The condition of the ancient paintings does not appear so serious when viewed from the floor of Room 16 of the National Museum of Art of Catalonia (MNAC), despite the confusion created by the negative photographic effect left by the fire that in 1936 burned down the Chapter House of the Siena Monastery, which, in addition to the burning of the ceiling, destroyed the chromatic nobility of its frescoes. But photos taken from close-up clearly reveal its vulnerability: cracks, tiny eczema and peelings, in addition to already completed separations that have exposed previous layers. Museum technicians have identified about 700 of these critical points, in information sent to the court, on 130 square meters of 12th-century frescoes since they began taking an inventory last June following a Supreme Court ruling that forced them to return them to Aragon.
Various reports analyzing the paintings have warned of the danger of moving the Roman Aragon jewel due to its delicate condition. The person who knows the murals well, and who speaks to EL PAÍS on the condition of anonymity, like two other styles, is very clear when describing the potential effects of moving them: “Those who do the work may find themselves faced with a rain of paint.” His opinion contradicts what was presented by the Aragon government, which a week ago defended that the transfer could be carried out “without extraordinary risks”, that “the condition of the paintings is very stable, very similar to that of the original paintings” and that “the canvases on which they are placed do not present significant risks for transportation,” according to its General Director of Culture, Pedro Oluki. However, a report by the International Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) recommends a “comprehensive assessment” before any transfer and warns that “the paintings are vulnerable to further deterioration, particularly in the event of environmental changes or physical disturbances (shocks, vibrations).”
MNAC is still not giving up and calling for them not to be transferred, but an order from the judge responsible for implementing the ruling last week indicated its intention to “effectively comply” with the ruling. Pessimism has prevailed among the small group dedicated to heritage conservation in Catalonia. They consider the irreparable damage to the structure that combines the remains of the original paintings, in fact a thin layer of between 0.3 and 0.5 millimetres, with the reconfiguration of the irreparable pieces made by the Godeol brothers to make the work legible to the layman’s eye. Within a few days, about Siena’s lawsuit, a technician from the Center for the Restoration of Movable Property of Catalonia, Pere Rovira, warned that the move could mean losses of up to 20% in the business. No one has yet dared to conduct a similar damage assessment. But all known technical reports so far point out the necessity of conducting a detailed risk analysis before proceeding with the transfer of this asset of cultural importance, which enjoys a higher degree of protection from the Ministry of Culture, which has not prepared any study of its own on whether the ruling will be implemented or not.
Neither the Aragon government nor the MNAC, which is responsible for the work, have explained how the dismantling of the work will proceed. Oluki announced that his team plans to transport it to Aragon by dividing it into 72 pieces, the largest of which is just over three meters long. It is a number of ceilings that arose from a reconstruction of aggressive paint stripping carried out in the middle of the Civil War using the technique Strapon. Between the 1940s and 1950s, they were placed on the existing ceilings, while the missing parts were redrawn, and in 1995 they were permanently installed in Room 16 of the museum where they are displayed today. But this division is not that simple. Each facet is a puzzle, which, in the case of the five arches, is a triangular puzzle with two pieces and an interior.
When the technicians have to start dismantling the murals, they will have to face cutting out about forty plaster-filled border areas that connect the various soffit and faces of the commandments with the interior overlaps. Like everything in fine work, they will have to do the work with a scalpel, perhaps with a new blade on each piece, taking care that the cutting does not also tear the fragile, centuries-old fabrics where the paint is applied. There are two risks in that first process. The first is unknown: whether the plaster to be removed is stuck to the original paint, and if so, whether it will pull away when it is removed. And there is something else, which is facilitated by the images that have been made: the areas that have to be sectioned off where the inflated panel has become no longer attached to the fabric and therefore, once cut, will remain in the air.
Once these cuts have been made, the screws at the back must be removed. And what other, more delicate task will be done: the support screws for the frame. Most of them are hidden behind paint, so in many cases they must be detected using a magnet. Since it is impossible to extract it from the pictorial side, it will have to be published from the back. Some of the sources consulted talk about more than 5,000 tips. The same thing happens with some of the bars connecting the pairs of pots at the back, which also have to pass through the saw. This mechanical action will cause additional vibrations and stresses to the work, stresses that will be repeated when the roof is finally separated from its surroundings.
Due to the risk of paint shedding due to vibrations, before starting work, it will be necessary to consolidate those 700 points that are considered the most important weak points and which expert Simona Sagiva detailed in a video, before starting work. Experts explain that the cocktail consists of paints (on top of the wood is a flour paste, on which rests the two rough cloths used in the 1940s, in addition to a layer of caseinate, original paints, and the remains of the glue used in the paints). Strapon and subsequent protective waxing) The choice of which soluble glue to use to attach the protective strips is complicated by its potential side effects. Cracked reconstruction with Gudiol plaster (35% of the work), due to its high ability to absorb moisture, makes this choice more difficult, which should be considered in the long term.
The three specialists consulted explain that the technicians who undertake these jobs face a bag of unknowns: as soon as they enter the elevator or the workshop, unexpected problems will arise. There are no previous references from which to take an example. No other work has been conveyed with the dimensions of the Siena paintings, and no work has been conveyed with the physical and chemical conditions in which the fire left this mixture of 800 years of life, which reacts so strongly to environmental changes, temperature but above all humidity.
In reports sent to the judge, MNAC deemed 29 weeks necessary for all this work (in total, an 18-month calendar was planned that included diagnostic tasks and other bids). It is also not known whether these deadlines are possible, although Aragon believes that all the work could be ready within seven months. “It’s all fiction,” incredulously sums up one of the sources consulted about the dismantling work. Every parcel departing from the MNAC must have a detailed report on the condition of each piece signed by a person in charge of the Catalan Museum and another from the Aragonese Government, who will analyze the content again upon arrival at its destination after 230 kilometers by truck. Then put back what was undone: put it back together as is. If circumstances permit.
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