Two plays, two worlds, two characters and a vital connection: Belgium-Mexico, 1964

Abstract

In April 1964 he arrived in Mexico City and restorative chemical Coremans Paul (1908-1965), invited by Manuel del Castillo Negrete (1908-1974), man of the world, and visionary instigator of the need to preserve Mexican heritage. Months ago they had known in Europe. Although half a century has passed since that visit, today is essential to remember the vital Coremans dumbbell-Castillo.


Coremans successful career was framed by a pioneer in the Royal Institute in Brussels and Artistic Heritage (IRPA) activity. At age 24, after completing his doctorate in chemistry, he joined the work of Belgian heritage register. By knowing the value of the same, he specialized in the investigation of the constituent materials of the works of art through laboratory processes. As a result of this work, one of his greatest contributions was to assess the influence of humidity and temperature as a cause of deterioration in museums, a process that currently is considered mandatory and routine.

During the first months of 1939, and almost to the end of the Second World War (1944), Coremans experienced firsthand the destruction and pillage. To curb these abuses somehow recruited several young recovering parts, remains and important objects at risk. In fact, at the end of the war he identified some famous paintings skillfully forged by scientific evidence (Philippot, 1997: 69-73), whose results were published and distributed internationally.

Meanwhile, since 1961 Castillo Negrete was in charge of the Department of Food and Cataloging Artistic Heritage INAH in Mexico led the indispensable work of cataloging, photographing and restore the huge national heritage. Thanks to Yolanda Santaella, unstoppable pioneer participant in the restoration work, we know that the department began a pilgrimage novel from a small office in the institutional building of the streets of Cordoba in the Roma neighborhood, to several former convents City Mexico.

In 1962 they reached Culhuacán where a laboratory where the physico-chemical studies of existing paintings were made, both pre-Hispanic and colonial monuments, to identify pigments, harmful microorganisms and vegetation was created. In those days they began to use, with an "enormous good faith" in the novel polymers, some waterproofing or binders to protect the finished works. The report notes that in the lab, "a notebook with the chemical laboratory for the study is performed at the frescoes of Bonampak" prepared. Shortly Coremans was invited to Castillo Negrete and came to our country (Santaella, nd: 6)

The purpose of his short trip was to meet two copies of the culture: the ruined city of Palenque and the huge gallery of painted murals at Bonampak, the latter suffering serious conservation problems. The traveler also met the restoration work that were made in Tepotzotlán, State of Mexico, site of the future National Museum of Viceroyalty, do not forget that in that year "multiple birth" four of the most important museums of Mexico took place. The seed sown in those days bore fruit, as the achievement of the visit was the inclusion of our heritage in the global horizon.