Kerala: 250-year-old painting of St Mary to get a facelift

KOTTAYAM: For the first time in the last 250 years, the painting of St Mary imported from Greece is being renovated by a group of mural painters at the Kudavechoor Church at Vechoor, one of the first churches in the region.

Established in 1463 the church bears the picture of  St Mary carrying infant Jesus. Drawn using the natural pigments and the small golden leafs for giving it a natural colour, it has a wooden platform. According to the church authorities, the purpose of the work is help maintain the painting in its original form. "The costly natural pigments imported from Italy is used for renovating. For that, the solvent cleaning will be done. Golden leaves are used for giving an original lustre. The portions where the paint got fainted will be brought back to the original by retouching," V.M. Jijulal, the mural artist, told DC.

Mr Jijulal, who got a fellowship of the Union ministry of culture, is assisted by two other artists. The Vechoor region is renowned for overseas connections, and according to the historians, the Dutch had trade links with it in the 15th century.