Altar frontal from Sant Martí in Puigbò

This altar frontal corresponds to the Romanesque geometric style developed in Catalonia during the first half of the 12th century, of which one of the most important examples is the baldachin from Ribes exhibited in the same room in the Museum. It seems that the painter of this frontal followed, in the case of the figure of Christ the Saviour, the model established by the master of the baldachin from Ribes, although the figures correspond to a more popular artistic tradition. From the parish church of Sant Martí in Puigbò, next to Puigbò castle (El Ripollès), in the four compartments we have scenes from the life of Saint Martin, bishop of Tours and titular saint of the church: Saint Martin on horseback shares his chlamys with a poor man, the holy bishop resuscitates a catechumen who has died before being baptised, the scene of the death of the saint, and two angels taking the saint's soul to heaven. These four scenes are divided by a horizontal band with an inscription in Latin, transcribed by M. Gros, that reads: “For being generous with the poor man on Earth, Martin now resides in Heaven.”