Resurrection of ‘Christ on the Cross’ : Art: The County Museum of Art has acquired and restored a 15th-Century altarpiece thought to have been destroyed in WWII.

The County Museum of Art has a grand new acquisition, “Christ on the Cross With Saints Mark, John the Baptist, Vincent Ferrer and the Blessed Antonius,” a major 15th-Century Italian altarpiece by a painter known only as the Master of the Fiesole Epiphany. The richly colored portrayal of a bejeweled Christ surrounded by four holy men and a host of angels goes on view on Tuesday.

How important is this painting?

Important enough for curator Philip Conisbee to have reserved it by telephone when a London dealer informed him that the altarpiece, which was thought to have been destroyed during World War II, was on the market.

Important enough for the museum to have marshaled an undisclosed amount of money from the Ahmanson Foundation to purchase the Renaissance work.

Important enough for conservator Joseph E. Fronek to have spent six months cleaning and restoring the tempera-on-panel painting, which measures roughly 6 feet square.

Important enough to have become the centerpiece of the museum’s 15th-Century gallery, which has been repainted and refurbished to accommodate the new addition.

Important enough for the museum to have commissioned a Florentine frame builder to create a tabernacle frame for the painting. (The new creation, of a type that originally graced the painting, will replace the temporary frame later this summer.)

“Christ on the Cross” has filled a gaping hole in the museum’s collection, Conisbee said. While the museum owned 16th- and 17th-Century altarpieces, it lacked a comparable work from the 15th Century. LACMA has no hope of acquiring a major work by such renowned 15th-Century masters as Sandro Botticelli, Filippo Lippi or Domenico Ghirlandaio, but the new addition is much more than an attractive substitute. The altarpiece is a fine example of late 15th-Century Florentine painting that is also “a beautiful and moving image,” Conisbee said.

The artist, a follower of Ghirlandaio, is named for his painting of the adoration of the Magi in a church in Fiesole, near Florence. “Christ on the Cross” is larger and more important than the artist’s work in Fiesole, according to Conisbee. Indeed, the painter might be more appropriately named “the Master of the Los Angeles Christ on the Cross,” Conisbee said.

Art historian Everett Fahy, who identified the painter, only knew the long-lost “Christ on the Cross” from photographs.

The altarpiece was painted around 1485-90 for the chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross in the Dominican monastic church of San Marco in Florence, which is known for frescoes painted in monks’ cells by Fra Angelico. The altarpiece was removed during remodeling during the 16th Century and it disappeared until 1830, when it turned up in England, Conisbee said. The painting subsequently passed through several private English collections. An unidentified English family bought it at auction in 1935 and took it to their home in Italy. The residence was destroyed by bombs in 1943, so scholars thought the painting had perished. But it had been stored in a warehouse and came to light last year, when the family estate was liquidated.

The painting had apparently been in the same crate for more than 50 years. “It’s the dirtiest painting I ever worked on, maybe the dirtiest painting I ever saw,” Fronek said. But the grime may have protected the painting, and neglect likely saved it from an unprofessional restoration.

Several sections of loose paint had to be secured with tissue patches during transportation and glued to the panel after the painting arrived at LACMA’s conservation laboratory, but actual losses of pigment were minor, Fronek said. Once he removed layer upon layer of varnish and grime, the altarpiece turned out to be in astonishingly good condition. Highlights of tiny pearls on the borders of Christ’s robe still sparkle, and the painting boasts a startling range of vivid color, meant to be clearly visible under candlelight. Some gold details have disappeared, but a profusion of golden stitches and patterns still enlivens the composition.

Although the painting depicts the Crucifixion, with Christ’s body corresponding to the shape of a cross, he is also a resurrected Christ who hovers above a chalice and displays stigmata on his hands.

The resurrection of the painting itself is a tale of good luck, curatorial acumen, enlightened patronage and skillful conservation. As Conisbee tells it, the story began last fall with a visit to a London dealer. While discussing his wish list of acquisitions for the museum, Conisbee mentioned his hope of finding an important 15th-Century picture. The dealer didn’t have one, but two weeks later he called the curator in Los Angeles to say that “Christ on the Cross” had just come to light. “I reserved it over the telephone and immediately returned to London,” Conisbee said.

The board of trustees approved the purchase in September and the painting arrived at the museum in October. Fronek began his work in November.

“It was exciting to work on because there was little damage, the painting hadn’t been seen in years and it was so dirty,” Fronek said.

The transformation is dramatic, as everyone who has witnessed the change--and might have questioned the purchase--agrees. Conisbee is not inclined to boast, but he confesses a certain pride in this acquisition: “We’re always particularly pleased to acquire something that hasn’t been on the market for a long time and hasn’t been seen by everybody else.”