The commission reviewed the documentation submitted by the museum detailing how the process will be carried out. The work will be undertaken by SIT, the company hired by the MNAC, and officials found that the information provided addressed the repeated requests from the Government of Aragon for details about the transfer conditions.
The procedures proposed by the company and the work schedule have been approved, although the commission warned that the tasks must be coordinated with the experts appointed by the regional government. They must also receive information about each action sufficiently in advance.
STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS
The documentation reviewed included information on the current condition of the paintings, the dismantling proposal, packaging and transportation systems, details about the awarded company and the planned timetable. The insurance policy was also reviewed under the formula known as 'nail to nail,' which covers the works throughout the transfer process.
Mar Vaquero, vice president and minister of the Presidency, Justice, Culture and Sport of the Government of Aragon, described the authorization as "the prelude to the return of all the paintings." "The return of the Sijena paintings reaffirms the strength of reason and the law, and returns to our community what belongs to it by history and justice," she added.
Vaquero described the return of the secular paintings as a "success of the collective effort" of Aragonese society and of the technical work which, she maintained, confirms that the works can return. In this regard, she said that "there are no differences with the paintings from the Chapter House, which can and must also return."
The vice president also highlighted the "success of the legal work" carried out over the years to recover the works and insisted that Aragon would not accept its heritage being divided. "The secular paintings will return immediately, but we will also see the return of the paintings from the Chapter House," she said.
Finally, Vaquero recalled that on April 10 the judge granted the MNAC 56 weeks to return the paintings from the Chapter House and warned that, in her view, the museum was not complying with that court order. The regional official said Aragon would continue working to recover all of its heritage: "Just as we have achieved with the secular paintings, the religious paintings will also return."
