When the images came out of the church

A work in the church opened an opportunity to know its sculptures. In October 2012, the Municipality announced the deposit and temporary exhibition of twelve pieces of Outeiro in Núcleo de Arte Sacra, installed in the former sacristy of Refojos. They represented the Virgin and other saints, from medieval to twentieth century. The partnership between parish and municipality thus brought together objects from different times and a concrete need for conservation during the preparation of the works. The news documents that initiative, not a current exhibition.

The reason for the displacement was concrete: the church prepared remodeling and expansion works. According to the news, the parish priest Francisco Marcelino Esteves decided to deposit the images in the museum core. The meeting of the pieces in an exhibition space resulted, therefore, from a temporary guard decision linked to the life of the building of origin.

Among the twelve sculptures, the medieval image of Santa Maria received special prominence. The news describes the wood worn by time and recalls the role of the parishioners who had taken it to the church. The history of the collection involves more than authors and dates: it includes those who found, saved, transferred and made known the pieces.

The October 2012 document also announced the intention of developing similar partnerships with other parishes. This intention helps to know the museum project at that time; it does not demonstrate that all these collaborations took place.