The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya has made two major acquisition during the summer.
At an auction held in Barcelona on 31 May 2017 they acquired a panel painting representing the Decapitation of Saint Baudilus, painted by Lluís Dalmau for the old Gothic high altarpiece in the parish church of Sant Boi de Llobregat (Baix Llobregat), one of the few works by the painter to have been conserved.
Lluís Dalmau was one of the principal artists working in Barcelona in the mid 15th century, and was employed at the court of King Alfonso IV. There are only two surviving documented works by this outstanding painter: the famous Virgin of the “Consellers”, made between 1443 and 1445, and the altarpiece from Sant Boi, dated to 1448. The Museu Nacional was able to purchase this exceptional work thanks to a donation by the Palarq Foundation. It will certainly become a well-loved masterpiece of the Museum’s impressive collection of Catalan Gothic painting.
They also acquired 200 photographs by Catalan photographer Oriol Maspons (Barcelona, 1928-2013), thanks to the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation. The new acquisition will enable the organisation of a major retrospective dedicated to this photographer in 2019. Moreover, the generosity of the Nando and Elsa Peretti fundation will enable researchers to study the over 7000 photographs and other photographic material deposited at the Museum by the photographer in 2010.
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