The Governing Board of Santa Cruz approved the contract for the acquisition of sculptures for the future Rodin Museum of Santa Cruzas well as the annuities that will be payable to the French entity, between 2022 and 2026, for an amount that exceeds 16 million, “an amount assessed by the valuation experts of the University of La Laguna and an excellent opportunity for this capital, since it will value the love and passion of this city for sculpture as an artistic manifestation, reflected in works of international level in its streets”, highlighted the Councilor for Finance and Heritage, Juan José Martínez, at the end of the Meeting.
“The file -says Martínez- supposes the acquisition by the City Council of 68 original works and 15 replicas of the father of modern sculpture to endow the Rodin Museum in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the readjustment of annuities”, which represents “the tender of the 16,015,492.5 euros, IGIC included, for the years 2022 to 2026, after the negotiation that improves the temporary planning of delivery of the works, in the sense of not exceeding 3,000,000 euros, IGIC included, for 2023 and taking into account the planning of the execution of the rehabilitation work of the Viera y Clavijo Cultural Park”.
Thus, maintains the councilor in charge of Finance and Heritage, “it is foreseen in the contract that all the works are delivered by December 31, 2025, a term that has been accepted by the bidder, for which a new planning of deliveries in the years 2022 to 2025”.
Modification of deliveries
As explained by Martínez, the modification of the deliveries supposes, in practice, that the works will all arrive together. “The maintenance and security of the works has a significant cost, so we have agreed that the Rodin Museum assume the costs in its warehouses, so that when we bring them we will do it at once, except for a small sample that we would like to have to install them in the Museum of Fine Arts, a preview of what would already be the great Rodin Santa Cruz Museum”. This advance, according to the mayor, would arrive in the first quarter of 2023.
Martínez defended that “it is an investment, since these works of art will never lose value and are municipal property, which also means that Santa Cruz will become the second Rodin museum in the world and that, according to the more conservative calculations, generate an economic impact of around 56 million euros per year”.
“The Rodin Museum will make us, without a doubt, the capital of sculpture in the entire Spanish state and one of the most important in the world, since we would combine having sculptures in the street and the museum of the father of modern sculpture” Martinez argued.
