James Bradburne, director of the
Brera Art Gallery in Milan, has told ANSA that a change in
humidity was the reason that about 40 works of art in the
gallery were covered, not the recent cold snap as reported in
the media.
"There was no blackout and cold has nothing to do with the
paintings," Bradburne said, adding that no irreversible damage
was done to any of the paintings and that the humidity issues
affected other Milan museums as well as museums in Genoa and
Venice.
"Outside air was so dry that the humidifiers weren't able to
maintain internal humidity at the expected levels," Bradburne
said.
He said once museum personnel became aware of the change in
humidity, they either covered or removed the works at risk,
which are now being examined one by one.
"We know that in cases of humidity changes, only the works in
wood are at risk, while the works on canvas and statues don't
run any risk," he said.
The museum rented five humidifiers on January 9 in order to
intensify the level of humidity in the air while technical
inspections were being performed on the museum's humidifier
units.
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