Martorell, Bernardo (1400c.-1452) - 1430-40c. St. Vincent the Martyr and St. Vincent Ferrer (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)
Tempera and oil on panel; 103 x 63 cm.
Bernat Martorell was a Catalan painter. He is considered to be the most important artist of the International Gothic style in Catalonia. Martorell painter retables and miniatures, as well as created sculptures and also made design for embroideries.
Little is known of his life prior to 1427, though by the mid 15th century he was one of the leading artists in Catalonia. The style of Martorell is contrastingly different from the Catalunyan Gothic painters who preceded him cronologically, including Lluís Borrassà. It shows that Martorell was familiar with contemporary Flemish painting, however, the documented part of his biography does not explain this influence. On the other hand, parallels were drawn between Martorell and Italian artists including Pisanello, Sassetta, and Gentile da Fabriano, based on similarity of style but without any substantial evidence.
Sometimes Retable of Saint John the Baptist from Cabrera de Mar (Museu Diocesà de Barcelona) is attributed to Martorell. If he indeed painted the retable, this could explain the gap between Martorell and the International Gothic in Catalunya. There is, however, no documented evidence that Martorell is the author of the retable, and his authorship has been disputed.
One of the earliest survived works of Martorell, Saint George Killing the Dragon (wood, Art Institute of Chicago), depicting Bernat Martorell's patron saint, was created in the early 1430s and already demonstrates the complexity of composition, richness of colors and fine details which could only been executed by a fully trained artist. These details were not present in Catalan art before Martorell.
About the same time, Martorell also executed illustrations to the Ferial Psalter and the Book of Hours, as well as painted the Predella of the Passion of Christ (Museu de la Catedral de Barcelona). Two altarpieces, Retable of Saint Vincent (survived entirely) and Retable of Saint Lucy (the top of the central section was probably executed by another painter) were apparently painted in the 1430s.
In 1437, Bernat Martorell got a commission to create an altarpiece (Retable of Saint Pere de Púbol) for the church in Púbol. The altarpiece, devoted to Saint Peter, is currently located in Museu d'Art de Girona and is the only directly documented piece produced by the artist. The retable was completed in the beginning of the 1440s. Very similar style is found in the Retable of Saint John, which was kept in the parish church of Vinaixa, as well as in the Retable of Saint Michael from La Pobla de Cérvoles. This style shows more attention to detail than earlier works by Martorell.
Between 1445 and 1452, Bernat Martorell produced the Retable of Transfiguration from the Barcelona Cathedral and the Main Retable of Santa Maria del Mar in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar.
It is also presumed that Martorell provided a model according to which the embroiderer Antonio Sadurní executed Altar Frontal of Saint George between 1450 and 1451.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernat_Martorell
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Gothic
Martorell, Bernardo (1400c.-1452) - 1430-40c. St. Vincent the Martyr and St. Vincent Ferrer (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia)
Tempera and oil on panel; 103 x 63 cm.
Bernat Martorell was a Catalan painter. He is considered to be the most important artist of the International Gothic style in Catalonia. Martorell painter retables and miniatures, as well as created sculptures and also made design for embroideries.
Little is known of his life prior to 1427, though by the mid 15th century he was one of the leading artists in Catalonia. The style of Martorell is contrastingly different from the Catalunyan Gothic painters who preceded him cronologically, including Lluís Borrassà. It shows that Martorell was familiar with contemporary Flemish painting, however, the documented part of his biography does not explain this influence. On the other hand, parallels were drawn between Martorell and Italian artists including Pisanello, Sassetta, and Gentile da Fabriano, based on similarity of style but without any substantial evidence.
Sometimes Retable of Saint John the Baptist from Cabrera de Mar (Museu Diocesà de Barcelona) is attributed to Martorell. If he indeed painted the retable, this could explain the gap between Martorell and the International Gothic in Catalunya. There is, however, no documented evidence that Martorell is the author of the retable, and his authorship has been disputed.
One of the earliest survived works of Martorell, Saint George Killing the Dragon (wood, Art Institute of Chicago), depicting Bernat Martorell's patron saint, was created in the early 1430s and already demonstrates the complexity of composition, richness of colors and fine details which could only been executed by a fully trained artist. These details were not present in Catalan art before Martorell.
About the same time, Martorell also executed illustrations to the Ferial Psalter and the Book of Hours, as well as painted the Predella of the Passion of Christ (Museu de la Catedral de Barcelona). Two altarpieces, Retable of Saint Vincent (survived entirely) and Retable of Saint Lucy (the top of the central section was probably executed by another painter) were apparently painted in the 1430s.
In 1437, Bernat Martorell got a commission to create an altarpiece (Retable of Saint Pere de Púbol) for the church in Púbol. The altarpiece, devoted to Saint Peter, is currently located in Museu d'Art de Girona and is the only directly documented piece produced by the artist. The retable was completed in the beginning of the 1440s. Very similar style is found in the Retable of Saint John, which was kept in the parish church of Vinaixa, as well as in the Retable of Saint Michael from La Pobla de Cérvoles. This style shows more attention to detail than earlier works by Martorell.
Between 1445 and 1452, Bernat Martorell produced the Retable of Transfiguration from the Barcelona Cathedral and the Main Retable of Santa Maria del Mar in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Mar.
It is also presumed that Martorell provided a model according to which the embroiderer Antonio Sadurní executed Altar Frontal of Saint George between 1450 and 1451.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernat_Martorell
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Gothic