A look at the 250 year-old wall paintings at Mission Concepción

Father David Garcia points out the location on an architectural drawing where a worker uncovered decorative paintings on the dome lower molding at Mission Concepción. The mission is currently undergoing a $327,000 restoration. Jordan McMorrough | Today’s Catholic

SAN ANTONIO • As artisans continued the renovation of Mission Concepción, they discovered the worn pieces of decorative paintings with which the missionaries adorned its walls 250 years ago.

Colorful geometric designs that once covered its surface have long since faded. In early October, the original colors and designs were covered as the mission was newly plastered and repainted.

The church at Mission Concepcion will be closed until this phase of the restoration project is completed, probably sometime in March.

Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion was transferred from East Texas in 1731. The church looks essentially as it did in the mid-1700’s since the original walls and roof are intact. This original artwork is only found at Mission Concepción because it is the only one of the Old Spanish Missions that has remained structurally sound throughout the centuries. The other three lost their roofs, and some of their walls fell from erosion, weathering and the shifting soil upon which they were built.

Now that the original appearance has been determined, Mission Concepción’s colorful legacy will be restored to a richness that has not been seen for generations. The mission is the oldest, un-restored church in the United States.

The original scope of the current project at Mission Concepcion was to identify and repair areas of loose plaster in the done of the church, as well as repaint and repair the interior of the sanctuary. The existence of the Spanish Colonial plaster was suspected, but previously unknown. The scope of the project was to identify and replicate as much of the Spanish Colonial paint scheme as possible, as well as to incorporate the replacement of other areas of loose plaster in the sanctuary.

Throughout the spring, paints conservators Restoration Associates explored and documented the paint scheme. While much of the scheme was identified prior to the beginning of construction, previously unobserved frescoes were uncovered with the delicate demolition of the loose plaster. The identified Spanish Colonial frescoes primarily include banding along the walls, pilaster capitals, arches, and drum of the dome, as well as some scallops in the dome and remnants of frescoes in the four pendentives.

Father David Garcia, director of the Las Misiones Campaign, said permission was obtained from the Texas Historical Commission before work began, and that a lot of discussion took place before arriving at the best decision regarding the restoration.