www.diocesisdejaca.org

The well-regarded French newspaper “Le Monde” recently referred to the Diocesan Museum of Jaca as “one of the most beautiful collections of Romanesque frescoes in the world”. The Parisian paper was only confirming the widespread admiration expressed for this museum since its reopening in 2010 by the Prince and Princess of Asturias, after an in-depth process of rebuilding, extension and modernisation. It now offers more than 2,000 m2 of exhibition space dedicated to medieval art, of which the extraordinary collection of original Romanesque and Gothic frescoes stands out. These were rescued from a series of churches in the Jaca diocese and without a doubt form part of one of the most important collections of its kind in the world.

There is also an interesting collection of capitals, of carved statues of virgins and Christ figures and of Romanesque ironwork. Between 1960 and 1970, the diocese of Jaca surprised the world with the recovery of a series of medieval frescoes. They had succeeded in saving an extremely important part of the Aragonese cultural heritage, which would later be a part of one of the best museums of Romanesque art in Spain and Europe. It is a well-known fact that Romanesque chapels were not considered finished until walls, apses and vaults were completely covered in frescoes. This was true to such an extent that it is difficult to imagine an empty Romanesque space. It was not painted for decorational purposes (the Romanesque period is associated with austerity and simplicity) but rather to offer those who could not read a version of the story of the Salvation in pictures.

The most valuable room is the Bagües room. The frescoes were taken off the walls of the church by the Gudiol family in the summer of 1966. They were later transferred onto canvas and reassembled on the present panels in their workshop in Barcelona. A room, which had the exact dimensions of the original church, was specially built in the museum in Jaca for their exhibition. It is the largest single piece of Romanesque frescoes that exists in Spain.

Also of great interest is the collection of Romanesque frescoes from the Parish Church of Navasa and the numerous Gothic pieces from Concilio, Osia, Uriés, Orús, Susin, Sorripas, Huértalo, Ceresola, Sieso de Jaca, Ipas, Esco and Bergosa. The head of Christ Pantocrator is from the apse of San Juan Bautista in Ruesta and is a classic image as described in the Apocalypse.


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