Share

Add to "My MEV

Saint Roman

Renaissance

Joan Gascó (doc. 1503-1529)

1509-1510

Location icon

On April 28, 1509, the parishioners of Sant Romà de Sau signed a contract with Joan Gascó about the making of the main altarpiece of the parish church, which was already finished in August of the following year. According to the contract, made known by Josep Gudiol in 1907, the furniture consisted of a central section with the titular saint crowned by Calvary; two side panels, each with two scenes from his life; a predella with a tabernacle and three compartments on each side, with saints Peter, Paul, John, James, Bartholomew and Felix; and two side doors, one with Saint Michael and the other with Saint Sebastian. Of the entire set, only the central panel is preserved; it shows the image of Saint Roman sitting on a bench and presented according to the usual iconography in the Crown of Aragon (black Benedictine habit and X-shaped cross), the result of the fusion of two homonymous saints: an Antiochene martyr of the 4th century and an Italian monk of the 6th century. The luxurious animation of the background, woth gilded gesso pastiglia according to the taste of the time and the requirements of the contract, contrasts with the atony of the saint's black cowl, which Gascó in any case nuanced with good craftsmanship through some folds that manage to give volume to the figure. The serene and elegant face of the young monk betrays the adaptation or simplification of models used in other Gasconian images of those decades, such as Saint Lucy MEV 1033 (1505) or Saint Barbara MEV 44 (1516), while announcing the scheme used later to represent young ecclesiastical saints in the workshop already governed by Perot Gascó (1529-1546), as can be seen in the altarpiece of Saint Vicenç de Borgonyà (MEV 955).

Marc Sureda Jubany

Llegir més

Location

Room12 ,Floor1

9-10-11 Gothic Art

12-13-14 Renaissance

15-16 Textiles and Clothing

17 Glass

Detalls de l’obra

PLACE OF EXECUTION

Vic

PERIOD

1509-1510

Material

Tempera and oil painting on wood, plaster and gilding

Dimensions

131 x 78.2 x 6 cm (without frame), 135.6 x 83.5 x 9.7 cm (with frame)

Origin

From the parish church of Sant Romà de Sau

WORK NUMBER

MEV 29522