Ex ungue leonem. Marble heads by the Master of Cabestany

Coinciding with the Romanesque International Conference to be held at the museum in April and organised in collaboration with the British Archaeological Association, a series of works by the Master of Cabestany will be on show in the rooms of the permanent collection.

Ex ungue leonem is a Latin expression which literally means “from the claw to the lion”. It refers to the fact that, from a part an image cam be conceived that whole, just like the marble works he displayed.

The four marble heads that we are presenting are fragments from the doorway of Sant Pere de Rodes, a masterpiece attributed to one of the most surprising Romanesque sculptors, the ‘Master of Cabestany’. His work has been found in several places in southern Europe, from Tuscany (Italy) to Navarre, although most of the examples conserved are to be found in northern Catalonia and Languedoc.

The doorway was probably built during the middle decades of the twelfth century, and it contained themes from the New Testament. It was destroyed during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, although a few scattered remains have survived. On the heads we see very careful work, combining high degrees of expressiveness with a heightened sense of volume, revealing knowledge of the reliefs on ancient sarcophagi.

We should remember that the word ‘marble’ comes from the Latin marmor, derived from the classical Greek marmairon, meaning ‘to shine’. This material enjoyed great prestige in Antiquity, which it kept throughout the Middle Ages, when it is also found in buildings. The heads exhibited, removed from their original place, have themselves gained in value thanks to the way they were carved; this makes them shine, just like jewels of the Romanesque period.

Exhibition catalogue

Photo: Master of Cabestany. Human head. Fragment of a relief. Second third of 12th century. Private Collection