A historical heritage
The four panels are part of a set of eight panels that represent the Passion of Christ and some complementary scenes featuring Saints Francis, Gregory and John. Placed in standard along the nave of the small church of Tournehem, these eight panels were classified as historical monuments by order of 11 May 1897. They were made between 1470 and 1530, as evidenced by dendochronology dating and stylistic study. Their design evokes the productions of Artois and Picardy. These panels may have been made in 1526, on the occasion of the visit of the abbot of Clairvaux to the abbey of Sainte-Colombe de Blendecques where they come from. Another hypothesis, based on the representation of Saint Francis, would see them coming from a Franciscan convent. If their initial provenance remains uncertain, we know that they were bought in 1792 for the church of Tournehem during the sale of the movable goods of the abbey of Blendecques.
Restoration in several stages
In the 1930s, the poor state of conservation of the panels was observed, probably due to the high humidity of the church of Tournehem. Successive operations were then carried out on the faces suffering from the greatest material losses. It was even considered to split the panels by the implementation of the technique of the transposition of the pictorial layers. This would have seriously damaged the integrity of the works and this proposal was fortunately abandoned. But the panels continued to deteriorate and, in 1990, the four most damaged panels were transferred to Olivier Nouaille’s restoration workshop in Paris. Successive restorations of the support and the pictorial layer, including the removal of repaints and consolidation with Paraloid B72, were practiced there. In vain because the upheavals of the pictorial layer continued. Three panels were then fully protected by Japanese paper to prevent further material loss, and the other five were partially protected by the installation of facings.
In 2003 the panels were deposited at the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France (C2RMF) in Versailles. Several analyses, including X-rays, were conducted under the guidance of a commission of conservation and restoration specialists. It was decided to refix the pictorial layer, a very long and complex operation entrusted to a team of restorers (Jaunard, Malpel and Houdelinckx). The numerous losses of material made the methodology of restoration particularly difficult to define: was it necessary to reintegrate all the deficiencies in order to restore their legibility to the works or to leave the testimony of the hazards and the time that passes? He was finally opted for an illusionist reintegration of the gaps in order to give full meaning to the different scenes; this stage of restoration was entrusted to the restorers Aurélia Chevalier and Aurélie Nicolaus.
Balance sheet and outlook
The four panels that were left in place in the church will be the subject of an upcoming study that will decide whether or not restoration is necessary. The other movable objects of the church will also be the subject of a restoration project. Finally, a health study will be carried out on the church, which is itself listed under the title of historical monuments by order of 28 August 1974, in order to study the problems of humidity of the building and to implement the necessary work.
This restoration was carried out thanks to a collaboration between the municipality of Tournehem-sur-la-Hem, the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France and the restaurateurs.