A PIECE OF A CALVARY

HISTORY 

Acquiring works of art in the art market is just one of the ways in which museums augment their collections. This is exactly what happened with this particular work that was acquired in 2004 by the Spanish Government, the institution that is ultimately responsible for the National Sculpture Museum, following the recommendation of the Board for the Qualification, Evaluation and Export of Spanish National and Historical Heritage Properties.

Before being acquired by the Museum, the relief formed part of the private collection of Antoni Batlló in the city of Barcelona that was kept in the Conventet de Pedralbes. The relief formed part of this collection from at least the year 1945, as may be deduced from a photograph belonging to the Amatller Institute for Hispanic Art. Before then, it had formed part of the Montal collection, once again in the Catalan capital. We ignore what its original location might have been. However, to its rear, we can see signs that it had, at some time or another, been involved in a fire which may well have been the reason why the relief was broken off a much larger piece of work.