Altar Frontal: Ascension of Christ (Frontal de Martinet)
Culture
Catalan
Culture
Spanish
Datelate 1100s–early 1200s
Mediumpainting on wood panel
Dimensionsoverall: 95.2 x 145.5 cm (37 1/2 x 57 5/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number1934.27
DescriptionRomanesque School; referred to in some publications as the 'Frontal de Martinet' although records here show its origin to be the parish church at Lles, La Seo de Urget.Label Text2003-12-11: ALTAR FRONTAL: ASCENSION OF CHRIST Spanish, Catalan, late 12th or 13th century On wood panel Museum purchase, 1934.27 Antependia, or altar frontals, were a common type of painting in medieval Spain, and many have been preserved in parish churches of Catalonia. Their subjects, compositions, and style of painting were prescribed by tradition, and usually varied little between examples. Most show Christ as the Pantocrator, with the symbols of the Second Coming or last Judgment. Here the Pantocrator motif is preserved, but the iconography is that of the Ascension, linking the two mystic events. The style of the painting relates closely to Spanish Romanesque wall paintings, and actually adapts the compositional divisions of apse frescoes to the standard altar frontal format. Provenance1933 from Arthur Byne, London England and Madrid; from D. Jose Bardolet from the church at Lles, La Seo de Urget, Cerdanya, Lerida
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