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Altarpiece of the Virgin Mary and Saint Catherine

Gothic

Master of Glorieta

Second quarter of the 15th century

Location icon

The altarpiece dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Catherine was to be found in a side altar of the church of saint Bartholomew of Mas de Bondia, in Montornès de Segarra. It is not preserved complete: in the MEV there are two compartments of the story of Mary (the Nativity of Jesus and the Dormition), two more with episodes of the martyrdoms of Saint Catherine (that of the fire and that of the wheel with knives) and a crest with the scene of this last saint preaching to the scholars of Alexandria. The altarpiece probably possessed a predella, now lost, and also, at least, another crest with a Marian subject and four more panels (or six, or eight) to complete the hagiographic cycles, if it is understood that each crest crowned two streets. We do not know either whether the painted panels were combined with sculpted images, as was not unusual at the time. Including several invocations in the same altarpiece was a common solution in the Catalan Gothic altarpieces of that period. The Master of Glorieta was a so far non-identified painter, trained in the workshop of Ramon de Mur, the author of the magnificent Guimerà altarpiece preserved in the MEV. Also in the museum is a table with the Virgin coming from Glorieta (MEV 1054), which served to give him a working name. The style of this artist, stylized and elegant, shows influence both from the compositions of Mur (as seen, for example, in the Nativity scene) and from other imputs that indicate the path towards the Second International Style in Catalan Gothic painting. Possibly he established on his own after the death of Ramon de Mur, around 1435. Ruiz Quesada has related him to a certain Pere Rovira, a painter documented in Barcelona, Vallès and Penedès during the first half of the 15th century, but for others they are two divergent artistic personalities. The key works for determining his style, in any case, are the painted panels preserved in the MEV.

Marc Sureda Jubany

Llegir més

Location

Room9 ,Floor1

9-10-11 Gothic Art

12-13-14 Renaissance

15-16 Textiles and Clothing

17 Glass

Detalls de l’obra

PLACE OF EXECUTION

School of Tarragona

PERIOD

Second quarter of the 15th century

Material

Tempera on wood

Dimensions

256x150cm

Origin

Provenance from Mas de Bondia (La Segarra)

WORK NUMBER

MEV 1050-1052