The restoration of the high altar took place in stages from 2006 to 2020. In 2018 and 2019, a restoration team led by Mgr. Daniel Talavera worked on the renewal of the wooden architecture of the columns and cornices, as well as the statues and gilded ornaments. The final appearance of the altar combines gold and copper leaf. This color scheme, unique in its extent within Central Europe, was originally used when the altar was created in the first quarter of the 18th century.
“Several years ago, at the beginning of the restoration of this church’s interior (…) I was invited by the monastery as an expert to help design the overall concept and intent for the restoration of the space, particularly all the altars. Restoration is an extremely demanding process that focuses on preserving the work itself—especially its essence—while seeking ways to return to the original presentation, reflecting how the monument looked at the time of its creation.
Since their installation in the 17th century, all the movable monuments in this church have undergone many changes, particularly in the color of the polychromy on the sculptural decoration of individual altars. The restoration process and the search for the ‘right path’ were always preceded by extensive discussions involving representatives of the National Heritage Institute. Restoration surveys were analyzed in great detail to serve as the basis for the initial standpoint.
On the sculptural decoration of the altars—the figures of saints and angels—later overpaintings were removed, especially on the polychrome layers of the flesh tones (incarnates). In numerous places, new gilding had been applied over new chalk base layers. This chalk layer was very thick, completely degrading the original, masterfully expressive carvings and covering the fragmentary original layer upon which copper leaf had been placed. It was precisely here that the decision was made to remove the gilding, likely dating from the 19th century, and to perform a reconstruction using copper leaf.”
“As is now evident following the completion of several previous stages, the restoration plan was chosen very well; the resulting authenticity has a very positive impact within the church space.”
Doc. Petr Kuthan, Academic Sculptor and Restorer
The total cost of these restoration works amounted to CZK 16.5 million.
The restoration was funded by the Monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague through contributions from numerous individual donors, grants from the City of Prague (2017: 1.2M, 2018: 2.2M, 2019: 1.2M CZK), and subsidies from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic (2006–2018: 1.36M CZK).
