“Majestas Domini”

Romanesque Painter, Catalan - Majestas Domini with Evangelists and Saints (detail) - c. 1123 - Fresco - Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (click photo for larger image)This mural was removed from the wall of the church of San Clemente at Tahull. Two artists were involved in the execution of the frescoes: the Master of San Clemente, who decorated the main apse, and the Master of the Day of Judgment, who painted part of the triumphal arch, the side apses, and probably also the walls and pillars in the nave, and whose work is also found in Santa Maria de Tahull, the sister church of San Clemente. In the middle apse of San Clemente the “Majestas Domini” (Christ in Majesty), a key theme of Romanesque art, found one of its most glorious expressions. The monumental figure of Christ is surrounded by the four symbols of the Evangelists. The omnipotent ruler is surrounded by a highly charged rainbow aureole, and is seated on a second rainbow. His right hand is raised in a gesture of dominion and blessing.