The Museum of Montserrat showcases a selection of the most outstanding artistic and archaeological heritage at the thousand-year-old Abbey of Montserrat. The museum contains six very different collections. More than 1300 pieces are exhibited in the museum, embracing a vast chronological period.

History

The original basis of the Museum of Montserrat was the so-called ‘Biblical Museum’, a huge, admirable work by the monk Dom

Bonaventura Ubach Bonaventura Ubach i Medir, or Buenaventura Ubach Medir, ( Barcelona, 2 April 1879 - Montserrat, 19 February 1960) was a Benedictine monk of the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, orientalist and biblical scholar. As a traveler and student of th ...

(Barcelona, 1879–Montserrat, 1960), who spent long periods of his life in Jerusalem and Beirut from 1906. The oldest exhibit is an Egyptian sarcophagus from the 13th century BC, whilst the most recent is a painting by Sean Scully dating to 2010. The sarcophagus forms part of the Archaeology of the Biblical East Collection, along with other objects from the cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, the Holy Land and Cyprus. There is also an exhibition devoted to the Iconography of Our Lady of Montserrat, which traces the changing way in which the Virgin has been represented in art over the centuries. Since 2006 the Museum of Montserrat has a new section: a collection of about 160 Byzantine and Slavic icons that is titled Phos Hilaron (joyful light). These icons presented on the environment of an oriental church where the light has an important role. The other collections are: Goldsmithery, comprising liturgical objects from the 15th to the 20th century; Painting from the 13th to the 18th century, which includes works by Berruguete,

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

, Luca Giordano, Tiepolo, etc.; and 19th and 20th century Painting, which boasts one of the finest collections of Catalan painting, including such outstanding names as Fortuny, Rusiñol, Casas, Nonell, Mir,

Gimeno Gimeno is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Álvar Gimeno (born 1997), Spanish professional rugby union footballer * Amalio Gimeno, 1st Count of Gimeno (1852–1936), Spanish nobleman, physician, scientist and politician * Andr ...

Anglada Camarasa Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (1871–1959), known in Catalan as Hermenegild (or Hermen) Anglada Camarasa, was a Catalan and Balearic Spanish painter. Life and career Born in Barcelona, he studied there at the Llotja School. His early work had ...

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Dalí, etc. French Impressionist art is also represented in this section, with works by Monet, Sisley, Degas, Pissarro, etc., as well as graphic works by many of the greatest contemporary artists: Chagall,

Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

, Rouault, Miró, Dalí,

Clavé Clavé () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department The following is a list of the 256 communes of the Deux-Sèvres department of France. ...

, Tàpies, etc. The Museum of Montserrat is a living entity. It experiences a constant transformation and continuous and renewed exhibitions of its collection. Only a small part of it is exhibited permanently. This is why temporary exhibitions follow each other non-stop in the

Pere Daura Pere may refer to: * Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county * Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand educationalist and spiritual leader * Wi Pere (1837–1915), a Māori Member of Parliament ...

Room and the Pere Pruna Art Space. These temporary exhibitions make up the best complement to the Museum’s visitors and stand for the real efforts of this institution. On 2015 a Sean Scully art space was opened at Santa Cecilia in Montserrat.

Outstanding artworks

File:Benedetto Bonfigli - Saint Fabian and Saint Sebastian.jpg, ''Saint Augustin and Saint Sebastian'' by

Benedetto Bonfigli Benedetto Bonfigli (c. 1420 – July 8, 1496) was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Perugia, and part of the Umbria school of painters including Raphael and Perugino. He is also known as ''Buonfi ...

(s XV). File:Michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-1571-1610-S 1 1753.jpg, '' Saint Jerome in Meditation'' by

. File:LaFontaineMontserat.jpg, ''Jean de La Fontaine'', by Hyacinthe Rigaud. File:El venedor de tapissos.jpg, ''El venedor de tapissos'' by Marià Fortuny. File:La Porte d'Aval by Claude Monet.jpg, Porte d'Aval by Claude Monet. File:Abans del bany.jpg, '' Abans del bany'', by Ramon Casas. File:Au Moulin de la Galette.jpg , Madeleine, by Ramon Casas. File:RusiñolMontserat.jpg, ''El pati blau'', by

Santiago Rusiñol Santiago Rusiñol i Prats (, ; Barcelona 25 February 1861 – Aranjuez 13 June 1931) was a Spanish painter, poet, journalist, collector and playwright. He was one of the leaders of the Catalan '' modernisme'' movement. He created more than ...

. File:GimenoMontserat.jpg, ''La nena petita i el bon companyó'', by Francesc Gimeno File:RebullMontserat.jpg, ''La nena'' by

Joan Rebull Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multiple ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Catalonia