A Renaissance treasure for everyone: the Library of Catalonia buys the 'Gralla Book of Hours'

BarcelonaVery good news for Catalan heritage: the Library of Catalonia has purchased and digitized the magnificent Book of Hours GrallaAn illuminated manuscript from the 16th century, considered one of the jewels of the Renaissance in Catalonia. In March, the book was for sale at the stand of antiquarian Jörn Günther. at the Tefaf fair for 430,000 euros, where the Generalitat bought it, although it has not made the price public.

The Book of Hours Gralla The commission was given to him by the most prominent member of this family originally from Lleida, the deputy of the Generalitat and diplomat Miquel Joan Gralla. In fact, the now-defunct Gralla HouseLocated on Portaferrissa Street in Barcelona, ​​it was the most famous Renaissance building in Catalonia. The Gralla family was related to the Desplà family, from which came Lluís Desplà, the Archdeacon and President of the Generalitat, who commissioned Bartolomé Bermejo to design it. the well known Piety preserved in Barcelona Cathedral.

The book's miniatures are by the Florentine painter trained in Flanders, Giacomo Smeraldo Dotavanti, the author of the miniatures in the missal of the Chapel of Saint George of the Generalitat, currently held at the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia), and who also worked at the Pedralbes Monastery. The volume was produced in Barcelona between 1501 and 1525. The family's ownership is indicated by the family coat of arms present in the book: a black gralla (a type of harp) on a gold and azure background, framed by two angels, as stated in the press release issued by the Library of Catalonia.

A book of private devotion

The book begins with a calendar that includes saints of the Diocese of Barcelona, ​​with mention of Saint Eulalia. This is followed by various sequences of readings from the Passion and the Gospels, as well as the Hours of the Virgin Mary, which is the central and most prominent section of this volume, and texts and prayers for following the Liturgy of the Hours into which the day was divided. The book is written on parchment, in round Gothic script, in black ink, with rubrics in red. It is small in format, as was typical of books of private devotion, and the binding is in brown calfskin decorated with Mudéjar-style tooling. Its state of preservation is "excellent," despite the absence of some folios lost before the 20th century. The manuscript includes nine miniature scenes illustrating passages from the life of Jesus Christ, surrounded by borders with flowers, insects, and birds, as well as 26 pages bordered with botanical and animal motifs and numerous decorative initials of various sizes, in burnished gold on a blue background.

TheBook of Hours of the Gralla FamilyIt had always been in private hands. From the Gralla family it passed to the Barons of Savassona in the 18th century. In the 19th century, it became part of the library of the English banker and collector Henry Huth (1815-1878), and later passed into the hands of the magnate Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968), a collector of Oriental art and books. When Beatty died, it was sold at Sotheby's auction house. It remained in the possession of a Swiss bibliophile until it resurfaced through the Swiss antiquarian bookstore Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books AG.