The collection of stained glass from the 20th century – the Brazilian Belle Epoque – which can be found in Rio de Janeiro's Municipal Theatre, was damaged during demonstrations in 2017. Hence, a cooperation project of the Instituto Rio Patrimônio da Humanidade, the Fundação Theatro Municipal and the Heritage, Art and Cooperation Program was brought into being to restore this cultural heritage and protect it in the future. Within this framework, the work on the so-called Stained Glass n. 13 acts as a pilot project and is supported by the Gerda Henkel Foundation within its Patrimonies Funding Initiative. In an interview, we asked Claudia Escarlate and Aldo Mussi as representatives of the Instituto Rio Patrimônio da Humanidade and the Fundação Theatro Municipal about the project as well as the tradition of stained glass in Brazil in general.
"Management, conservation, and restoration of this heritage"
L.I.S.A.: Mrs. Claudia Escarlate and Mr. Aldo Mussi, you are/were respectively the presidents of the Instituto Rio Patrimônio da Humanidade (The Heritage Institute of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro) and the Fundação Theatro Municipal (The Foundation of the Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro), which are cooperation partners of the Heritage, Art and Cooperation Program within the framework of a project supported by the Gerda Henkel Foundation within the Patrimonies Program. What kind of project is this?
Claudia Escarlate: The Heritage, Art and Cooperation Program is a initiative of Instituto Rio Patrimônio da Humanidade (IRPH) – the Heritage Institute of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, part of the City Hall government and administrative structure for the city. On the search for sustainable actions for cultural heritage, it brings together the need for recovering important artistic works of the city of Rio de Janeiro, and the training of local professionals to act in the management, conservation, and restoration of this heritage.
The programs first action sheds light on the stained glasses of Rio de Janeiro, through the Project Stained Glasses of Rio, a partnership between IRPH and Fundação Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, the Foundation that manages the Municipal Theatre of Rio, which houses one of the most significant stained glass collections in Brazil, and which has suffered severe damage in one of its pieces in 2017.
Considering it is a heritage at risk, as well as the lack of technical experience and the financial difficulties our State has been facing in the last decade, we had to seek for external aid. Hence, we submitted to the Gerda Henkel Foundation the Stained Glass n. 13 project for restoring this specific piece of art.
Aldo Mussi: The Fundação Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (FTM) – the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theatre Foundation do Rio, is a foundation of public rights of the State Government, established in 1987, and has as its final activities plays and concerts and such in the classical scenic arts area. However, one of our main buildings - the Municipal Theatre - requires special attention regarding the methods and expertise of its conservation and maintenance, due to its architectural and artistic heritage of national importance.
Ever since its creation, FTM has searched for diversified support for the activities of restoration of its integrated architectural elements. For example, we have done cooperative works to restore the marbles in the Theatre with restorers from University of Padova and Venezia in 1989 and 2010; for the gilding of metals and copper ceiling with French specialists; and now the German consultancy for restoring stained glass n. 13, sponsored by Gerda Henkel Foundation. With the aid of the IRPH, we were inserted in the program Patrimônio, Arte e Cooperação (Heritage, Art and Cooperation Program) to perform the procedures for emergencies safeguard of this stained glass, damaged after a fire in 2017. Additionally, having Stained Glass n. 13 as a case study, we are searching for the establishment of rules and concepts along with the Heritage Agencies and Institutions of Brazil concerning historical stained glass to guide restorers, architects, artisans and makers in future interventions on heritage glass.