonika Institute in cooperation with the Lviv National Art Gallery and the Lviv conservation services, reports the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
The sculpture is the most important element of the exhibition “What you can’t see”, which can be viewed at the J.J. Pinsel Museum in Lviv.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the conservators, art historians and all those involved in the difficult process of restoring the sculpture of the Sorrowful Christ. I am glad that today there is an opportunity to learn more about this monument that is so symbolic of Lviv and, importantly, the complicated, and known to few, course of the process of its successful restoration”, wrote Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz in a letter read out during the vernissage.
The head of the ministry of culture noted that Lviv and its monuments are a symbol of the strong historical ties linking Poland and Ukraine and encourage reflection on the need for unity and cooperation, especially at such a difficult time for Ukraine.
“Almost two years ago, the world as we have known it for the past decades underwent a dramatic transformation. Independent Ukraine found itself at the most tragic moment in its history. We are constantly receiving further sad news of casualties and devastation. I would like to firmly assure you of the continued support of my compatriots”, Minister Sienkiewicz stated.
The figure of the Sorrowful Christ was created as the crowning glory of the dome of the Boim Chapel in Lviv – one of the city’s most valuable monuments, which is about 30 metres high. In 2021, the limestone sculpture, weighing 280 kilograms, was dismantled from the chapel’s dome for the first time in its history due to a progressive process of deterioration, and then transported to Poland, where it underwent in-depth research and conservation.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński