Metropolitan Useum Of

ARCHIVES THE 5 COPIES ETROPOLITAN NEWS MUSEUM OF ART FOR. Immediate FIFTH AYE.at82 STREET • NEW YORK RELEASE TR 9-5503 12TH CENTURY SPANISH APSE TO BE INSTALLED AT THE CLOISTERS IN UNIQUE EXCHANGE LOAN WITH SPAIN; METROPOLITAN MUSEUM LENDING SIX FAMOUS FRESCOES TO THE PRADC Conclusion of a unique and important art transaction between the Spanish Government and The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been announced today (Wednesday, February 19), by James J. Rorimer, Director of the Museum. In exchange for six medieval frescoes from the Church of San Baudelio de Berlanga which the Museum is lending on a long-term basis to the Prado in Madrid, the Spanish authorities have generously agreed to the long-term loan to The Cloisters of the apse of the abandon ed 12th century romanesque Church of San Martin in Fuentiduena, a small town north of Segovia. "This unusual cultural exchange," stated Roland L. Redmond, President ©f the Museum, "marks the end of many years of negotiation which originated in the hopes of Mr. James J. Rorimer, Director of the Metropolitan Museum, that it might be possible to acquire and install as part of the collections of The Cloisters, this original example of the extraordinary religious art that inspired Spain during the Middle Ages." The Metropolitan Museum became interested in the little church at Fuentiduena in 1935. Though the nave and bell-tower were in ruins, the apse remained intact, complete with its vaulting. At that time the Museum began negotiations hoping to acquire the apse for The Cloisters, then in process of construction. Talks con tinued for several years, until the project had to be deferred. Negotiations were again resumed in 1952. Before the apse could be moved it was necessary for the Museum to secure the approval of the Spanish Government, the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Education and its Department of Fine Arts, the Academy of History, the Academy of San Fernando, the Bishop of Segovia, the Mayor of Fuentiduena, and the Holy See which became involved because of the ecclesiastical nature of the apse. This has been a slow and arduous process, but thanks to the patient and continuing efforts of the many Spaniards and Americans involved, the final approvals have been received and the transfer arrangements concluded. The component parts of the apse were shipped to the United States, arriving in New York on Friday, February 14, on the Monte Navajo of the Kerr Steamship Line, When installed, it will form a new wing at The Cloisters. The apse was taken down and packed for shipment under the supervision of an official architect for the Spanish Government. The drawings for the work were made in consultation with Geoffry Lawford of the firm of Brown, Lawford and Forbes. PR-29 (more) Spanish Apse to be Installed at The Cloisters--2 The Berlanga frescoes have already been delivered to the Prado by the Museum. Long known to art historians as masterpieces of 12th century Spanish romanesque art, these frescoes had been shipped by an art dealer to America as early as 1920 but were only recently acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the purpose of this exchange. In addition the Museum has also undertaken to help the Bishop of Segovia to restore the important romanesque Church of San Miguel at Fuentiduena which has fallen into a serious state of disrepair. Both the Spanish Government and the Metropolitan Museum are certain that art- lovers in both countries will benefit from this exchange. The impressive Fuentiduena apse, once a focus of religious devotien but of more recent centuries almost wholly unvisited and subject to the gradual destruction of time and the elements, will now be carefully preserved. At The Cloisters this important work will be seen and admired by the nearly 1,000,000 persons who visit this branch of the Metropolitan Museum each year. Although The Cloisters' collections include many superb medieval Spanish objects, no comparable example of Spanish architecture has ever been publicly exhibited in the United States. Noted for the great variety of corbels along its cornices, the graceful lines of its columns, and the masterful carving of the capitals and moldings over its three windows, the apse will be re-erected almost stone for stone. To ensure protection and the best preservation possible, the Museum will re-roof the apse. This will in no way affect the beauty of the structure which, when rebuilt, will stand on the heights of Manhattan as it once stood on the hill at Fuentiduena. (000) .

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