JOSÉ MARÃA SERT (Barcelona, 1874 - 1945)
"Seventh Beatitude" Sketch for the nave of the Epistle in Vic Cathedral, 1925-1927.
Oil on canvas in the form of a lunette. Re-drawn.
Work referenced in; ALBERTO DEL CASTILLO, "José María Sert, his life and work". Barcelona - Buenos Aires. 1947. Lam.106.
Size: 120 x 242 (frame: 132 x 254).
This work in hemispherical format is the presentation model for one of the mural paintings in Vic Cathedral belonging to the lateral lunettes of the Epistle nave. The central opening of the sketch corresponds to the architectural niche in the wall. The piece known as the VII Beatitude alludes to the words of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (Matthew V): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God". Dominating the centre of the scene, the imposing presence of Saint Angelo's castle can be recognised in the upper part of the lunette. To the right of the scene, flanking the lunette, we can see the figure of Saint Leo facing Attila, located in the lower part of the image. The king of the Huns is accompanied by his army, which has been structured by the artist, creating great depth in the scene. On the left-hand side of the composition, Sert portrays the saint receiving the olive branch from the hands of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Paul and Saint Peter, sheltered under a large tree, next to which can be seen a small little love child. The original painting of the cathedral was destroyed during the Civil War, so this sketch is an important surviving graphic document of the painter, which was subsequently used for the reconstruction of the mural. Although this work was commissioned in 1900, Sert did not present the first sketches until six years later, busy with the numerous orders he received from the aristocrats of the time. The First World War interrupted the work and once it was resumed, Sert felt he had to modify the approach, eliminating colour and therefore rethinking the perspectives in order to obtain depth. It was completed in 1929, but only seven years later it was destroyed. Shocked, Sert accepted the restoration of the cathedral, basing it this time on a set of bas-reliefs which he did not complete until the year of his death.José María Sert was one of the most sought-after and controversial painters of his time and one of the best Spanish muralists. Heir to the Catalan Renaixença and trained as a modernist, he developed a pictorial style outside the stylistic trends of his time. These characteristics make him a renovator of mural painting and a prolific artist who painted more than seven thousand square metres of cathedrals, palaces, great halls, private residences and town halls in various cities, but without doubt the work that was most present throughout his life was the decoration of Vic Cathedral.
Trained with Benito Mercadé and Pere Borrell, Sert was a member of the Círculo Artístico de Sant Lluc, and later a disciple of A. de Riquer. In 1900 Torras i Bages commissioned him to paint a large mural decoration for Vic Cathedral, of which he presented sketches and preparatory canvases in 1905 and 1907 in Barcelona and Paris, of which this piece is an example. Through his exhibitions abroad, he soon acquired extraordinary prestige among the French and English aristocracy, for whom he produced sumptuous decorations. In 1908 he decorated the Sala de los Pasos Perdidos of the Palace of Justice in Barcelona, and in 1910 he presented the mural decoration of the ballroom of the Marquis of Alella (Barcelona) at the Salon d'Automne in Paris and decorated the music room of the Princess of Polignac in Paris. Two years later he exhibited an important group of works at the Salon in the French capital. In the following years he worked for Queen Victoria Eugenia (Santander) and for Robert Rotschild (Chantilly).