Images and Altar Structures in Romanesque Catalonia: A Restored Virgin and Child Sculpture in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

Abstract

Medieval images that have survived to the present time are known to be decontextualised, and very often appear as isolated or free-standing objects, as is the case with statues of the Virgin and Child. Those still preserved in churches have been adapted to structures built subsequent to their creation, and quite often have been transferred to different locations, but many statues held in museums and collections lack their corresponding base or surrounding structure. In Catalonia, the example of Sant Martí d’Envalls (Angoustrine, Cerdanya, Pyrénées Orientales), which dates to the early 13th century, clearly shows that many sculptures were integrated into larger altar ensembles in combination with highly elaborate imagery. The restoration of a sculpture of the Virgin in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC 15926) carried out in 2018 has allowed us to review some of these issues. The position of the Child, leaning purposefully to his right, suggests that the carving was part of an ensemble that depicted the Adoration of the Magi and some other scene – similar to the ensemble from Sant Martí Sarroca, where the image was centred in an edicule, flanked by the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi. The image is also interesting from a museological perspective, since during the first half of the 20th century it was exhibited under a custom-made structure. We will discuss the relationship between the sculpture under study and other images of the Virgin dating from the 12th and 13th centuries in Catalonia that could have formed part of altar ensembles.