The Altarpiece of Saint Barbara is a painting by

Gonzalo Pérez Gonzalo Pérez, or Gonçal Peris Sarrià, was a Valencian painter of the first half of the 15th century. His life is scarcely documented. He executed altarpieces and devotional paintings in his hometown, Valencia, in the late Gothic style from ...

(Gonçal Peris Sarrià) in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Description

Theme

The altarpiece features the image of Saint Barbara as the central figure. She holds in her right hand a palm frond, symbolizing martyrdom. Her left hand holds a tower, central to the story of her imprisonment. Above this central image is a scene of Calvary, depicting Christ with his mother and his disciple John. The walled background is representative of the walls of Jerusalem. Four panels in the side compartments depict eight scenes of the saint's life and passion. These scenes were later described in the 1486 medieval Catalan manuscript, '' Jardinet d'Orats.'' Altarpiece of Saint Barbara Detail 1

The panel on the top left shows Saint Barbara's baptism in a

holy stream Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric. T ...

. There is also a scene showing Barbara in front of the tower her tyrannical father, Dioscorus, began constructing in order to confine her. She is giving directions to the builder to add a third window to the building. For Saint Barbara, this was a way to represent the Holy Trinity. Below this, in the bottom left panel, Dioscorus learns about his daughter's acceptance of the new faith and threatens her with a sword. This causes Barbara to run away to the forest. Her father pursues her and her location is given away by a pastor. He is punished for this deed by being turned into stone. The panel on the top right narrates the torments inflicted on Saint Barbara. She was taken to the Praetor after her capture and sentenced to death after torture. The right side of the panel illustrates her breasts being pulled. The bottom right panel depicts two additional scenes. Barbara is being stoned by a group of males on the left, and on the right, she is beheaded by her father, the king. At the same time, the king and his accomplice are seen to be the target of a lightning strike and Barbara's soul is welcomed by an angel. The horizontal bank of small portraits depict religious figures. From left to right these are: Saint Ursula, Saint Luke, a grieving Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine.

Artist

This altarpiece is attributed to the painter Gonzalo Pérez, one of the chief representatives of Valencian International Gothic. His style is marked by expressive and picturesque elements, flowing lines and the charm of the colour. Gonzalo came from a family of painters living in the city of Turia in the 13th century. He was trained in the workshop of Pere Nicolau. Upon his death, Gonzalo was charged to manage the assets of his teacher. He had a successful workshop during this time.

International Gothic Style

Gothic painting Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...

followed Romanesque painting as a predominant style between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Similar to the Romanesque style, Gothic paintings were centered on religious figures. However, the new style related subject matter more closely to its audience, preferring to put more focus on the human element. From 1400 onward, this expanded to the International Gothic style, which is showcased in the Altarpiece of Saint Barbara. The approach drew inspiration from painters in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. The International Gothic style uses sophistication, refinement, and luxury, which reflects the condition of the European courts of the time, and Valencia became a center for international artwork which produced an exchange of diverse traditions.

Origin

The painting originated in the town of

Puertomingalvo Puertomingalvo is a municipality located at high elevation in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research ce ...

, a municipality in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. This information comes from photographs taken by antique archaeologist and scholar Juan Cabre, between 1908 and 1910 of the altarpiece within the Puertomingalvo parish church. Other evidence of this location is found on preserved photographic prints showcasing the iconographic repertoire of Spain.

References

External links

The artwork at the museum's website
1410s paintings 1420s paintings Paintings in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya Paintings of the Crucifixion of Jesus Polyptychs {{DEFAULTSORT:Altarpiece of Saint Barbara (Pérez)