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Tombstone of Abbess Margalida Jofra, called Querola

Gothic

Anonymous

1435

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Although the first efforts to establish a monastery of Poor Clares in Vic date back to the end of the 13th century, it was not until 1383 when the foundation became effective. The building was erected in what was then called Puig de Reig, in the area of the current Sant Miquel dels Sants school. The first abbess was Margalida Jofra, called Querola because she was related to the Querol lineage, whose coat of arms is seen in the four corners of the tombstone. This is organized into three unequal horizontal registers: the upper one, with elegant leaf rolls; the central one, the largest, with the recumbent bas-relief image of the abbess, dressed in habit, crosier and crown; and the lower one, with an inscription in Gothic characters that says: «Here lies Madonna Sister Margalida Jofre alias Querola, who was the first abbess of this monastery, made by election. He died on June 17, 1435». Under Jofre, then, the fabulous altarpiece of Franciscan devotion by Lluís Borrassà, one of the masterpieces of Catalan Gothic painting, was made and installed in the convent; the tombstone of the abbess is displayed beside it. The dialogue between both works is interesting because, as Josep Bracons highlighted, the appearance of the recumbent abbess is very similar to that of the figure of Saint Clare which co-presides the altarpiece; in fact, it is difficult to imagine that the sculptor was not inspired by the painting. The monastery was moved to a new location more in the center of the city, in the current Plaça de Santa Clara, towards the end of the 16th century. Both the altarpiece and the tombstone ended up there, but unlike the former, which arrived at the Episcopal Museum at the time of its inauguration, the latter did not enter the museum until 1939, after the second convent also disappeared during the civil war.

Marc Sureda Jubany

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Location

Room8 ,Floor0

4 Romanesque Art

5-6-7-8 Gothic Art

Detalls de l’obra

PLACE OF EXECUTION

Vic

PERIOD

1435

Material

Bas-relief on stone

Dimensions

63x81cm

Origin

From the old convent of Santa Clara, in Vic

WORK NUMBER

MEV 10659