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(music) ("In The Sky With Diamonds" by Scalding Lucy)
Steven: We're in the National Museum of
Catalonian Art and we're looking at
their incredible collection of Romanesque art.
This is work that was brought down
from the Pyrenees.
Beth: From various Romanesque churches
and the museum took them out of those churches
and preserves them as part of nationalistic interest
in the heritage of art in Catalonia.
Steven: This happened in the late 19th century
and it's a really good thing that
the state recognized the importance
of these paintings.
Most likely what would have happened is
they would have been taken out of situ
anyway and sold on the international market.
Beth: Although we're not viewing them
in the churches in the mountains
where it would have been ideal to see them,
the museum's done I think a fabulous job
in trying to give us a sense of
what it was like to see these works
on the walls of the churches.
Steven: We probably should mention that
one of the reasons that these frescoes
are so well preserved is likely because
of the isolation of the villages in the
Pyrenees where they came from.
Beth: You have this whole flowering
of Romanesque art in that region;
painters, craftsmen coming from
slightly different regions,
slightly different traditions,
so as you walk through and look at
all the different mural paintings,
you see a lot of stylistic variety.
Steven: Clearly it was an interaction
with the east, with Italy perhaps,
and it's really this sort of fascinating moment.
There had been enough political
and economic stability when,
for the first time in many years in Europe,
there was the possibility of
some real travel from one part of
Europe to the next.
Beth: We're looking at a semi-circular apse
with a tiny window in the center.
Steven: This is Romanesque.
Beth: It is Romanesque.
Big thick walls, and that's important.
This is before the walls opened up
to stained glass windows in the Gothic period.
We have to imagine that all of the
thick walls of church covered with these
beautiful, colorful frescoes ...
And in this case, the semi-circular space
tells the story of
the Wise and Foolish Virgins,
the wise virgins on the left and
the foolish ones on the right.
Steven: This is really an allegory of
the notion of the marriage of the church
and of God, of Christ, so the
wise virgins and the foolish virgins were
both awakened when the bridegroom arrives.
The wise virgins had enough forethought
to be prepared to bring enough oils
so that their oil lights, their lanterns,
could be lit throughout the entire ceremony.
The foolish virgins on the other hand,
had not had that forethought and
had to run off to purchase more oil
which meant that they were late
to the proceedings.
All of that is really a reference to
the end of time, to the apocalypse,
to the last judgement.
Beth: To be prepared.
Steven: Well, that's right.
Only those that are prepared,
those that have fully accepted Christ
in advance are going to be allowed
into the kingdom of heaven.
Beth: The bridegroom in the story
is Christ himself.
You see Christ seated at the table
with the wise virgins who are holding
their illuminated candles and
who look very proper and upright
as compared to the virgins on the right,
the foolish virgins who look a little bit disorganized.
Steven: They do.
Beth: And they're not seated at the table.
Steven: Well, they're actually probably
negotiating for more oil at the moment.
Beth: (laughs)
Steven: And their hands are moving
in different directions,
their gazes are moving in different directions,
all of which suggests a kind of chaos, I think.
Beth: But I like how well the virgins
on the left, who are at the table with Christ,
are all looking in Christ's direction.
They have that focus.
Their gaze goes towards Christ.
Christ is seated near some architecture
which represents the heavenly Jerusalem.
When we look at this, I think both you and I
were really struck by how
[unintelligible] this seemed.
It might remind us the mosaics in Ravenna,
the figures have facial features that
are very geometric,
eyes in the shapes of lozenges and
lines for eyebrows.
Steven: You can see that interest
in the Visintine, especially in the
mantles around the shoulders,
where you can see jewels represented.
That actually reminds me very much of
mosaics from the 6th century from the east.
But there's also references to the Classical.
For instance, directly under the virgins,
there's this lovely little band which
shows a meander, this little geometric
set of forms which is coming out
of the Greek and then adopted by the Romans.
Below that you can see a hanging drapery.
That may be a reference to
the traditions of ancient Roman art
which often depicted illusionistic hangings.
Beth: Also, some remnant of modeling
in an attempt to make figures look
three-dimensional, if you look at the
modeling under the neck or on the cheeks,
or a little bit on the drapery,
there's still some suggestion of
three-dimensional form.
But there's no doubt on the other hand
that we're looking at something medieval,
something Romanesque.
The figures are weightless and elongated.
Their hands are enlarged so that
their gestures are very readable.
Above we have a large Mandorla or
halo-like form with painted rainbow
and jewels around it that obviously
once showed Christ and Mary or
Mary holding the Christ child.
So it's important to remember this sort of
painted interior that someone would have
walked in or you really would have learned
all of the important biblical stories.
Steven: The population would have been
largely illiterate and so the idea of
actually telling these stories,
telling these parables through imagery
would have been crucially important.
Beth: I'm also just struck by
all of the decorative surfaces;
the painted jewels,
the floral motif,
it must have been, when walking in the church,
almost like walking into the
heavenly Jerusalem itself.
(music) ("In The Sky With Diamonds" by Scalding Lucy)