Aragon accuses the MNAC of "neglect" regarding the Sijena paintings: "If it were part of Catalan heritage, they would have preferred it."

BarcelonaThe government of Aragon accuses the MNAC of having acted with "negligence" and "lack of diligence" in the care of the mural paintings of Sijena and maintains that it is "safer" to install them in the monastery than to keep them in Barcelona. As reported by ACN, the preliminary results of the reports prepared by Aragonese technicians indicate a "lack of maintenance," "direct" effects due to humidity in some fragments, and the presence of dirt—such as cigarette butts, insects, or debris—behind the scenes, within the support structures of the paintings. "The conservation of the paintings has not met the necessary and desirable standards. If it were Catalan heritage, they would have preferred it, but it belongs to the Aragonese," stated the Director General of Culture of Aragon, Pedro Olloqui.

The two reports presented in Zaragoza this Tuesday by the Aragonese conservators and restorers will now be transferred to the Huesca court that ordered the return of the paintingsThe analysis based on the technicians' visit to the MNAC at the end of July concludes that the condition of the paintings is "stable" and that this allows them to be moved "without extraordinary risks." "There is no generalized pathology that would prevent their transfer," Olloqui said.

In this regard, the Government of Aragon proposes dismantling the group into 72 fragments to guarantee maximum safety conditions for the operation and reiterates its request to the MNAC to begin the dismantling, packaging, and transfer work in compliance with the ruling. Conservator-restorer Natalia Martínez de Pisón, director of the Aragonese technical teams, has announced that once installed in Sijena, "an intervention will be necessary" on the paintings due to their increasing deterioration in recent years. The Government of Aragon has maintained that the reports were carried out "brilliantly" by Aragonese technicians "of the highest national and international level." Olloqui stated that the analysis debunks the "self-serving, idealized, and mythologized" narrative surrounding the conservation of the Sijena paintings at the MNAC and has opened the door to future denunciation actions.

"The water leaks are the result of unstable conditions at the MNAC facilities, and neither the leaks nor the repairs carried out there were confirmed or reported by the MNAC management or the Catalan institutions. This is a very serious matter and must be denounced. We will address it in the future if necessary."

The MNAC denies any reports of damp in the mural paintings room.

The MNAC has submitted a new document to the Court of First Instance and Investigation No. 2 of Huesca in which it reiterates that there is no dampness or leaks in the room where the mural paintings from the Monastery of Vilanova de Sijena are kept. Therefore, it argues that the "reasons of urgency" alleged by Aragon do not exist. The museum recalls that the purpose of the judicial execution process is not to assess the conservation of the paintings, but rather their return to the monastery, and describes as "strange" and "procedurally inappropriate" that the Aragonese party is now questioning their preservation.

It also emphasizes that since the frescoes have been in its facilities, they have been preserved following "high museum standards" and with all the required rigor, without any objection having been raised so far by the Aragonese government. It also recalls that if they continue to exist, it is precisely because of the care they have shown. The text asserts that there is no distinct microclimate in the internal structure that supports the paintings.

The text presented by the MNAC includes several technical reports prepared by highly qualified personnel from different areas of knowledge within the museum that refute the claims of the Aragonese side. The MNAC also maintains that there is no distinct microclimate in the internal structure that supports the mural paintings, and asks the court to consider the written document and the attached documentation as proof of the absence of damp in Room 16. issued on July 4, 2016, which obliges the museum to return the mural paintings to the Chapter House of the Monastery of Sijena.