The world’s most important exhibition of Romanesque art opens again and this time, renovated

Barcelona (ACN).- The most important collection in the world of Romanesque art is on show again. After half year of renovation works and a reorganisation of the collection, from this Thursday onwards it can be seen again in Catalonia’s National Museum of Art (MNAC), in Barcelona. The operation has been carefully and calmly thought over a four year period through transversal and interdisciplinary research. The renovated exhibition offers a new narrative, with a clearer path that eases its understanding. It also emphasises the most relevant works of the collection, such as the Christ Pantocrator from Sant Climent de Taüll. According to MNAC’s Director, Maria Teresa Ocaña, with this change, the museum “reaches the level of the great museums of the world” regarding the collection of art from this historic period. MNAC’s Romanesque Art Curator-in-Chief, Jordi Camps, explains that the “renovation was necessary” and effects mainly the lighting, how pieces are displayed, and the information about each work as well as the techniques to remove the paintings out of the original walls and ceilings. In fact, most of the works on show come from the Catalan Pyrenees, such as the Boí Valley, where there is an impressive collection of Romanesque churches, one of the highest and better preserved in the world, declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

MNAC’s Romanesque Art collection is made up of works from the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th centuries. It also shows a series of mural painting ensembles that are unique. Now, after six months of renovation, the world’s most important collection of Romanesque Art is displayed in all its splendour.

There has been six months of intense work from the museum’s area of Romanesque Art and the area of Restoration and Prevention Conservation. The renovation work followed four years of interdisciplinary and transversal research and reflection. It has been sponsored by the Mapfre Foundation. It has not affected the architectonic aspects of the space, but the work’s lighting, preventing conservation systems, and energy efficiency aspects. The works have also been redistributed and displayed in a better and clearer way, separately and considering the exhibition’s narrative. According to the museum’s Deputy Director for Collections, Cristina Mendoza the renovation has focused “a bit in quantity, but a lot in quality”.

The Curator-in-Chief of Romansque Art, Jordi Camps explained that the collection’s re-arrangement was “absolutely necessary” because “materials have become old and they had to be renovated and updated”. Camps feels particularly proud of the lighting improvement, “which makes that a large part of the space remains in semi-darkness” and the art work shines in all its splendour.

In addition, Camps added that from now on, the visitor also has much more information on each art work and the techniques to remove the paintings from the original walls in order to be transported and shown at the museum. Actually, most of the works on show come from the Catalan Pyrenees, such as the Boí Valley, where there is an impressive collection of Romanesque churches, one of the highest and better preserved in the world, declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Another improvement has been regarding the painting’s gaps (the mural space that has lost the original painting). Those gaps have been filled with mortar made of sands coming from the same place as the treated paintings, such as Sant Joan de Boí or Sant Quirze de Pedret.

At the official opening, the Catalan Minsiter for Culture, Ferran Mascarell, stated that MNAC’s staff has accomplished a “change of scale”, a change ensuring that “historic art will always remain contemporary”. Mascarell thanked the “good job” done by the museum to update and improve the display of one of the greatest heritages of Catalonia.