Museu Nacional d'Art Catalunya: Romanesque

Don't dismiss the Museu Nacional d'Art Catalunya as merely regional. Indeed, it is regional, but the region is world-class, and its holdings are of great interest. We visited the Romanesque, Gothic, and Modernista sections, and, constraining myself, I'll try to do just those three posts. The Boi valley in the nearby Pyrenees has a number of Romanesque era churches. In order to preserve the great murals within these ancient and deteriorating churches, the murals were carefully removed to MNAC and there brilliantly displayed. It is one of the largest collections of Romanesque paintings in a museum—we have seen quite a few in situ—and the pride of the collection.

Back story

Stoning Stephen

Domes and such--sometime entire halls--constructed in the
museum to display the murals

Feather dancers (angels) straight out of
Byzantine style

Manual of how to persecute Christians

Unfinished bits

Recreation of church of St. Climent in Taull

There to display the best of the several Pantokrators, indeed,
the emblem of MNAC

Sculpture too, principally capitals

"Um, I was told it is a clothing-optional beach and that our
snake friend was welcome too"

Desperately needs caption

Big G in his mandorla-thiink

Even with his foot on the scale, the devil loses...except that
"multitudinem damnamdorum, paucitas salvandorum" (a
favorite Medieval saying..."many damned, few saved")

Also desperately needs caption

Santa Maria in Sigena: click to enlarge

The discoloration was caused by the 1936 fire; what is
remarkable, to us, is the individuality, the emotion depicted
in these very early 13th century pix...something Giotto would
aspire to generations later