1 April 2009

PRESENTATION OF THE REPORT 2008 OF THE CHAIR OF HERITAGE AND ART OF NAVARRE

In its fourth year since its foundation, the Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro has continued its progress and organized a considerable issue of Cultural Activities Office of diverse subject taking special care of the interest and novelty of the topics addressed, the innovation in its approaches and the specialization program and prestige of the speakers. In this context, the lecture series graduate Decorative Arts and Artistic Techniques attracted a large audience attendance, as it encourages the study of the different decorative arts and techniques in Navarre. Its sessions were held at position by leading national and international specialists. The general framework of the decorative arts in Spain was traced by Mª Carmen Heredia Moreno, of the University of Alcalá de Henares, while the enamel was position of Mª Luisa Martín Ansón, of the Autonomous University of Madrid, the embroidery of Ana Mª Ágreda Pino, of the University of Zaragoza and Alicia Andueza, the silverware of Asunción de Orbe and Ignacio Miguéliz, the furniture of Mª Paz Aguiló, of the C.S.I.C., and finally the stained glass by Víctor Nieto Alcalde, from the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.

Great dedication has been given this year to the dissemination of heritage in other places outside Pamplona, decentralizing the activity of the Chair and taking it to other towns such as Tudela, Larraga, Los Arcos, Sesma, Fitero or Cintruénigo. The interdisciplinary outing "An afternoon in the Parish of Los Arcos. Art, music and literature around the Holy Week, to position of Ricardo Fernández Gracia that treated on The processional Step of Holy Week and its development in Navarre, of the organist Raúl del Toro, of Víctor Pastor Abaigar and of the professors Carlos Mata and Román Felones that read poems and texts of Literature of the cycle of the Passion. Within the cultural diffusion it is necessary to mention the lecture in Larraga pronounced by Asunción Domeño on The parish of San Miguel de Larraga: Conformation of an artistic and devotional set and the one that took place in Sesma to position of María Concepción García Gainza in which the merits of the patrimony of the town, of its artists and patrons were made to see to a numerous public gathered. Great echo of public had the lecture series Knowing better Fitero and its monastery to position of Esteban Orta, Jesús Tanco, Santiaga Hidalga and Mª Josefa Tarifa that glossed different historical and artistic aspects of the monastery in whose interior the sessions took place. Finally, this chapter of dissemination of activities in Navarra was completed with the lecture History and Art around the Nativity Scene, developed in the parish church of Cintruénigo by Ricardo Fernández Gracia.

The Chair organized in parallel at its Pamplona headquarters several series of conferences. One of them, Engraving in the century of the Enlightenment, was given by Juan Carrete Parrondo of the UNED of Madrid, who traced the general framework of engraving in the service of Enlightenment Spain, and with regard to Navarre by Ricardo Fernández Gracia and Javier Itúrbide Díaz, who presented the first results of their research on topic. The Chair commemorated the III Centenary of the birth of Luis Salvador Carmona, sculptor who has an extensive work in Navarre with a lecture series to position by Jesús Urrea, Director Honorary of the National Museum of Sculpture of Valladolid and Mª Concepción García Gainza that took place in the Museum of Navarre. Full of novelties was the lecture on The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, goal of the Way, given by José Manuel García Iglesias of the University of Santiago and organized with the partnership of the Friends of the Way of St. James in Navarra. 

As usual, the Chair of Heritage and Navarrese Art developed the cycle of San Fermín: Cult, fiesta and architecture, at position by José Luis Molins, Municipal Archivist of Pamplona, who gave an entertaining lecture on the Chapel of San Fermín, and the study of the bullrings in the urban planning of Pamplona developed by Javier Azanza. Likewise, there was a cycle of Christmas in the Arts on different aspects not yet published of the rite and the celebration in the cathedrals and monasteries of Navarre at position by Ricardo Fernández Gracia and the Iconography of the Three Wise Men by Javier Azanza. 

During the past year the Chair continued to offer the subject seminar of Navarrese Art, a university course but open to the public of the city. The course is carried out according to a systematic program and following an updated methodology. It concluded with an interdisciplinary outing to Los Arcos, Viana and San Gregorio Ostiense. 

As every year the Chair of Patrimony organized the summer course 2008 under the generic degree scroll of Approaching the Patrimony, which took place in Tudela. Several conferences were held in the Dean's Palace explaining to the numerous attendees the monumental and artistic heritage of the city, from the cathedral and the recovery of its decoration and the medieval architecture of the merindad, the artistic relations between Aragon and Navarra in the 15th century, the architecture of the 16th century, the group of Illustrious Women of the Palace of San Adrián, the art and devotions of the Baroque, the commemorative monument, the painting of the 19th and 20th centuries and the genres of landscape and still life in Tudela's painting. Participants included Mercedes Jover, Carmen Lacarra, Javier Martínez de Aguirre, Mª Josefa Tarifa, Concepción García Gainza, Ricardo Fernández, Javier Azanza, Ignacio Urricelqui and Manuel Motilva. There were also guided visits to the cathedral, the Palace of the Marquis of San Adrian and the convents of the Company of Mary and the Dominican Sisters.

Of special importance among the activities of the Chair was the National congress held from November 5 to 7 at the University of Navarra, under the title degree scroll Presence and external influences in Navarrese art. This was the second congress organized by the Chair after the congress International on Walled Cities held in 2005. Its very ambitious approach was to review all the phases of the History of Art from medieval art to the 21st century, something that had not been possible until today with the advances of the research of the last three decades, which have covered all the artistic periods, although there are still questions and issues pending to be addressed research. The different interventions were developed by renowned specialists from different Spanish and European universities such as Martínez de Aguirre (Complutense of Madrid), Larumbe (Polytechnic of Madrid), Silva and Echeverría (Basque Country), Lacarra and Criado (Zaragoza), Heredia (Alcalá de Henares), Rivas (Murcia), Gembero (C.S.I.C) and Pradalier (Toulouse). Juan Manuel Bonet, former director of the Reina Sofia Museum, also took part. To the documented papers were added the contributions of the communications, all of which will be published in the conference proceedings of congress immediately in the Cuadernos de la Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro.

On the other hand, the web page has continued with the classroom Abierta and its usual sections of the Piece of the Month, Recensión de publicaciones, Recorriendo nuestro patrimonio, which offers itineraries such as proposal to visitors. The activity publishing house has also continued with the publication of the Cuadernos de la Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro, nº 2, and other publications.

The courses and lecture series described above, in addition to the important congress held, show the continued willingness of the Chair to fulfill its founding objectives regarding the knowledge, conservation and dissemination of Navarre's heritage to increasingly broader sectors of our society.
 

María Concepción García Gainza
Director of the Chair de Patrimonio y Arte Navarro (Navarrese Heritage and Art)