Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza

Description

Cultural Heritage Site. Date of initiation: 19/11/1979

It is believed that the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza (Hortigüela, Burgos) was founded on 12 January 912 by Count Gonzalo Téllez and his wife Lambra. Under the direction of Abbot San García (circa 1073), the construction of a new Romanesque building began, influenced in some aspects of its architecture by Lombard Romanesque (Senra, 2006). The monastery underwent modifications over time: in the last third of the 15th century, Gothic elements were introduced, and during the 17th and 18th centuries, the guest quarters and the double cloister acquired a Baroque appearance. At the beginning of the 20th century, paintings that decorated the walls of the building were discovered -due to the collapse of a staircase. Although researchers do not agree on the exact date when the paintings were created, there was unanimous consensus in considering this set as exceptional. In 1924, the monuments commission requested that the building be carefully monitored in order to prevent further deterioration; however, the only viable solution was to sell the paintings to the State. Despite the efforts made by the owner and her son—Carlota Barbadillo and Alejandro de Valcárcel y Barbadillo—to find a Spanish institution willing to take charge of them, the slow bureaucratic process and the apparent inaction of the State ultimately led to their sale abroad (Martínez Ruiz, 2013). In 1938, part of the paintings were exhibited at The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), others ended up at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University (Massachusetts), and finally, some remained in Spain, at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (1943). For information on the dispersal of items from the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza, see: Portico of San Pedro de Arlanza (Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid); Capitals, Virgin of the Battles and Tomb called of Mudarra (Museo de Burgos, Burgos); Dragon and Lion (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); Griffin (Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge); Pair of Bird Sirens, Architecture, Panther and Architecture, Pair of Apes, Border and Bird, Border and Mythical Animal and Paintings of Arlanza (Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña, Barcelona).