Altar frontal from Avià

The Altar frontal from Avià is a rare Romanesque altar frontal exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona. It is the front of the altar of the church of St. Mary of Avià, in the county of Berguedà, later moved to MNAC Barcelona, while the church has a replica in place. It is dated to the 13th century or earlier, and was painted by an unknown artist.

Altar frontal from Avià
Artist	Unknown
Year	13th century
Medium	Tempera on wood
Dimensions	107 cm × 177 cm (42 in × 70 in)
Location	Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

The frontal is painted in tempera on a wood panel, with parchment overlaps, pastiglia stucco relief decoration and remains of additional vanished metal plates. It is divided into five areas, dominated by the central Virgin and Child. The figures are elongated, with Byzantine-style costumes and frontal poses. Four scenes surround the central figures: the Annunciation and Visitation, Nativity, the Epiphany and the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. Both the frame and the divisions between the compartments are decorated with gilded gypsum plaster, imitating precious metal.

Further reading

• Castiñeiras, Manuel; Camps, Jordi (2008). Romanesque art in the MNAC collections. MNAC. ISBN 978-84-8043-196-5. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
• Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya. MNAC. 1 March 2009. ISBN 978-84-8043-200-9. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
• Carbonell, Eduard; Pagès, Montserrat; Camps, Jordi; Marot, Teresa (1998). Romanesque Art Guide: Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. ISBN 9788480430395. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
• Carbonell, Eduard; Sureda i Pons, Joan (1997). The Medieval Treasures of the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya. Lunwerg. Retrieved 3 September 2012.

External links

• The frontal at Museum's website
• The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500-1200, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (available online as PDF), which contains material on this altar frontal (no. 171)