“In Aragon they were not interested at all in Sixena”

“We do not have the money for Sixena.” This was the answer Jordi Bonet, the first director of Cultural Heritage of the Generalitat received from a politician in Aragon in the early 80s, when the community of nuns from the monastery approached him regarding the sale of their collection. Bonet, who until now had not talked about Sixena, not even in the controversial trail regarding ownership, now at the age of 92 keeps a clear head but is heartbroken by the tragic outcome. “Here are people who have played dirty: they want to take advantage of the effort that others have made,” he protests.

Bonet claims he talked to the authorities in Aragon first but as they put the financial considerations first he assumed there was no real interest. He is talking of 44 religious works that were removed last week by court order, and a police deployment never seen before at the Museum of Lleida. “10 million pesetas was not an exorbitant amount. We gave them exactly what they (the nuns) asked and we did not haggle. Some pieces are insignificant, but many are remarkable,“ he said, adding that he also felt compassion for those “good women” living in a building that was falling down. Bonet, a devout Catholic, also says the nuns pressured his wife to help convince him the make the purchase.