English Ground floor

Romanesque art [Artistic style]

The Romanesque is a style of art that was produced in West- ern Europe’s feudal kingdoms in the Middle Ages from about the end of the 10th century to the opening decades of the 13th century. It is an artistic style with a common aesthetic language that was to be found throughout Christian Europe and beyond, from Cape Finisterre to the Holy Land and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. Indeed, the Romanesque was one of the first international art styles.

1st floor

Art, architecture and painting

Our little country, , has preserved a number of iso- lated Romanesque churches which are scattered through- out our territory. These structures are dominated by a little semicircular apse that is oriented to the east (with a few exceptions), symbolically pointing to the rising sun. The apse is where the is located, making it the focal point of worship in the church. A triumphal arch separates the apse –as the place reserved for God– from the nave, which is the place for the faithful.

These churches have an austere appearance and a great simplicity, standing out for the uniformity of their masonry walls built with usually unhewn local stone set in lime mortar. The walls are decorated with Lombard bands, formed by simple blind arcades on the exterior of the building beneath the roof, as at Sant Miquel d’, combining with saw-toothed friezes as at Sant Esteve d’, or lesenes (also known as pilaster strips) on the apse, as at Sant Romà de les Bons, and on the bell tower, as at Santa Colo- ma, Sant Joan de Caselles, Santa Eulàlia d’.

Without doubt these churches were built by the people of Andorra, who made a donation of them to the Bishopric in the concords of 1162 and 1176. This was the time when the parish network –a decisive instrument in the establishment of the feudal system in the Valleys of Andorra- was consolidat- ed, coinciding with the introduction here of the Gregorian reform, which influenced pictorial art and may have been the factor responsible for the concentration of pictorial pro- duction in the last half of the 12th century, promoted and financed by the Bishopric of Urgell.

Wall paintings, however, are unquestionably the most striking feature of these buildings. They are usually located on the semi-dome of the apse, embracing the altar, since this is the most appropriate place for theophanic images. Roughly speaking, the pictorial discourse is organized with Christ or with the Blessed Virgin on the apsidal semi-dome, and all sorts of complementary figures (symbols of the Evangelists or apocalyptic visions in the first case, the Magi in the second, and the Apostles in both cases). The apse opened at the triumphal arch and it could be ornamented with narrative episodes from the Bible or from the lives of saints.

Not only the apse contained paintings, however – even though so much apsidal painting has been preserved (En- golasters, Les Bons, Santa Coloma) that one could be mis- takenly led to believe this. In many cases this has been due to the fact that reredoses or altarpieces which were installed in later periods (above all in the Baroque) covered –and thus helped to conserve– numerous painted apses. Paintings conserved and documented on all the other walls of our Ro- manesque churches (Sant Martí de , Sant Joan de Caselles, Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella), however, make it clear that they were intended to appear everywhere. This even included the exterior façades, which have been quite a sight, just as may be seen from the pictorial vestiges based on ochres and reds at Santa Coloma.

Romanesque wall painting was long considered to be a didactic instrument. It was thought that it was an art con- ceived for the education of the illiterate people who gazed upon it, so its contents were simple and intelligible. Even in the times of the Romanesque itself, Honorius of Autun (c. 1095-1135) wrote that wall painting was to be instructive as well as beautiful and evocative. Nevertheless, the fact is that the Romanesque is a deeply intellectualized, conceptual and abstract art, laden with subtle connotations, intuitions and second readings. From the standpoint of its messages and contents, it is a refined art and it was consequently addressed to a likewise sophisticat- ed and learned audience –noble elites and ecclesiastical hierarchies–, who had an excellent education and were capable of understanding the pictures and of easily making their symbolic interpretation and grasping their true mean- ing. Even so, the painted space should be considered to form a whole with the architecture as a “ritual locus” – a stage on which the liturgy is celebrated and which is conditioned by this circumstance functionally and, in consequence, visual- ly and in terms of space. One then comprehends one of its main functions: the expression of religious ideology through its images.

The artists were unquestionably creators of works of art, aware of the beauty of their works and of their material, religious and decorative importance. They worked in work- shops, which were teams of art workers who were more or less specialized in specific technical processes. Generally speaking, these workshops must have been rather small, formed by the main artist who was in charge of the man- agement of the group and of commissions, together with a set of assistants of lesser category (or of less authority). In this connection, the term Master should not be understood to refer to a single person but rather to a “way of doing things” which was shared by various artists and craftsmen. The work- shops spread the Roman –or Lombard– tradition and the various waves of Byzantinism on both sides of the Pyrenees through a wide-ranging network of relations with affiliates and other monasteries.

Accordingly, the works which we are presenting are the only paintings on display in Andorra of the circle called up to now the Master of Santa Coloma, to designate the works that are included in the production network of itinerant workshops which have iconographic and stylistic connec- tions with the whole Pyrenean area. This circle is also attrib- uted the painting ensembles of Engolasters and Les Bons, which may be seen at the National Art Museum in Barce- lona, and those of Anyós, the whereabouts of which are at present unknown.

Cornerstone from the romanesque apse of Sant Es- teve (Andorra la Vella) [1] Circa 1200-1210 Pumice with stucco and frescoes PCA 0615 33 x 23 x 26,5 cm Cornerstone of an arch with decorative mural painting. The rest of this pictorial cycle is partly located at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC), the Prado Museum (one scene) and a private collection in Barcelona.

Strappo and loss of meaning

Strappo is one of the Italian techniques for detaching wall paintings, together with stacco and stacco a massello. The literal translation of strappo is “tearing, pulling off or ripping”. It consists in detaching only the surface layer of paint of a wall painting, thereby exposing it to considerable risks and to almost inevitable alterations (some of the layers of paint may remain on the wall).

The traditional strappo procedure consists in cleaning the surface to remove dust and grime and gluing, on the painting, several layers of cotton or hemp cloth of various thicknesses with animal glue or colletta. Once the cloths have dried, usually after a couple of days, the painting is detached. The whole perimeter is first lifted and then the cloth continues to be pulled from the bottom up, rolling it around a cylinder (if the respective wall painting is of large dimensions). Once the painting has been detached, its back should be cleaned and then a thin coat of plaster should be applied to even up the surface. The painting is then trans- ferred to a new support, which may be a frame of wood and cloth or some other type of material. The pictorial layer is then freed from the protective gauze, cleaned and chro- matically reintegrated.

The advantage of this technique with respect to the others is the little weight acquired by the detached painting, and the fact that it allows large extensions of wall painting to be detached. What’s more, it can even be applied in curved areas such as apses.

Today wall paintings are only detached as an extreme measure, for example when serious conservation issues cannot be solved in situ. Detachment causes a radical and irreversible alteration since it involves a mutilation of the asso- ciated architecture and a major change in the conditions under which the painting is viewed. A wall painting is intrinsi- cally linked to the structure for which it was conceived and once it has been detached it becomes mobile, ceasing to form part of an architectural ensemble. It may be situated in other places (a museum or collection) and then, being distanced from its original setting and thus decontextualized, it loses part of its meaning. Strappo audiovisual

- Strappo is a technique for the detachment of wall paint- ings.

- After cleaning the painting, various layers of cotton or hemp cloth of different thicknesses are glued on it with ani- mal glue or coletta.

- Detachment of the paintings of Sant Joan de Boí, 1978.

- Once the glue has dried, the cloths are carefully pulled off, rolling up the painting as the detachment proceeds.

- After the painting has been detached, its rear side is cleaned and then evened with a thin layer of plaster.

- The back of the painting is then reinforced with cloth. Lastly, the painting is restored and chromatically reintegrat- ed.

- Now the pictorial layer is separated from the protective gauze, dissolving the glue with hot water.

- The painting is then transferred to a new support, which may be a frame of wood and cloth or some other type of material.

Stages in the making of a wall painting [2]

Closely linked to the wall on which it is found and to its archi- tectural setting, fresco wall painting is an artistic technique in which pigments diluted in water are applied to a wet fresh layer of lime plaster. As the plaster dries, the lime rises to the surface and comes into contact with the air. The carbonata- tion of the lime occurs in this process, allowing the pigments to bind, to be fixed in the plaster and to become insoluble in water. It is a technique that requires expertise, agility and planning since the pigments must be applied before the plaster dries. To do this, the work is organized in pontate (the parts requiring a change in the scaffolding) and giornate (the parts that can be done in one day).

To do this type of wall painting, mineral and organic pig- ments, mixed in water, which are compatible with the lime must be used. On drying, the tone of the colours becomes significantly lighter, which means that it is necessary to pre- pare beforehand the full amount of mixture required for each tone. This is the basic technique used in the Roman- esque wall paintings of the 11th and 12th centuries, although most of our Romanesque walls paintings probably have a fresco base to which the details were applied with binders such as lime milk or even tempera. These mixed techniques ease the artists’ work.

Wall structure [3]

The wall structure is usually formed by stones hewn in more orless regular shapes and laid with earth or lime mortar, as was common in Romanesque times. In some cases, if the wall could not be immediately plastered and was not in- tended to be decorated with wall paintings, lime mortar joints were applied to the stones, incising a pattern simulat- ing the contour of well-shaped ashlars. For the construction of barrel vaults, arches, window arches and other ornamental elements of the nave or the bell tow- er, blocks of pumice laid with lime mortar were often used. Pumice was chosen for its light weight and the ease with which it could be dressed. ‘Arriccio’ (rough underlayer) [4]

The ‘arriccio’ was the rough underlayer of plaster composed of lime and sand. Its purpose was to even out the irregulari- ties of the wall and to provide a layer of the necessary thick- ness to allow the further preparation of the wall. This rough layer also acted as a reserve of moisture.

‘Intonaco’ (smooth layer) [5]

The ‘intonaco’ is the fine plaster that is subsequently laid in a thinner and smoother layer than the ‘arriccio’ because it will be the surface on which the painted decorations will be applied. It is composed of fine river sand, which often gives it a characteristic slightly light grey colouring.

The ‘intonaco’ is applied by the giornate method, that is to say, a set amount of plaster is mixed and applied to the wall before the painting process begins. Preparatory sketch [6]

After applying and smoothing a section of ‘intonaco’ plas- ter, the general composition of the image is usually marked out with the help of some lines made with a string soaked in red paint. The body of the string leaves a clear mark on the surface of the still wet plaster.

Then, using a brush, the artist sketches some auxiliary lines for the composition of the figures. For example, the level of the eyes is marked by a reddish horizontal line. Then the artist uses a brush to roughly mark the respective shapes, making a light sketch with red paint.

Paint [7]

Painters usually used the pigments that were available to them in the area where they were working. In the case of Santa Coloma, the palette of colours is limited to lime white (Saint John white), charcoal black, aerinite blue and the range of ochres and reds provided by the various iron ox- ides. The paints themselves provided different tones of white, light yellow, yellow, pink, light red, reddish brown, dark red- dish brown, grey, black, green and greenish blue. At Taüll, for example, the blue that is used is lapis lazuli. The paint was nuanced with successive applications of col- our to the base tones which had been applied directly to large areas of the plaster. The flesh tones of the faces and hands were also produced with various layers.

The bizarre travels of the Andorran Romanesque wall paintings

1055 Deed of consecration of the church of Sant Serni de

12th century [last half] Wall decoration of the east ends of the churches of Santa Coloma, Sant Romà de les Bons, Sant Miquel d’Engolasters and Sant Cristòfol d’Anyós.

Polychromed woodcarving of Our Lady of . Polychromed woodcarving of Our Lady of Sant Corneli i Sant Cebrià d’. Polychromed woodcarving of Our Lady of Sant Julià i Sant Germà de Lòria.

12th century [end] Wall decoration of the church of Sant Joan de Caselles and of the church of Sant Martí de la Cortinada.

1164 [23 January) Deed of consecration of the church of Sant Romà de les Bons.

1216-1220 Wall decoration of the church of Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella.

13th century [first half] Wall decoration of the church of Sant Serni de Nagol.

Christ in Majesty of Sant Martí de la Cortinada. Polychromed woodcarving of Our Lady of Recoverance of Sant Climent de Pal. Polychromed woodcarving of a saint, possibly from Sant Vicenç d’Enclar. Polychromed woodcarving of Our Lady of Santa Maria de Canòlich. 13th century [end] Wall painting of the of the church of Sant Cristò- fol d’Anyós.

16th century [middle] Construction of the reredos of the altar of the church of Sant Romà de les Bons which covers the Romanesque paintings from the 12th century, and redecoration of the rest of the walls depicting the theme of the Last Judgement.

Construction of a reredos dedicated to Saint Martin in the old apse of the church of Sant Martí de la Cortinada.

1527 Construction of the reredos of the church of Sant Joan de Caselles.

1741-1750 Construction of the Baroque reredos of the church of Santa Coloma. It is located in the east end of the church and cov- ers the wall paintings of the triumphal arch and the entrance to the apse, which is accessed through a new side door.

18th century Bishop García Montenegro has the paintings of Sant Romà de les Bons whitewashed, considering them to be indecent.

Demolition of the old semicircular apse of the church of Sant Martí de la Cortinada and construction and closure of the structure with a plain wall, where the existing reredos is in- stalled (the space is used as a side chapel). Construction of the wooden choir of the nave.

1919 Agreement to purchase the paintings of Sant Romà de les Bons by the Barcelona Museum Board as part of the cam- paign to rescue Catalan Romanesque painting (1919-1924).

1921 Bishop Justí d’Urgell proposes and authorizes the detach- ment, sale and transfer of the paintings of the apse of Sant Miquel d’Engolasters to the Barcelona Museum Board.

1922 The altar table of the church of Sant Romà de Vila enters the Art Museum of Catalonia. It is purchased for 5,000 pesetas.

1923 Installation of the paintings of Sant Miquel d’Engolasters in the Ciutadella Museum, at that time the Decorative Art and Archaeology Museum of Catalonia. 1924-1928 Detachment of the wall paintings of the church of Sant Este- ve d’Andorra la Vella.

1926 The Bishopric of Urgell sells the paintings of Sant Esteve d’An- dorra la Vella for 10,000 pesetas to the art dealer Josep Bar- dolet i Solé and the Italian technical expert Arturo Cividini.

1927 Reverend Josep Gudiol i Cunill writes Catalan Medieval Painting, making the Andorran wall paintings widely known.

1928-1930 Detachment and purchase of the paintings of Sant Romà de les Bons by Lluís Plandiura during the Primo de Rivera dicta- torship, when Folch i Torres was dismissed from the museum. The paintings were most likely detached by Arturo Cividini.

1929 The entire set of paintings of Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella becomes part of the Ròmul Bosch Catarineu collection.

Display of the paintings of Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella in the “Art in Spain” exhibition held in Barcelona on the occa- sion of the International Exposition at the National Palace.

1929 Organization of the association Friends of Antique Art.

1932 Request to purchase the paintings of Santa Coloma by Jo- sep Bardolet i Solé, made in a letter to the Bishop of Urgell in which he offered the sum of 8,000 pesetas. Arturo Cividini, the fresco detachment expert, detaches the paintings of Santa Coloma.

Possibly in this year Lluís Plandiura donates the wall paintings of Sant Romà de les Bons to the National Art Museum of Cat- alonia as part of a “whitewashing” operation conceived to cover up an important setback in his finances.

1933 Sale of the set of paintings of Santa Coloma for the sum of 15,000 pesetas to the art dealer Josep Bardolet i Solé. Af- ter making a short stay in Barcelona, they go to the private collection of Baron Van Cassel in Cannes. Hitler comes to power.

1934 Part of the pictorial cycle of the paintings of Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella enter the Art Museum of Catalonia as a result of a complex transaction involving a loan collateral from the Government of Catalonia’s Institute against Forced Unemployment to Ròmul Bosch, to prevent the shutdown of the factories of the Industrial Cotton Union company.

1933-1935 Baron Jean Germain Léon Cassel purchases the paintings of the interior the apse of Santa Coloma on the art market. Saint Gregory and Saint Sylvester are separated from the rest of the set in order to cover the expenses incurred.

1935 The paintings of the interior of the apse (except for Saints Gregory and Sylvester) are displayed at Aix-en-Provence in the Romanesque Art Exhibition under the acronym SI (Sofi- mi – Société Financière et Immobilière du Midi), a company owned by Baron Van Cassel.

Restoration of the church of Santa Coloma by Cèsar Mart- inell on behalf of the Friends of Antique Art.

1936 (?) Purchase of the Blessed Virgin and of the two saints of Sant Cristòfol d’Anyós, detached at an unknown date.

1936-1939 During the Spanish Civil War, the Romanesque paintings of Sant Miquel d’Engolasters and Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella and the table of Sant Romà de Vila are installed in Olot, which stood in a safer area, to protect them from destruc- tion. Montjuïc was a military area and the works of art of the National Palace had to be removed. Most of the Museum’s collections were taken to the church of Sant Esteve d’Olot and subsequently to Darnius.

A selection of the most valuable and significant works of the Catalan artistic heritage, including the apse of Sant Mi- quel d’Engolasters, the altar of Sant Romà de Vila and the apse chapel of Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella, is displayed in March and April 1937 in Paris in an exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in the Tuileries entitled Catalan Art from the 10th to the 15th Centuries. This show proves so popular that it has to be extended but since the Jeu de Paume has a previous commitment, the works are taken to the Maisons-Laffitte National Museum, where they remain on display in an exhi- bition called Catalan Art in Paris until the end of the war.

1938 Baron Van Cassel takes up residence at Villa Mara, in the Domaine des Hespérides in Cannes, where he installs the greater part of his art collections.

1938-1941 The Saint Gregory and Saint Sylvester of Santa Coloma and the Blessed Virgin between two saints of Sant Cristòfol d’Anyós remain on display at the Brummer Gallery in New York. The brothers Joseph and Ernest Brummer, who were both art patrons and art dealers, had visited Paris before 1936 with the intention of purchasing them.

1939 Baron Van Cassel emigrates to the United States with his fam- ily and takes up residence in Englewood (New Jersey).

The paintings of Santa Coloma travel from Cannes to Vals (Ardèche) where they are hidden in a storage depot rented by an assistant.

1940 Baron Van Cassel transfers most of the activities of his bank, Cassel & Co., to the United States and to Great Britain.

1941 Baron Jean Germain Léon van Cassel is considered Jewish by the Nazi authorities and all his assets and belongings in Belgium, the Netherlands and France are seized.

1941 The Mead Art Museum of Massachusetts of Amherst College purchases the Saint Sylvester of Santa Coloma at the Brum- mer Gallery in New York, displaying it as a Spanish fresco from La Seu d’Urgell.

1942 Baron Van Cassel purchases the Saint Gregory of Santa Coloma and the Blessed Virgin and two saints of Sant Cris- tòfol d’Anyós from the Brummer Brothers in an auction held by Parker Bernet in New York. At that auction he also buys the frescoes of Saint Catherine naked and dragged on the wheel of her torment by a horse from the Cathedral of La Seu d’Urgell.

1942 The Nazis and their collaborators, applying the Aryanization laws and other measures of exclusion, seize all the belong- ings of Baron Van Cassel in Europe. The French authorities appoint provisional administrators for the companies Sofimi and Societé Civile Immobilière du Rocher, replacing the loy- al people who had been acting on the Baron’s behalf.

1943 Confiscation of Cassel & Co: Société Nationale de Crédit by the Nazis as part of their anti-Jewish policy.

The plunder of the Baron’s belongings begins on a massive scale in December in Belgium, the Netherlands and France as part of the Aktion Berta for the Linzer Sammlung (Linz Col- lection, Austria). 1949 After the war the company and the capital backing of Ròmul Bosch are taken over by Julio Muñoz Ramonet, who offers to sell (donate) them to the Barcelona City Council in 1949.

The Bosch family finally becomes the owner of two frag- ments from the drum of the apse – the Kiss of Judas and the Flagellation. The scene of Christ Washing the Disciples’ Feet belongs to the Vàrez-Fisa Collection.

1952 (19 July) Death of Baron Van Cassel in Englewood.

1950 Final acquisition of the paintings of Sant Esteve d’Andorra la Vella.

1942 Reopening of the Romanesque Room of the National Art Museum of Catalonia.

1942-1955 It is believed that the Saint Gregory remains in the United States in the Baron’s domicile in Englewood (New Jersey).

1943 Christ in Majesty and the six saints of Santa Coloma. The objects stored in Vals are transferred by the Gestapo to the premises of the Feldgendarmerie in Montelaimar. The paint- ings are most likely already rolled up at this time.

1944 The Christ in Majesty and the six saints of Santa Coloma are transported by train to the Altaussee mines between Janu- ary and March and sent to the Nazi hiding places in protect- ed areas of Austria. They are given the inventory numbers Aussee-8439 and Aussee-8451.

Landing of the Allied troops in Normandy (June).

1945 On 2 November 1945, the works reach the Munich Collecting Point and are given the new inventory number Mü 13620 (Se- ries 1 to 6), comprising the Christ in Majesty and the six saints: they have been separated into six fragments in Altaussee.

In the wake of Germany’s capitulation, General Eisenhow- er, who holds the general command at Versailles, asks the MFAA (Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives programme) to install a collecting centre in Germany for stolen works of art, war spoils and other lost objects. The chosen collecting point is Munich because it lies in the American zone, con- tains buildings in relatively good condition and had been a reception point used by Hitler to store part of the collections envisaged for his Linz museum project. The MFAA includes U.S. medievalists like Summer Crosby, Brit- ish experts like Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Webb and mu- seologists like Lieutenant Rorimer, who had been in charge of the Metropolitan Museum of New York before the war.

1946 The loyal assistants of Baron Van Cassel contact the German and American institutions once the war has ended, seeking to recover the Baron’s property and send it to New York.

The American military authorities return a large part of the Cassel Collection, which had been confiscated in France during the war, and it leaves Munich for Paris in 1946. It is sub- sequently returned to Baron Van Cassel from France at the end of the 40s. The paintings of Santa Coloma remain at the Munich collecting point, perhaps because they are mistaken for tapestries due to their being rolled up.

1949 Following the creation of the Federal Republic of Germa- ny, the Americans transfer the management of the Munich collecting point to the Government (Finance Ministry) of the Federal State of Bavaria and subsequently to the Finance Ministry (Oberfinanzdirektion) of the Federal Government, installed in Bonn.

1955 At the Hotel Drouot in Paris, the Baron’s widow auctions the lot of the Saint Gregory of Santa Coloma, the Blessed Virgin between two saints of Anyós and the Saint Catherine of La Seu d’Urgell. The identity of the buyer, who is a private col- , is not known so the track of the paintings becomes lost.

1957 The Federal Republic of Germany approves the BRÜG (Bun- desrückersttatungsgesetz) law by which the State undertakes to grant, to all the affected Jews who file a request, a com- prehensive indemnification at a fixed price for their plun- dered domestic belongings.

1958 The National Art Museum of Catalonia inquires about the frescoes of Santa Coloma and files a claim for them at the General Consulate of Germany in Barcelona.

1962 End of the work of the investigating committee.

1963 Restoration of the Baroque reredos of the church of Sant Joan de Caselles and discovery of the scene of the Crucifix- ion with the stucco Christ in Majesty above the wall painting, from the mid 12th century.

1966 The director of the Sculpture Department of the Prussian Cul- ture Museum, attached to the State Museums of Berlin, Prof. Peter Metz, expresses his institution’s interest in receiving the frescoes of Santa Coloma on loan, explaining that a special place for medieval art is being created in Berlin. The Ger- man Finance Ministry grants the loan.

1968 Discovery of the wall paintings of the church of Sant Martí de la Cortinada, located in the eastern chapel in the west end of the church, which had been covered by a reredos dedi- cated to Saint Martin from the mid 16th century and by the wooden choir of the nave from the 17th century.

1969 The Federal Government of Germany decides to loan the collections that have not been restituted and which have been located in Munich up to this time to various museums of the Federal Republic.

The Christ in Majesty and the six saints reach Berlin by air via Frankfurt. Once in Berlin they are restored by Cordula Kälher but they are not displayed owing to a lack of space. They are kept for a long time in the storage rooms of the State Mu- seum of Prussian Culture in Dahlem.

1980 Display of the fragment of the Christ in Majesty at the Dahl- em Museum on the occasion of the 86th Day.

1985 Cleaning of the lime paint of the church of Sant Romà de les Bons, relocation of the 16th-century reredos and reproduc- tion of the original paintings which are found in the National Art Museum of Catalonia by the traditional fresco technique.

1986 Reproduction of the wall paintings in the church of Sant Mi- quel d’Engolasters by the traditional fresco technique, ap- plying an animal glue tempera finish.

1988-1991 Complete restoration of the church of Santa Coloma by the Artistic Heritage of Andorra under the direction of Joan Albert Adell and Antoni Navarro, giving the structure the appearance it has today. The interior plastering is removed, exposing the Early Medieval masonry with its original mortar and the cross beams of the coffering of the structure. The pavement is changed, the reredos is installed in the west end of the church and the rough casting of the exterior porch is removed, among other interventions. The restoration services subsequently intervene on the wall paintings under the eaves of the roof, and on the wall paintings of the trium- phal arch.

1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall. The museum projects of the Museum of Prussian Culture in Berlin change radically.

The fragment of the Christ in Majesty and the altar table of Sant Romà de Vila are displayed in Andorra in the “Medieval Andorra” exhibition organized by the Government of Andor- ra to celebrate the 7th Centenary of the Second Pareage.

1990 Following the reunification of Germany, the status of Berlin changes and work begins on the idea of grouping the mu- seums located in Dahlem and in other places in the city on the island of Bode, situated in the middle of the river Spree in the centre of Berlin.

1998 The Washington Conference seeks to restitute the goods plundered by the Nazis in World War II and to make it man- datory to apply all available means to this end.

1999 The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany makes a declaration that brings together all the federal states and the national associations specialized in the search for and return of art confiscated by the Nazis. In this declaration it is undertaken to restitute all the goods plundered in World War II and especially those which belonged to Jews.

1990-2002 Visit of Hans Hangleiter’s German restoration team to the church of Santa Coloma. The Christ in Majesty, the six saints and the medallions were taken to Oztberg, next to Darmstadt, to Hans Hangleiter’s workshop for a new restoration.

2001 The Federal Government of Germany passes new federal regulations on restitution in order to make compliance with the commitments undertaken in the joint declaration of 1999 and with the conclusions of the Washington Conference of 1998.

2003 (March-November) The “Romanesque Andorra” exhibition at the Gemälde Galerie in Berlin.

The Oberfinanzdirektion services strive to rediscover and restore the links with the owners of over 2,260 works of art under loan, which include the Christ in Majesty, the six saints and the medallions of Santa Coloma.

The Government of Andorra localizes the heirs of Baron Van Cassel and starts up negotiations for a possible purchase. At the same time the German State also begins to look for the heirs and finds them as well.

Installation, in the church of Sant Romà de Vila, of a repro- duction of the altar table conserved in the National Art Mu- seum of Catalonia.

2003-2004 The “Magister Sancta Columba” exhibition on the Roman- esque paintings of the Master of Santa Coloma and his circle, with the paintings of Santa Coloma and of Sant Romà de les Bons.

Return of the paintings of Santa Coloma to Berlin.

2004 The German court of Charlottenburg finds that, according to the testament submitted by the heirs of Baron Van Cas- sel, 92% of the inheritance of the paintings of Santa Coloma corresponds to the widow of Jean Germain Léon, Baron of Cassell van Doorm ( 1952) and to Ms. Maria Alexander Cas- sel van Doorm ( 2006), and the remaining 8% to Ms. Zelie Emilienne Marguerite Pick (secretary of the Baron) ( 1997). The competent German court cannot restitute the paintings without having localized the heirs of Ms. Pick but it finally finds a niece of hers in Canada, who makes a request to the Court to be recognized as heir after a minor odyssey through the Canadian courts.

2005 Signing in San Francisco of the option to purchase the wall paintings of Santa Coloma, with Ms. Maria Vicentia Alexan- der, who holds 92% of the inheritance, and in Ottawa, on 27 May, of the option to purchase the remaining 8%, which has fallen to Ms. Maryse Martin, Ms. Pick’s niece. The purchase option has a validity of six months and has to be negotiated anew after Ms. Maria Vicentia Alexander, Baroness of Cassel van Doorm, passes away in 2006.

2007 The purchase is made on 12 February and the paintings reach Andorra for good in a special transport on 28 Febru- ary. They are installed in the Government’s exhibition hall. A sum of 4,441,743.77 euros is paid for the purchase, distributed in the following way:

• 3,680,000.00 euros to the heir of Ms. Maria Vicentia Alex- ander, Baroness of Cassel: Ms. Anne Marie de Rivera. • 320,000.00 euros to Ms. Maryse Martin. • 441,743.77 euros to the Prussian Foundation for the Cultur- al Heritage, for the restoration of the paintings.

2009 The exhibition “Andorra – a Long, Deep Journey”.

2013 The Prado Museum displays the scene of Christ Washing His Disciples’ Feet in the room of the Vàrez-Fisa Collection (do- nation).

2014 The exhibition “Welcome to your home! The Heritage Works of Art Outside Andorra”. A reuniting of the works of art that are found outside of Andorra’s borders: wall paintings of Sant Romà de les Bons, the altar table of Sant Romà de Vila, the table of the Madonna and the musician angels of the reredos of Santa Eulàlia d’Encamp and wall paintings of An- dorra la Vella.

2015-2019 Climatic conditioning of part of the restoration workshop of the Cultural Heritage of Andorra to temporarily take care of the paintings while awaiting a specific exhibition space for their display.

2019 Columba Space

The Saint Sylvester is still found at the Mead Art Museum of Massachusetts, with the inscription Spanish culture.

The Saint Gregory has been in an unknown private collec- tion since 1995.

The Blessed Virgin and the two saints of Anyós are still in un- known whereabouts. Mural paintings of Santa Coloma (Andorra la Vella) [8]

Late 12th century Frescoes transferred to can- vas on a self-supporting structure in stainless steel and aluminium PCA 1253

Mural paintings of the vault of the apse depicting a theoph- any – visible manifestation of a divinity – often reproduced in many Romanesque ensembles. We can see a Christ in Majesty on the left, inside a mandorla surrounded by the te- tramorph – the symbols of the four evangelists (a man – Mat- thew / an eagle – John / an ox – Luke / a lion – Mark).

The Apostles are represented on the right. The frontal wall depicts Saint Columba, the Virgin Mary, a dove and the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In this case, the dove may very well reference the Holy Spirit, present in the theme of Pentecost. On the opposite side, on the extrados of the apse, we find two unidentified saints. The paintings that rep- resented Saint Sylvester and Saint Gregory, located on the intrados of the arch, were unable to be recovered: while the former is preserved at the Massachusetts Mead Art Museum, the current location of the latter remains unknown.

The ensemble is completed with the paintings of the frontal area of the triumphal arch, which are still preserved on site. They represent the (“Lamb of God”) inside a me- dallion held by two angels and decorated with geometric friezes.

The paintings are traditionally attributed to the Mestre de Santa Coloma, but it must be noted that, although they belong to a same artistic circle of itinerant painters, they are not the work of a single hand. As with many other Roman- esque mural paintings of the Pyrenees, they are the work of nomad workshops of painters moving periodically from one place to another, and quite possibly taught by the same schools. This would explain the shared characteristics and the noticeable stylistic and iconographic parallelisms be- tween a series of works. Still, the paintings of Santa Coloma, Sant Romà de les Bons, Sant Miquel d’Engolasters and Sant Cristòfol d’Anyós share some really clear formal similarities, as well as noticeable differences with regards to their quality – which suggests that they were the work of at least two hands.

‘Sacrae liturgiae’

Wall painting holds a significant place in an architectural en- semble, dignifying it and giving it meaning. The interior of the Romanesque churches seeks to create an atmosphere that is radically different from everyday reality and that transports the believer to another universe: to the divine universe.

What’s more, wall paintings coexist harmoniously with the rest of the monumental arts that accompany and comple- ment them. In short, they help to create and to give mean- ing to the stage set of the ecclesiastical building as a whole, in the broadest possible sense of the term (structurally, func- tionally, symbolically…). It may likewise be observed that wall painting harmonizes with what may be called the church’s competing elements, including architecture, ornamental and figurative programmes, liturgical furniture, the sculp- ture of capitals and doors, stucco work, pavement mosaics, stained glass, tapestries and parchment works (made by sewing together fragments to form large-format images).

Indeed, to approach more closely the original staging of the Romanesque churches, one should consider all the liturgi- cal furniture, which is immensely varied in function, location, shape and materials, including altars (and their coverings: frontals, antependia...), baldachins, bishop’s thrones, and choirs. Also of interest are the devotional objects, such as panel paintings and sculptures in the round, and liturgical objects (, candelabra, crosses, ...). Indeed, there would be no end to this list, which just goes to highlight the difficulty of imagining this stage setting with a certain precision.

Of course, while this staging would be meaningless without considering the actors and the public who moved in and around it: the promoters, painters and craftsmen, customers and target audience, when all is said and done we simply cannot witness the whole show. Stoup of unknown origin [9] Undetermined Pumice PCA 3128 20 x 47 x 48 cm

Circular monolithic stoup with a cavity designed to contain , used by the faithful to cross themselves with the .

Stoups are often found at the entrance of churches, some- times built into the wall or supported by a pillar.

It is hard to determine when holy water stoups started to be used, but it can be affirmed that they were already in use during the Romanesque era and possibly in the early times of Christianity.

Censer from Sant Romà de les Bons [10] 15th-16th centuries Openwork bronze, wrought iron and brass PCA 620 Height 18,2 cm maximal 12,6 cm Suspended approx. 77 cm

Octagonal suspended by chains, used to burn in- cense. It consists of two parts: the perforated cover, shaped as a tower with three floors, and the cauldron with a hexag- onal base.

This type of censer is characteristic of the gothic tradition, but its shapes are more stylized and are often found in 16th-century models.

In a 1918 photograph from the arxiu Mas archive (Barcelo- na), this censer can be found suspended from the wall by the triumphal arch of Sant Romà de les Bons, to the right of the altarpiece. Crosses from Sant Jaume d’ (Escal- des-Engordany) [11] 13th-14th centuries Copper and golden iron plate OCA 0669 13,2 x 7,8 x 0,6 cm/ 13,2 x 9,4 x 0,6 cm

Latin crosses located in the ruins of the church which belong to the category of altar crosses, reliquaries or even croziers. The lower half can be attached to a support which has not been preserved.

Lipsanotheca from Sant Romà de les Bons (En- camp) [12] 13th century – January 23rd 1164 Wooden box and glass vial with tissue and bone PCA 0425 Wooden box: 4,5 x 5,4 x 10,8 cm. Glass vial: 4,2 x 3,5 x 2,5 cm

Box and relics located inside the altar and containing the document certifying the consecration of the church (1164).

A lipsanotheca is an object of used to pre- serve relics, that is, body parts from saints or other types of religious objects, accompanied by small parchments iden- tifying the relics or showcasing the date when the altar or church were consecrated. Sacred image from Sant Vicenç d’Enclar (Andorra la Vella) [13] Late 13th century Polychrome wood carving PCA 1335 69 x 19,5 x 18 cm

Polychrome wood carving of an unidentified saint located in the church of Santa Coloma, although it would appear that it came from the church of Sant Vicenç d’Enclar. His left hand holds a closed book while his right hand holds a miss- ing object.

Christ from Sant Martí de la Cortinada (Ordi- no) [14] 13th century Sculpted polychrome wood PCA 1337 50 x 54 x 12 cm

Painted wood carving of Christ at the cross made of six at- tached wooden pieces.

An originally Romanesque piece showing the transforma- tions undergone in later periods, due to the changes in religious and artistic mentality: gothic style transformed the vision of a triumphant Christ into that of a suffering one. Altar candlestick from the old Sanctuary of Meritxell () [15] 11th-12th centuries Cast iron and bronze ME 0495 13,9 x 9,7 cm Candlestick located over the altar stone.

The bronze presents some oxidation marks (green hues) and remains of a smoke patina due to its many years of exposure to candles and censers.

“The mystical book of Sant Romà de les Bons”. Fragment of the “Passio sancti Romani” [16] 12th century Parchment and leather PCA R-021 27 x 16,5 x 8,5 cm

Reproduction of The mystical book of Sant Romà de les Bons. According to M. Mundó, it was written around 1150 at la Seu d’Urgell and was given to the church of Sant Romà de les Bons for its consecration in 1164. The decoration isn’t very detailed but interesting elements include certain initials and especially a representation of Christ crucified on a cross pattée. It is a heterogeneous ensemble, the work of many hands, comprised of 362 pages. Its importance lies on the fact it contains the calendar, the breviary, the missal, the of the , the , the ritual, the An- tiphonary of the mass, the Passio sancti Romani, etc., all of it in Latin. Reproduction of the altar stone of Santa Coloma (Andorra la Vella)[17] 8th 10th centuries Dark marble from the country Episcopal Museum of Vic (MEV 9028) 8,5 x 73 x 59 cm

Sculpted piece in a single block with inscriptions related to the names of the people who took part in the consecration. The majority are unintelligible, but some were able to be transcribed: “TEUDERICUS PBR., AVILGARDUS PBR., SELIDRA- DUS, AVESINDUS PBR., DEUDENECUS PBR., DONULA, MOSPI- TALES LEVITA, TRASOLAUS, BONTEROCUS LEVITA, BAIA PBR., DUULA, DEUDENECUS PBR., LALAFAE, BONUSHOMO.“

The altar stone is a consecrated stone upon which the priest extends the white cloth and places the and host for the mass.

Lipsanotheca from Sant Serni de Nagol (Sant Julià de Lòria) [18] 11th century Wood, tissue, bone, esparto and wax PCA 0426 11,5 x 8 x 8 cm

Round container located inside the altar of the church and housing relics and a parchment with the names of the pa- tron saints, as well as the date of the consecration of the church (1055).

A lipsanotheca is an object of Christian liturgy used to pre- serve relics, that is, body parts from saints or other types of religious objects, accompanied by small parchments iden- tifying the relics or showcasing the date when the altar or church were consecrated. Oil lamps from Santa Eulàlia (Encamp) [19] 13th-14th centuries Glass PCA 3185-3186-3187 16 x 18,5 / 16 x 18 / 12 x 14 cm

These three extremely thin glass bells recovered during the 1988-1989 excavation campaigns carried out inside the tem- ple, following the radical transformation of the building.

These lanterns lit the interior of the church by oil combustion; they were hung from the ceiling by a rope or chain.

Chandelier from the church of Sant Joan de [20] 13th century Wrought iron PCA 643 158 x 31,5 x 31,5 cm

Liturgical chandelier composed of a base and a crown of light.

The base originally had 3 feet (only two have been pre- served). The crown of light displays a cross and three fleurs- de-lis (originally four) as symbolic and decorative motifs. ‘Verbum crucis’

The cross is one of the most ancient symbols of humanity. It was already present in prehistory and has been used by religions, cults, organizations, governments and people of all manner of beliefs. This may be because it is a sign that is easy to make –two lines crossing at a right angle– and is easily identified. The cross has many meanings: number 10 in Roman numerals (X), the positive and addition sings (+) and the multiplication (x) sign.

There are various types of crosses depending on what they represent but the most basic and best-known cross symbol is the permanent reminder of the crucifixion and death of Christ, as the ignominious instrument of execution on which the interests of the religious power of the times presumably culminated.

The Latin cross The Saint Andrew’s cross

The Greek cross The Jerusalem cross

The two-barred cross, The West Syrian cross patriarchal cross, cross of Lorraine or Caravaca The East Syrian cross cross, The Celtic cross The Orthodox (eight- armed) cross, The ankh, Egyptian hiero- glyphic cross or crux ansata The Maltese cross

Thorny cross from Sant Serni de Nagol (Sant Julià de Lòria) 13th century Polychrome wood PCA 1919 157 x 90,2 x 8 cm

Wooden with remains of green poly- chrome and a series of bumps imitating the spikes of Christ’s crown of thorns; it is thus commonly known as a thorny cross.

It has a hole in the front, right at the intersection of both arms, designed to store relics in it, so the faithful would obtain the favours invoked during processions.

Consultation copy. Please return it at the ticket office.