Overview
- Ernest Urtasun told the Senate on Tuesday that he will not approve a transfer and said he trusts the Reina Sofía’s technicians.
- The museum’s March 25 report says vibrations during transport could trigger new cracks, paint lifting, losses of the pictorial layer, and even tears in the canvas.
- Conservators cite past travel that left cracks, microfissures, and gaps, plus wax-resin residues and fragile paint mixtures that make the surface especially sensitive to movement.
- The Basque government and the PNV call the loan a symbolic act for the 90th anniversary and continue to press politically, while Madrid’s regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso denounced the idea as “una catetada.”
- The central government says any decision will follow technical criteria, which leaves the Bilbao plan for October 2026 to June 2027 effectively on hold.