Aragon announces that the transfer of the profane paintings of Sixena from the MNAC will begin on October 19th

BarcelonaThe government of Aragon has authorized the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) to transfer the profane paintings of Sixena to the monastery. In July the MNAC halted the dismantling of the works because it still did not have the approval of the Huesca Heritage Commission, which approved it this Friday.

The Director General of Heritage of Aragon, Pedro Olloqui, has stated that the transfer will begin on October 19 and will last four weeks, until November 5. Conversely, sources from the MNAC have told the ACN that the calendar is "indicative" because they have not yet received the official endorsement, although they have admitted that the paintings should be in Sixena before the end of November because that is when the contract with the company SIT, in charge of the transfer, ends.

The profane paintings of Sixena, which are located in room 17 of the MNAC, are a set of mural paintings consisting of eight panels that, in the manner of a continuous frieze, decorated the upper part of the walls of a rectangular room located between the church and the cloister of the monastery. As the MNAC has often explained, these profane paintings do not have the same conservation conditions as those in the chapter house and there are no risks that would justify not returning them.

The first step will be the aerial deinstallation. Since the pieces are exhibited at a height of 4.10 meters in the MNAC rooms, elevating platforms of up to 6 meters will be used to maneuver the works while maintaining their current position and orientation in order to avoid structural alterations, according to Olloqui. Once lowered, a detailed examination will be necessary to apply consolidation treatments to the areas that show detachment of the pictorial layer.

The works will be packed and transported in a 30-cubic-meter vehicle, with two drivers and via “previously examined” routes and accesses. As reported by the ACN, Olloqui has highlighted that technicians from the Government of Aragon will perform the duties of “couriers” to “personally supervise each of the phases of the dismantling, transfer, and opening of the crates.” The operation will not be considered concluded until these technicians issue final approval at Sixena. Olloqui also explained that upon arriving at the monastery, the crates will go through an “environmental acclimatization process” of at least 24 hours before being unpacked. A task that will last for two or three days. Initially, they will be deposited in a specially enabled storage area, waiting to be placed definitively in the area of the old dormitories.