The Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels is exhibiting four restored Flemish tapestries from the Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Pastrana (Sigüenza-Guadalajara diocese) from 13 January to 14 March.
The Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels is exhibiting four restored Flemish tapestries from the Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Pastrana (Sigüenza-Guadalajara diocese) from 13 January to 14 March. The initiative is part of the cultural programme planned by the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
The four Flemish tapestries, each measuring 11 metres in length and 4 in height, belong to one of the most beautiful series of the late 15th century and were restored by De Wit Royal Manufacturers of Mechelen during 2009, in collaboration with Fundación Carlos de Amberes and sponsored by InBev-Baillet Latour Fund and Fundación Caja Madrid.
Usually on display in the Collegiate's Chapter House, the tapestries, which had become damaged over time and by moths, have been restored using the most advanced technologies.
At a future date, the tapestries will be returned to Spain, where they will be exhibited, in the first instance, in the Palacio de Santa Cruz in Toledo and, then, at the Madrid headquarters of the Fundación Carlos de Amberes (there may also be a date in Lisbon). These exhibits are sponsored by the Guadalajara Provincial Council and the Castilla-La Mancha Regional Government through Sociedad Don Quijote de Conmemoraciones Culturales de Castilla-La Mancha.
Fundación Carlos de Amberes and opening
All of this has been made possible through two years' intense work on the part of the Fundación Carlos de Amberes in Madrid, whose origins date back to 1594, since which time it has promoted cultural exchanges between Spain and the former Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands (also known as Flanders); known today Belgium, the Netherlands or Holland, Luxembourg and an area in northern France.
The authorities present at the official opening of the exhibition were: Anne Cahen-Delhaye, Director of the Royal Museums of Art and History of Belgium; Baron Jan Huyghebaert, Chairman of the Inbev-Baillet Latour Foundation; and Carlos Gómez Múgica, Spanish Ambassador to Belgium. They were all given a guided tour by the museum curator, Ingrid Demeûter, and Yvan Maes, owner of the DE WITT factory in Malinas.
The president of Guadalajara Council, María Antonia Pérez León, has referred to the exhibition as an “excellent opportunity” to see the four Flemish tapestries “in all their splendour”. In addition, the Regional Minister for Culture, Tourism and Crafts of Castilla-La Mancha, Soledad Herrera, expressed her pride at how the four works of art “are woven with threads of friendship, culture and beauty”.
This restoration project is expected to be presented for the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award.