The "Seven works of mercy" were denied the transfer from the Pio Monte della Misericordia to the Capodimonte Museum for the exhibition Caravaggio Naples curated by Cristina Terzaghi and Sylvain Bellenger, scheduled from 12 April to 14 July.
After much controversy and some gaffes, the square was found on Tuesday 12 March. At the negotiating table were seated Minister Alberto Bonisoli, the director of the Capodimonte museum – the French
Sylvain Bellenger – and superintendent Pasca di Magliano. What's the solution? «We will expand the exhibition from Capodimonte to Pio Monte. From April 12, there will be an exhibition in Capodimonte and part of the exhibition will be here at the Pio Monte where you can see the Seven works of mercy and the school of Caravaggio. There will also be the digitization of the work that will be exhibited in Capodimonte. We will use new technologies for a new museum experience and for the Pio Monte we will use lighting that enhances the works more. Furthermore, given that there is a traffic problem, a shuttle will connect Capodimonte to Pio Monte», announced the Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities Alberto Bonisoli. In practice, whoever goes to Capodimonte will see a digital version of the Seven works which can be admired live only by going to Pio Monte with the shuttle made available to visitor-pilgrims.
“Moving the picture is not a simple matter. I respect the technical evaluation. If there is a risk in moving, then better a precautionary measure. When a decision has to be made, and I remember that I'm not a technician, I think of managing this shovel as if it were my personal one and therefore I think of what could happen to a painting if an expert says he runs risks», explained the minister.
THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT MOVING THE CANVAS
The refusal to move Caravaggio's work had come from the director of the Mibac. There was no shortage of illustrious criticisms, such as that of Maestro Riccardo Muti who, in a letter to the Republic, he criticized the decision by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. "Denying that Caravaggio in the museum is a damage to Italy," she wrote. Even Bonisoli's response was not long in coming and heightened tensions: «Maestro Muti is of a certain age, I love him and he is a great figure of Italian music, I embrace him». An inelegant blow against the great conductor. Before that, the mayor Luigi De Magistris he had branded the Mibac's no to moving the canvas: "it's a missed opportunity".
For many, not moving the canvas due to its size and the risk of damage in the two-kilometer path that separates the Pio Monte from the Capodimonte museum is an excuse, it is rather a political choice. As stated in the French newspaper Les Echos, "in Italy the sovereignty applied to art targets the directors of foreign museums". It is no mystery that Bonisoli did not like the choice of the previous minister Dario Franceschini in 2015 to appoint, with a European competition, seven foreign directors within seven of the most prestigious Italian museums, such as Eike Schmidt at the Uffizi in Florence.
ROUND OF ARMCHAIRS AT THE MINISTRY
Just malicious thoughts? The ministerial machine is heading towards new changes: it's time to appointments for museum directors, admits the pentastellato minister who claims: “any large company needs a review. Some directors are expiring and their contract provides for the possibility of a renewal. A tender is underway for vacant positions such as Pompeii and Caserta, there will be a selection, while for the others we have started the performance evaluation for which the directors will be evaluated according to quantitative and qualitative parameters. For example, the way in which one is immersed in the territorial cultural community is important", concluded Alberto Bonisoli. The reply from former minister Dario Franceschini is ready: "I don't want to give report cards to my successors, but the minister must defend museum directors from external pressure". Is there a power vacuum at Mibac that someone is taking advantage of? "I can't say it - says the former minister in an interview with Repubblica - but I see some alarm signals". In practice, the reform is attacked to strike at autonomy and return to the past.
