Transregionalism and particularity in Romanesque woodcarving in 12th-century Catalonia

One of the cornerstones of the study of Romanesque art in Catalonia has been its connections with major artistic centres and with wider European styles. In the field of polychrome woodcarving, studies have been based on typological comparison: different groups of sculptures have been defined according to workshops, areas, and chronology. Although the different types produced correspond to those developed more widely in Europe, they present iconographical and stylistic variations that are clearly specific to Catalonia. Majestats form one of the most significant series in Catalonia, which raises the question of how far a prestigious image such as the Volto Santo in Lucca could have influenced them: worship of the Passio Ymaginis Domini is recorded in places such as Girona and Vic in the 10th and 11th centuries. A question arises: how was the production of three-dimensional images introduced to Catalonia in the 12th century? A striking case is that of the Christ of Mijaran, the only surviving element from a superb Descent from the Cross. Some details of the works in its series are similar to the paintings from Taüll. Diversity in carvings of the Virgin is also notable. A group from La Cerdanya indicates the existence of a specific model in a particular area. Its masterpiece is the Virgin of Ger, stylistically similar to the figure of an archangel in Cologne.