The head of Culture stressed that the Government has acted “at all times with the objective of ensuring that any judicial action is compatible with the preservation” of the works from the Monastery of Santa María de Sijena. She acknowledged the complexity of the judicial procedure, which confronts the obligation of restitution dictated by a firm sentence with “the ethical duty to preserve an exceptional heritage that is in a situation of maximum fragility”.
“"The mural paintings are a patient in the ICU. The transfer has immense complications, but the removal has infinite complications."
The director of the MNAC, Pepe Serra, reinforced the technical stance, stating that the original works no longer exist, but are calcined remains of the murals. Serra reiterated that the museum is not technically capable of executing the operation without subjecting the works to risks, as they would necessarily have to be sectioned for relocation.
Hernández denied that filing an incident of execution against the sentence was a delaying tactic, arguing that the paintings are housed at the MNAC “in the best possible conditions, controlled, monitored and stabilized”. The Minister supported the proposal for a commission of experts, suggested by the judge in Huesca, and added that it would be beneficial to include international experts.
