Universidad Complutense de Madrid :: Arte y Monarquía en el Nacimiento y Consolidación del Reino de Aragón (1035-1134)

Art and Monarchy from the Birth of the Kingdom of Aragon through its Consolidation

This project has as its goal a study of the most significant works of art and architecture created in Aragon during the reigns of Ramiro I, Sancho Ramírez, Pedro I, and Alfonso el Batallador (1035-1134). We take as our hypothesis the fact that virtually all of the important works of this period are directly related to these monarchs, the royal family, or the court (which included both nobles and ecclesiastics of high rank). The creation of the works at the center of this study undoubtedly follow the conscious design program of a nascent monarchy in need of: a capital with a cathedral, a monastery with a royal pantheon, as well as royal and reliquary chapels, etc.

We shall concentrate on a group of works recognized as of the highest quality within the panorama of international Romanesque art, including the Cathedral of Jaca, the castles of Loarre and Montearagón, the monasteries of San Juan de la Peña, Santa Cruz de la Serós and Siresa, as well as the miniatures in the Huesca and Jaca archives, the covers of the Gospel Book of Queen Felicia, and the Arca of Saint Demetrios. Until the present, these works have received unequal attention. For example, there has been great interest in the Cathedral of Jaca, especially its sculpture, which has been studied by many of the most distinguished historians of Romanesque art (Porter, Gaillard, Gómez-Moreno, Durliat, Moralejo). Jaca has been analyzed in terms of its historical, epigraphic, liturgical, and doctrinal structures, providing studies dedicated to its styles and iconography, its patrons and the artistic personalities of its creators. However, by contrast, its architecture is subject still to a number of important questions that remain open. The sculpture and architecture of the other buildings in this study, the illuminations, the wall paintings, the precious work, and the coinage have not been studied adequately or in sufficient detail, and certainly never as a cohesive group.

The analysis of the purpose for which each of the principal architectural works was conceived and the interconnections of the circumstances of their respective patrons (the courses of their lives and the state of the kingdom at any given moment) will explain an architectural typology and establish a convincing chronology. This will allow us to understand the figural programs of these works, including, on occasion, an explanation of the provenance of individual artists and workshops.

The collaborative process of scholars focusing on different types of works and periods, who employ different methodologies will provide synergies which will enrich the results of each individual aspect of the investigation and its totality. The methodologies employed will be appropriate to the nature and idiosyncracies of each work, whether architecture, figurative or ornamental sculpture, wall painting, illumination, or numismatics. These methodologies will include typological, formal, constructional, and iconogaphic analyses, documentary studies, patronage investigations, or the social history of art. Thus, the object of these studies is to acquire a profound and complete knowledge of each of the works of art and architecture under investigation and each will be explained rationally in terms of its historical circumstances, to treat not only "el paisaje artístico de la monarquia," but also to obtain an accurate understanding of each of the works and objects that comprise the artistic landscape of Aragon in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.