Reg.Nr. HA 2001/BE/02

Restoration of various Statues of the Virgin Mary, Antwerp

In Antwerp, the many statues of the Virgin that adorn the facades of houses are part of the cultural heritage of the city. They deteriorate, and many disappear: more today than in the past. This task has been taken over by citizens' groups like the "Vereniging voor Kruis en ...
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Project details

Title:Restoration of various Statues of the Virgin Mary, Antwerp
Entr. year: 2001
Result:Diploma
Country: Belgium
Town: Antwerp
Category type: works of art and collections
Notes:Sculptures
Building type/ Project type: See notes
Former use:Statues
Actual use:Statues
The Jury's citation: "For the great care given to those works of art which form an important part of the City's religious architecture and traditions and the restoration's sensitivity for the past"

Description:
In Antwerp, the many statues of the Virgin that adorn the facades of houses are part of the cultural heritage of the city. They deteriorate, and many disappear: more today than in the past. This task has been taken over by citizens' groups like the "Vereniging voor Kruis en Beeld". Once the restorations were rather "amateurishly": tinkering, overpaints. Nowadays a more scientific intervention is required. During the last years the "Vereniging voor Kruis en Beeld" took the advice of external experts and multiply its efforts to protect and preserve as many as possible the cultural heritage of these wonderful witnesses to local history.