The Lleida Museum rules out lending some Sijena panels to Aragon for a temporary exhibition

BarcelonaThe Aragonese government has requested the loan of five Sijena panels currently on display at the Lleida Museum for the temporary exhibition Renaissance Jewels in AragonAccording to information obtained by ACN, these are four pieces that formed part of the old main altarpiece of the Aragonese monastery, depicting Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Augustine—attributed to the artist known as the Master of Sijena—and belonging to the Lleida institution. The fifth carving, Jesus among the doctors of the lawThe panel belongs to the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia), but is on loan to the Museu de Lleida. The museum has ruled out lending it for technical reasons, arguing that it would "dismantle" the permanent collection and alter the narrative, thus disconnecting the decision from the ongoing art dispute. The panels are on display at the Museu de Lleida and date from the Renaissance period. They were not part of the ninety disputed works that were moved to Sijena in 2017 after the Civil Guard raided the museum. Following the removal of works from the Lleida museum to comply with the Huesca court ruling, the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) loaned the panel. Jesus among the doctors of the lawThe piece, which was installed alongside the other four with the aim of strengthening the collection, was announced by the Lleida Museum to the Aragonese institutions on Thursday afternoon, as confirmed by ACN.

An exhibition announced in September

The president of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, announced last September that they were preparing a major exhibition of the main altarpiece of the monastery, by Roderic of Saxony, known as the Master of Sijena. The aim of the exhibition is to reunite all the panels of this 16th-century masterpiece, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and dismantled in the mid-18th century, at the Museum of Huesca. Currently, these panels are scattered among various museums, institutions, and other venues around the world, including the Museum of Lleida and the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia), where these five panels are housed.