Tagtik

Disaster: Angel falls from the ceiling

An important art work in the Ansembourg Museum in Liège (Belgium) is in a sorry state. An angel has collapsed to the ground and other pieces of Jean-Baptiste Coclers' painting are scattered all over the floor.

One of the ceilings in the Ansembourg Museum in Liège is decorated with a work of art by the Liège painter Jean-Baptiste Coclers called "Virtue Magnified by Time". It dates back to the mid-18th century (1741). Unfortunately, the museum has suffered from a water leak that has spread fungus in the past. It's currently closed to the public for renovation work on the building. However, Coclers' work could not be saved in time. One of the angels has come loose from the ceiling. This will require additional work to repair the damage to the painted ceiling.

A canvas on the ground

On August 14, (the information was only revealed in October by the public television site RTBF), debris was discovered on the ground that came from the painting on the ceiling. They were placed on a canvas on the ground. There had already been cracks on the art work for a long time but it seems that the Liège tram construction site caused vibrations that ultimately made the situation worse. Hence the angel's leap for this exceptional heritage of Wallonia.

(MH with Olivier Duquesne – Source: RTBF – Picture: © Wikipedia – Daviddh820 – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)

This may also be of interest to you