He National Museum of Decorative Art (Mnad) reopened the Matías Errázuriz Librarya space that has been restored to recover its original state of 1918.
The library, which was once an exclusive space of the Errázuriz Alvear familynow it is incorporated into the permanent exhibition circuit of the first floor of the museum, allowing the access of the general public to one of the architectural and artistic jewels of the building.
According to the MNAd, the library was originally conceived as a quarter of guests, but in 1919 Matías Errázuriz, outstanding bibliophile, commissioned the Carlhian house in Paris the wall decoration of the space. This design, which shares architectural characteristics with the bedroom and desktop of the same Errázuriz, includes boiseries carved in polished oak and panels in crimson red.
The room retains intact its ornate shelves and a marble chimney in Louis XV style, elements that reflect the luxury and sophistication of the time.
The library at the time a vast collection of books that covered from incunables to specimens from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Part of this collection became part of the museum’s collection in 1937, to which the catalogs compiled by Ignacio Pirovano y Manuel Mújica Láinez In the 30s, as well as donations made by figures such as the architect Héctor Ayerza y Josefina Muñiz Fonseca.
In addition to its bibliographic value, the original library atmosphere included a pinacoteca with works from the Errázuriz Alvear collection. According to the foundational inventories of 1936, this eclectic gallery of European portraits and landscapes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries included pieces of artists such as Goulu, Monvoisin, Fortuny, Got, Corot, Smith, Becquer, Do you think and the outstanding official portrait of Empress Eugenia de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, signed by Winterhalter.
-These works, which had remained in the museum’s patrimonial reserves due to the lack of space for their exhibition, have been reinstated in their original locations within the library.
The director of the MNAD, Hugo PontorieroHe stressed that the restoration of the library was possible thanks to the support of private benefactors and donors, as well as the work of the museum team and the collaboration of the MNAD support association.
The MNAD also anticipated the opening of other spaces restored within the Errázuriz palace, such as the Josefina de Alvear bedroomwhich will be enabled soon. This room, of 75 square meters, is the broadest of the main floor and was decorated around 1916 by André Carlhian in Louis XVI style. Its design includes posters with neoclassical motifs, a chimney adorned with laurel festones and original furniture that belonged to Josefina de Alvear, all preserved in the museum since 1937.
At a later stage, the rehabilitation of the environments corresponding to Josefina Errázuriz Alvear, daughter of Matías Errázuriz, who were also decorated in Louis XVI style and have furniture of the prestigious firm Jansen will be rehabilitation. According to the MNAD, the main objective of the curatorial project is to document and recover the original aspect of the palace halls, allowing a better understanding of the museum’s general curatorial script.
The restoration and authorization of these spaces also responds to the refunctionalization of the Errázuriz Palace after the transfer of the National Museum of Oriental Art (MNAO) to its new headquarters at the Borges Cultural Center in June 2023. This change will allow the MNAD to exhibit a greater amount of objects of high heritage value that until now remained in reserve due to lack of adequate space.
*MNAD, Av. Del Libertador 1902, CABA. Monday and closed Tuesday; From Wednesday to Sunday, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Free admission.
