On Saturday, December 21st, at 11 a.m., the Hall of Mirrors at the Correale Museum will host the presentation of four important paintings restored following a public call for proposals, with financial support from the Campania Region – General Directorate for Cultural Policies and Tourism – Management Operational Unit for the Promotion and Enhancement of Museums and Libraries thanks to projects presented by the Museum's Management. These four large-format oil on canvas works were created by prominent artists active in Naples and its province between the 17th and 18th centuries. Their restoration has been on display to the public in recent months in the Correale Museum: “The Way to Calvary” – 18th century, by Giuseppe Bonito; “Flowers with Jug and Copper Basin” – 17th century, by Andrea Belvedere; “Joseph's Dream” – 17th/18th century, by Giacomo del Po; and “The Pietà” – 17th century, by Andrea Vaccaro.
The paintings were identified and chosen for their precarious state of conservation, both structurally and aesthetically, and carried out by restorers Alessandra Cacace and Andrea Porzio, under the High Supervision of the SABAP Superintendency of Naples. The presentation of the restored works will be attended by the Mayor of Sorrento Giuseppe Cuomo, the Director of the Management Operations Unit for the Promotion and Valorization of Museums and Libraries of the Campania Region Anita Florio, the President of the Correale Museum Gaetano Mauro, the Director of the Correale Museum Filippo Merola, the Official of the SABAP Superintendency for the Metropolitan Area of Naples Giovanni Barrella, the Councilor of the Correale Museum and Director of the Filangieri Museums and the Treasure of San Gennaro Paolo Jorio and the restorers Alessandra Cacace and Andrea Porzio.
“In the management plan for the Correale Museum collections – declared the Director of the Correale Museum Filippo Merola – taking note of the conservation needs of individual restoration works can also mean becoming aware of their frequent vulnerability to deterioration and damage. This is why a discussion of the preventive measures to be initiated, in order to avoid those conditions that can further favor their degradation, takes on fundamental importance even if it is long and difficult to resolve”. The Director also drew attention to the “Restorations on View” that represent one of the distinctive characteristics of the Correale Museum: “The innovative idea – continued Filippo Merola – is the opening of the restoration laboratories to the outside. A modern concept of “extended fruition”, according to which the public is offered the opportunity to become a user and interlocutor. Let us imagine a museum in which the recovery of a work of art can be followed “live” by visitors, scholars and school groups. This is the extraordinary peculiarity of the Correale Museum, with a new approach to the meaning of restoration as a powerful tool for involving the public who will be able to witness the various phases of the work, also with the aim of implementing a correct active protection strategy”.
On Saturday 21 December, at the end of the presentation of the restoration of the four works, it will also be possible to contribute to new restorations of the Correale Museum by purchasing, through a voluntary offering, the booklet edited by Filippo Merola in which all the phases of the restoration are described.
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