Romanesque Art

JACQUES PEPIN: CHEF, AUTHOR ARTIST ACTIVE ADVENTURES IN NEW ZEALAND TIME TRAVEL THROUGH SPAIN’S ROMANESQUE ART FABULOUS FALL FARE RECIPES FALL 2019 www.healthyaging.net DISCOVER ROMANESQUE ART IN THE PYRENEES: AN AUTHENTIC ADVENTURE By Carolyn Worthington C. Worthington C. Aspe of Sant Andreu de Salardu in the village of Salardu. 62 WWW.HEALTHYAGING.NET FALL 2019 FALL 2019 WWW.HEALTHYAGING.NET 43 “Art is the expression of your relationship with the world. Art opens up the soul.*” — Pascale Montandon, artist Sightseeing for sightseeing’s sake has So, if you are interested in art, culture, never been the way I travel. Meaningful and religious history, and European history; love purposeful travel is more my style. A week- to seek out chef-owned restaurants in the long cooking course across the pond, hiking country; sample artisan foods, wine, and craft a pilgrimage route, ski lessons to move beyond beer; and being active by hiking, kayaking, the bunny trail, or a guided birding trip to or canoeing, then discovering Romanesque art a national park are rewarding, experiential, in the Pyrenees might just be your next trip. totally different, and fun. Probably like you, I often make a museum First, A Little Bit of History: visit a must-do while on any trip. I tend to check out the museum’s most famous art What Is Romanesque Art? Romanesque “in the manner of the Romans” pieces, zip through the other collections, and art was created from around the second half then make a beeline for a local restaurant, of the 11th century through the 12th when winery, craft brewery, or artisan shop. the Gothic style became in vogue. The name Recently, choosing art and culture as a “Romanesque” was actually designated much travel theme struck me. Why not build an active later in the early 19th century. vacation around a unique cultural experience? The Romanesque style is distinguished by When I ran across the idea of discovering curving barrel vaults, apses, and round-headed Romanesque art in the Pyrenees, I was arches. The murals and the sculptures carried intrigued. the biblical theme to keep the Christian A trip focusing on the art and culture of followers in line. Spain would be new and different. Although Typical designs depicted scenes from the I wasn’t an art history major in college, I did Old and New Testaments, featuring the birth, love the Art History 101 course I took at New life, death, and resurrection of Christ; the York University with H.W. Janson’s History of apostles and saints; and, sometimes, scary Art as my textbook (and which still lies on dragons, demons, or other mythical beings. my bookshelf). Surely, I would be prepared Over the centuries, in many of these for an art-based vacation. However, I was churches, the paintings disintegrated from soon surprised by how an art trip could also dampness or were simply painted over as we be quite the adventure. segued into the next art period: Gothic. The welcoming invitation to all travelers on Some were removed and taken elsewhere, the Catalan Tourist Board’s website says it all: making this trip a sort of “magical mystery tour.” Discover and experience the cultural treasures hidden in every nook and cranny of Catalonia. Come and discover the cultural heritage, Discovering Romanesque traditions, gastronomy, wines, and by doing Art in the Pyrenees so fall in love with our culture. My time traveling trip itinerary coincided This seemed to encompass all the travel with the year of cultural tourism in Catalonia qualities I look for. (I love exploring “nooks and the 100th anniversary of an effort to and crannies!”) preserve church Romanesque frescoes in the C. Worthington C. Aspe of church in the Vall de Boi. 64 WWW.HEALTHYAGING.NET FALL 2019 *Quote from the book, Strappo: The Foreign Acquisition of Catalan Romanesque Art FALL 2019 WWW.HEALTHYAGING.NET 65 Pyrenees, many of which were moved to deed goes unpunished” or “now what have museums for safekeeping. we done?” Removing these frescoes was no easy feat Spoiler alert: all ends well. when you consider that these murals were In 1904 and again in 1906, the Hiking Club hand-painted on stone in churches dotting of Catalonia made its way to Vall de Boi to the mountain areas. Catalonia is unique in its photograph and catalog the paintings. A year efforts to save the paintings by carefully later, the Institute for Catalan Studies did the removing them and putting them on display same. The Board of the Museums of Barcelona in museums such as in the National Art in good faith, took its cataloging a step further Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona. and printed reproductions of the frescoes To set the stage, imagine that the year is for public use. This set off a gold rush to get 1100. The Catalonia region, especially in the ahold of the art by museums, art dealers, and Pyrenees, was graced with rich farmland, a river, collectors. castles, and churches. At the time, this was “The majority of these paintings come considered a very special place that could only from rural chapels in the Pyrenees and other be reached through winding roads on foot, remote locations in Catalonia,” said Pepe by horseback, or by horse-drawn wagons. Serra, director of the Museu Nacional d’Art The landscape is similar in many places today. de Catalunya (Catalonia National Museum of Catalan Tourism Board Tourism Catalan Churches often had several purposes other Art), in his introduction to the book Strappo: than serving as a place to worship. They also The Foreign Acquisition of Catalan Roman- served as castles or fortresses, providing safety esque Art by Marti Gironell. to the locals, and social gathering spots. Bell Serra said beginning in 1907, “various towers are typically part of the architecture attempts came to light of antiquarians and and were used as sources of communication collectors buying the paintings to then sell and protection. them in the United States.” This provoked the Artists were commissioned to paint rapid and successful reaction of the Board of murals on the stone walls of the churches. Museums to rescue and transfer the art to the Since people couldn’t read, pictures were used museum in Barcelona. to tell religious stories. “The theory was to Said Gironell, “To carry out this task, control everyone with the fear of god,” one which could undoubtedly be described as an tour guide told me. authentic adventure, they hired the same These murals were the backdrop to Italian specialist and restorers who had already religious activities seen primarily by those participated in the recovery of certain paint- who lived in the area, that is, until the first ings that were eventually exported and sold decade of the 1900s. overseas. The removal of the artworks was This is where the mystery tour gets really managed with a technique that allowed for interesting! their extraction and conservation before their subsequent replacement: called strappo. “… 100 years ago, anyone could take these How Were the Murals Removed? murals for their home, their dining room. Italian Where Did They Go? techniques were used to remove the murals The account of how the murals were from the walls to be sold as paintings.” discovered, removed, and put on display else- In his book, Gironell describes the process where might fall in the category of “no good of detaching mural paintings this way: The Pyrennees Catalonia, Spain. Worthington C. 66 WWW.HEALTHYAGING.NET FALL 2019 FALL 2019 WWW.HEALTHYAGING.NET 67 Monastery of Sant Pere del Burgal (La Guingueta d'Aneu, Pallars Sobira) on display at the Museum of National Museum of Art/Barcelona of Museum National National Art, Catalonia in Barcelona. Boston Museum of Fine Arts Christ in Majesty with Symbols of the Four Evangelists from Santa Maria de Mur on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. First the painting is cleaned, then an agent Cathedral in Seo de Urgel. is applied, detachment cloths are stuck to the Some frescos were sold, some discarded. mural, the cloths are subsequently removed, Many of the original churches in the a calcium adhesive is prepared, rigid supports Pyrenees now have reproductions on display. are prepared, the mural is removed and You will need to be the judge as to whether adhered to the canvas. And voila! (Or listo!) or not it was a good thing for these paintings Two examples of original murals now in to be removed and put on display in museums. the United States are the apse of the church “It is clear that the rescue operation of all of Santa Maria de Mur, in the Boston Museum these paintings was itself a form of spoliation,” of Fine Arts and Santa Maria d’Urgell Cathedral Serra said. “In the same way, it becomes ever at the Metropolitan Museum of Art – Cloisters clearer, in my opinion, that it was a success, in New York. and that it is precisely thanks to the physical Original murals on display at the National removal of the works that we can enjoy them Museum of Art of Catalonia (MNAC) include today in our own country, in a perfect state ones from Sant Climent de Taull, Santa Maria, of preservation, within reach of everyone and Taull; Sant Joan de Boi. with universal impact. In addition, the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, “Both approaches are correct and compli- Mural on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Cloisters California, has choir chairs from the Catalonia mentary; nobody today doubts that the best The Metropolitan Museum of Art/ of Museum Metropolitan The Cloisters in New York, from Santa Maria d’Urgell Cathedral.

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