In a letter responding to the letter signed by 12 specialists in museums and heritage expressing indignation at the "undue exportation" of the painting 'Descida da Cruz', which they consider "seriously damaging to Portuguese heritage", the Secretary of State made it known that the matter had been handed over to Museums and Monuments of Portugal (MMP) and "developments are expected very soon".
"The Government investigated what happened, and seeking to refocus the matter asked MMP, an entity now with responsibilities related to the acquisition and circulation of works of art, to make every effort with the owners to assess the possible conditions for purchasing the work." Descida da Cruz', by Domingos Sequeira", reads the response letter, to which the Lusa agency had access.
In the message, Isabel Cordeiro thanks the "concern expressed by all signatories regarding this matter" and adds that the MMP board of directors "continues the necessary contacts so that the presentation of this work at the National Museum of Ancient Art can be effectively considered, never proposed."
"Developments are expected very soon, which we will inform about", he concluded, in the letter sent to the subscribers of the open letter, on the same day it was publicly released, in which they asked for "every effort" to acquire the painting.
The message, sent Saturday to the Minister of Culture, Pedro Adão e Silva, and the Secretary of State for Culture, was signed by art historians, museologists, archaeologists and other specialists in the field of heritage, such as Raquel Henriques da Silva, Luís Raposo and Vítor Serrão, who expressed "deep indignation" at "this unworthy and seriously damaging occurrence to Portuguese heritage".
The oil painting is by Domingos Sequeira (1768-1837), a Portuguese painter who, due to his talent, obtained aristocratic protection and a scholarship to improve his skills in Rome, where he studied with several masters and won several academic prizes. His work lies between Classicism and Romanticism, in a similar way to Spanish Francisco de Goya (1746-1828).
Lusa asked the Cultural Heritage Institute, chaired by João Carlos dos Santos, and Museus e Monumentos de Portugal - the two entities resulting from the reorganization of the DGPC -, and awaits a response.