Huesca commission approves moving Sijena's secular paintings from Barcelona, work from 19 October

Commission authorizes the move

On Friday, the Provincial Commission of Cultural Heritage of Huesca approved, in an extraordinary plenary session, the dismantling, packing, transport and unpacking of the secular paintings ("pinturas profanas") displayed in room 17 of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in Barcelona. The works are bound for the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Sijena in Villanueva de Sijena, Huesca. The paintings are a mural fresco transferred to canvas, formed by eight panels that once decorated the upper walls of a rectangular room between the church and the cloister, and they left the monastery in the 1960s, according to EL PAÍS. ABC reports that the Generalitat de Catalunya raised no objection after the Supreme Court ruled that the religious and secular works must return to Villanueva de Sijena. The commission reviewed MNAC documentation on conservation status, dismantling and packing procedures, transport conditions, the schedule, the contractor and the insurance policy. The work will be carried out by SIT, a company hired by the museum, in coordination with technicians appointed by the Aragonese government.

Schedule and logistics

The Aragonese government says the work will begin on 19 October and run for four weeks until 5 November. Pedro Olloqui, director general of Culture, gave those dates and said the packing, transfer and unpacking would take four weeks. The plan uses a 30 cubic metre truck with two drivers, lifting platforms up to six metres high, and monitoring of temperature and humidity during transport. Unpacking at the monastery could take two to three working days. The insurance policy amounts to 1.7 million euros, a figure Olloqui said reflects the insurance coverage rather than the economic value of the paintings. Asked about their worth, Olloqui said they have so far been given only a symbolic value, and he added a caveat:

It may be that their value is even greater than that of the religious works.

The museum's position and the open calendar

The MNAC said before the decision that it had not yet received the authorization from the commission and that no concrete start date existed. The museum says it will begin work once it receives the documentation from the regional government, and it will then choose the start day. The MNAC describes the calendar as "provisional y orientativo" (provisional and indicative), and it says it will need to reprogramme the work to fit the final schedule. The museum's position was summed up in these words:

Without knowing when we will receive the document, we cannot have the definitive calendar.

The MNAC says the work could last four to five weeks once dismantling begins, and that it would prefer completion before the end of November. LaVanguardia and EL PAÍS report that November is when the contract with SIT expires. The museum also said it wants to act quickly and without risk to the paintings:

We want to do it as soon as possible and without running any risk for the paintings.

Dispute over the July start

The dismantling was originally planned for July. According to the MNAC, the regional government withheld permission because the Huesca commission had not yet met. Mar Vaquero, the Aragonese vice-president and councillor for the Presidency, Justice, Culture and Sport, told EL PAÍS that the work had been halted because "faltaba todo el proyecto técnico" (the whole technical project was missing). In the meantime, Aragon acquired a system of hanging combs on which the paintings will be displayed at the monastery. Vaquero called the authorization "el preámbulo para el regreso de todas las pinturas" (the preamble to the return of all the paintings). She also said the monastery, after an investment of six million euros, is in perfect condition to receive the works.