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FCG International Restoration and Conservation 2007: MATÍAS DÍAZ PADRÓN

“The decision is based on the pioneering effort made by Dr. Díaz Padrón to create a unified philosophy and intervention criterion in the process of the restoration of cultural heritage. This has been transmitted through his important work in the field of training future curators and restorers as one of the first experts in combining the history of art and ethics in the world of restoration”. According to the jury that met in Valladolid on July 9, 2007, chaired by, Dr. Salvador Andrés Ordax, Professor of the History of Art at the University of Valladolid, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, and made up by the following members: Mr. Rafael Daniel Pérez, member of the Board of Directors of ABC Newspaper in Castilla León; Mr. Konrad Laudenbacher, former curator at the Neue Pinakothek and of the Schack-Galerie, Doerner-Institut; Mr. Ubaldo Sedano Espín, Director of Restoration at the Thyssen Museum; Mrs. Celsa Villanueva García, Director of the TVE Regional Center [Spanish National Television] in Castilla León.

 MATÍAS DÍAZ PADRÓN - Biography

Born on the 21st June 1935 in the Canaries town of Valverde (El Hierro), Matías Diaz Padron received his doctorate degree in History in 1977 with the cum laude distinction (and an extraordinary award) with his thesis “XVII Century Flemish Painting in Spain”. He is the author of seventy publications as well as having published over a hundred articles and scientific works. This award-winner was appointed to the position of Curator of Flemish Painting at the Prado Museum (Madrid) in 1982 although since 1970 he had already worked in the institution as an itinerary curator taking care of deposits received from the Royal Patronage. In 1996 Matías Díaz Padrón was appointed Head of the Department of Flemish and Dutch Painting on the creation of the Conservation Departments.

The publication –in 1975- of the “Detailed Catalogue of XVII Flemish Painting” was a result of his research work as an itinerary curator. This publication rectified the attribution of two hundred paintings. Among the most significant discoveries made in this catalogue we must highlight the attribution of “The Immaculate Conception” to Rubens in 1972 (which had been previously catalogued as a piece by Erasmus Quellinus), since it was one of the most important pieces of the Flemish collection in the Prado Museum.  The improvement in the attribution of XVII Century Flemish Painting in the Museum was included in a detailed catalogue that was published in 1996 under the title of "El Siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado" [The Century of Rubens in the Prado Museum], which was also his work. Díaz Padrón is also responsible for the attributing or re-attributing of other works studied later, in both Museum and other external collections.

During his long professional trajectory, Matías Díaz Padrón has also worked as Professor of the Official School of Restoration (1965-1975) and at the Complutense and Autónoma Universities in Madrid (1967-1985). He has similarly organized numerous courses and has been the commissioner of eight exhibitions related to his specialty, among which we can highlight the sample entitle “Homage to Pieter Paul Rubens", held in Madrid in 1977 on the occasion of the IV Centenary of the artist’s birth, or the exhibition entitled Europalia 85, "Splendeurs d'Espagne et les villes belges 1510-1700", held in Brussels in 1985 under the auspices of the EEC. In recognition of his work as a researcher in Art and Culture of The Low Countries, in 1977 he received a medal from the Belgian Government as a Commander of the Order of Leopold II of Belgium and he is also a Member of the Belgian Academie d'Archéologie et d'Histoire de l'Art.