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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
- Artist Helios Gómez painted them during his imprisonment at the Model, in homage to the Virgin of Mercy, patroness of prisoners and the city of Barcelona
- The existence of the ceiling decoration was unknown, but it has now been discovered to have stars made from the tin foil that wrapped the chocolates brought to him by his family in prison
- The process, which lasted 6 months, was very difficult, slow, and technically complex because the overlapping layers were hard, rigid, and tightly adhered
Today, the results of the second phase of the conservation-restoration process to rediscover and consolidate the mural paintings that artist Helios Gómez created in 1950 at the Model prison have been revealed. According to the Barcelona City Council, the Department of Culture, through the Center for the Restoration of Movable Assets of the Generalitat de Catalunya (CRBMC), began the conservation-restoration process in December 2024 to recover the paintings located in cell no. 1 of the 4th gallery of the prison.
Present at today’s presentation were the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández, accompanied by Gabriel Gómez, son of Helios Gómez. Also in attendance were the Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, and the Minister of Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor Cantador.
Jaume Collboni praised the figure of Helios Gómez as «a painter, poet, revolutionary, a tireless activist for freedoms, justice, and the dignity of the Gypsy people.» He emphasized that the chapel «is a radical gesture of hope, dignity, and affirmation in the face of repression. A work that transcends the walls of the prison and becomes a symbol of Gypsy memory, of creation as a form of freedom, and of the diverse Barcelona we want. With the recovery of this chapel, we also restore memory.»
For the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández, the recovery of the Gypsy Chapel «is an example of how we understand heritage today: a tool that values non-hegemonic history and gives prominence to silenced voices. The paintings have great heritage value because they are a great example of the heritage of repression. When the conservation-restoration process is completed, we will protect the cell with the paintings as a cultural asset of national interest.»
The work presented corresponds to the discovery of the paintings. It lasted approximately six months, with the participation of two professional restorers and the partial support of two more restorers, with a grant in the specialty of mural painting at the CRBMC. The process was very difficult, slow, and technically complex because the overlapping layers were hard, rigid, and tightly adhered, especially the layer that was in direct contact with the original painting because it had a very similar chemical composition.
Through mechanical and chemical systems, the overlaid layers were removed millimeter by millimeter and layer by layer, in order not to damage the original painting, a process that required continuous support from the technicians of the physicochemical laboratory of the CRBMC to identify the nature of the materials and adjust the methodologies to the needs of each moment.
This phase has allowed to determine the total dimension of the mural decoration and recover almost the entire pictorial ensemble, which will have to be completed in a few months. Thanks to the few existing black and white photographic testimonies, the pictorial compositions on two of the walls (door and window) of the cell were known, but the existence of the ceiling decoration, which completed the ensemble and has now been discovered, was unknown. The side walls were also painted at the same time and match the rest of the decorated walls of the cell, but for now, only a monochrome layer and the perimeter baseboard appear.
The side walls with the shelves do not seem to have any decoration. However, stars made of tin foil that wrapped the chocolates brought to him by his family in prison have been discovered on the ceiling of the cell.
Helios Gómez received the commission to decorate the cell during his last imprisonment, at the insistence of the Mercedarian chaplain of the Model prison. Goméz depicted the Virgin of Mercy, with prisoners at her feet and a group of angel musicians. All the characters, including the Virgin and the Child, are represented as Gypsies, with the dark skin characteristic of the Gypsy ethnicity that the artist always claimed. It was, therefore, a tribute to the patroness of prisoners and also of Barcelona. These paintings could not be seen since 1998 because they were covered under several layers of plastic paint and plaster.
The conservation-restoration project
The project was initially divided into four phases: Phase 1 of examination, sampling, analysis, and preliminary studies, Phase 2 of discovery, Phase 3 of conservation-restoration, and Phase 4 of presentation and exhibition of the ensemble. The first phase consisted of a series of preliminary studies, with physicochemical analysis to determine the composition of the materials and to survey the entire interior to confirm the existence of mural painting.
These studies determined that the mural painting was oil on plaster and that it had up to 6 layers of plastic paint and plaster adhered that hid them. They also confirmed the existence of mural painting throughout the cell, including the ceiling, although not all areas with figurative scenes or ornamentation. The studies also determined the methodology for removing the overlaid paint layers, although the procedures have been adjusted and improved during the second phase, a common occurrence in processes of this nature.
The discovery of the lower parts of the walls, where more layers accumulate on top of Helios Gómez’s oil painting, will be completed in the last quarter of 2025. The 3rd phase of conservation-restoration for its presentation and definitive stabilization of the paintings will remain pending.