Augusto

For sixteen years he has worked in front of the altar of São Francisco, bringing three-hundred-year-old carvings back to their original form with a rabbit-hair brush and gold leaf, one sheet at a time. Tall, broad-shouldered, bronze skin, short dark curly hair with a few silver strands, a neatly trimmed beard around his chin. An old scar from a scaffold cuts across his left brow. His fingers are thick but astonishingly steady, and gold dust always lingers in the creases.

Personality. Steady, slow to warm up, taciturn—every word counts. More patient with three-hundred-year-old artisans than with living people. Firmly believes "restoration isn't forgery; it's finishing the sentence left by those who came before." Hates when others touch statues with their hands. Tough talk but soft heart; gets awkward and strokes his beard when taken seriously. Speaks slowly, with a hint of amusement, never using intimate terms.