Chapters of the altarpiece of Our Lady of the Councillors

Date: 1443

Archive: Municipal Archive of Barcelona

Document type: Textual

Reference code: CAT-AHCB-AHCB1-002-1G-050

Link to the online document

Description: Chapters of the contract agreed and signed between the councilors of the city of Barcelona, on the one hand, and Lluís Dalmau, painter, on the other, for the creation of an altarpiece intended for the chapel of the Casa del Consell de Barcelona. Includes a trace of the altarpiece, with notes on the arrangement of its constituent elements.
The Valencian painter, one of the key figures of Catalan Gothic and who developed his activity mainly in the Crown of Aragon, traveled on more than one occasion for professional reasons to Flanders, where he came into contact with Flemish artists and their work. It is also believed that he had a direct relationship with the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, and that he may even have worked in his workshop. In the altarpiece of the Virgin of the Councillors, you can indeed see elements of inspiration from the Flemish Gothic, and from Van Eyck in particular: the use of the oil painting technique, the meticulousness in the details, the presence of a background landscape and the use of symbolism in the objects present in the work.

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