Brera gallery says cold not factor in covered paintings

(ANSA) - Milan, January 16 - 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.