Press release
The Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt am Main acquires a hitherto unknown sculpture by Pedro de Mena
Long-term research and conservation project on the Maria Inmaculada Concepción launched
Frankfurt am Main, 21 February 2024 – The Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung in Frankfurt am Main has acquired a hitherto unknown work by the renowned Spanish Baroque sculptor Pedro de Mena (ca. 1628–1688). The Maria Inmaculada Concepción (17th century) depicts a Virgin standing on a crescent moon. Its acquisition represents an outstanding enhancement to the collection while at the same time marking an important new conservation and research focus at the museum. The sculpture spent many decades undiscovered and unattributed in a private German collection. Numerous changes were made to it over the course of the centuries. The museum’s German-Spanish conservation team has already gained instructive insights through its initial technological examinations. In a conservation project funded by the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, the original polychromy of Frankfurt’s Pedro de Mena sculpture will be exposed and chips filled in in the proper form and colour. The removal of overpainting is among the most laborious steps in the conservation process.
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