The Generalitat Valenciana is pushing forward with the creation of the Sorolla Museum in València. Recently, an amendment to the Valencian Cultural Heritage Law was approved, deemed “essential for this project to materialize,” according to the Minister of Education and Culture, Carmen Ortí. This change facilitates the leasing of private collections, such as that of the Hispanic Society of America (HSA), and establishes the legislative basis for the macro-project.
The new regulation stipulates that, prior to the formalization of the contract, the declaration of exceptional value will be agreed upon by the Board for the Valuation of Cultural Heritage Assets of Valencia or by a scientific-artistic commission. This commission will be composed of eight experts appointed by the competent ministry for culture, and the list has already been finalized by the regional government.
As published this Thursday in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV), the commission appointed by the government includes Pilar Roig, professor at the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage of the Universitat Politècnica de València and leader of the restoration of the Santos Juanes, who will also serve as president of the commission. Also part of the commission are artist Horacio Silva; José Vicente Navarro, member of the Consell Valencià de Cultura and president of Lo Rat Penat; and Marta López Ricarte, historical-artistic heritage technician at the València City Council and director of the Museo de la Ciudad. The latter space will be the first stop for the HSA collection while the Palau de les Comunicacions, its final destination, is being adapted.
The commission is completed by Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer Lozano, professor of Art History at the Universitat de València; Ángel Zaera Casado, general director of the Valencian Tax Agency; Isabel Justo Fernández, PhD in Art History and a graduate in Fine Arts, a civil servant of the State Museum Assistants and Conservators Corps; and Lucía González Menéndez, PhD in Art History and president of the scientific commission of the Consortium of Museums.
The singular artistic, patrimonial, and technical relevance of the exhibition in the Valencian Community of works by Joaquín Sorolla from The Hispanic Society of America justifies the designation of the aforementioned scientific-artistic commission, for the purposes of issuing the declaration of exceptional value and exercising the remaining functions attributed to said body.
This commission will be responsible for determining the essential conditions related to the conservation, security, transport, exhibition, and restitution of the works. Likewise, it must rule on the adequacy of the planned protection, conservation, and security measures, and on the suitability of the proposed coverage regime.
