Altar frontal from Avià
{{Short description|12th or 13th century Romanesque painting}}
{{Infobox Artwork
|image_file =(Barcelona) Frontal d'altar d'Avià - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.jpg
|image_size =350px
|title =Altar frontal from Avià
|artist =Unknown
|year =13th century
|medium =Tempera on wood
|height_metric=107
|width_metric =177
|metric_unit =cm
|city =Barcelona
|museum =Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
}}
The Altar frontal from Avià is a rare Romanesque altar frontal exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.Guia del Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.p. 25. MNAC, 2004. {{ISBN|84-8043-136-9}} It is the front of the altar of the church of St. Mary of Avià, in the county of Berguedà, later moved to MNAC Barcelona, while the church has a replica in place. It is dated to the 13th century or earlier, and was painted by an unknown artist.[http://art.mnac.cat/fitxatecnica.html;jsessionid=1be3734bc116cb40ed37627bb0055750aac1142ee18f11b6dbffd5470903a561?inventoryNumber=015784-000# The artwork at MNAC's Website]
The frontal is painted in tempera on a wood panel, with parchment overlaps, pastiglia stucco relief decoration and remains of additional vanished metal plates. It is divided into five areas, dominated by the central Virgin and Child. The figures are elongated, with Byzantine-style costumes and frontal poses. Four scenes surround the central figures: the Annunciation and Visitation, Nativity, the Epiphany and the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. Both the frame and the divisions between the compartments are decorated with gilded gypsum plaster, imitating precious metal.
References
Further reading
- {{cite book|last1=Castiñeiras|first1=Manuel|last2=Camps|first2=Jordi|title=Romanesque art in the MNAC collections|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vE_qAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=3 September 2012|year=2008|publisher=MNAC|isbn=978-84-8043-196-5}}
- {{cite book|title=Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCxcQwAACAAJ|accessdate=3 September 2012|date=1 March 2009|publisher=MNAC|isbn=978-84-8043-200-9}}
- {{cite book|last1=Carbonell|first1=Eduard|last2=Pagès|first2=Montserrat|last3=Camps|first3=Jordi|last4=Marot|first4=Teresa|title=Romanesque Art Guide: Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya|url=https://archive.org/details/romanesqueartgui00vv|url-access=registration|accessdate=3 September 2012|year=1998|publisher=Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya|isbn=9788480430395 }}
- {{cite book|last1=Carbonell|first1=Eduard|last2=Sureda i Pons|first2=Joan|title=The Medieval Treasures of the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAdEcgAACAAJ|accessdate=3 September 2012|year=1997|publisher=Lunwerg}}
External links
- [http://art.mnac.cat/fitxatecnica.html;jsessionid=1be3734bc116cb40ed37627bb0055750aac1142ee18f11b6dbffd5470903a561?inventoryNumber=015784-000# The frontal at Museum's website]
- [http://cdm16028.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/111171 The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500-1200], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (available online as PDF), which contains material on this altar frontal (no. 171)
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Category:Paintings of the Madonna and Child
Category:12th-century paintings
Category:13th-century paintings
Category:Paintings in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
Category:Paintings of the Annunciation