Reliefs from the Cathedral of Vic

The Romanesque Cathedral of Vic was consecrated in 1038 by Bishop Oliba. It was a building highly representative of early Romanesque architecture, which in the 12th century was enriched with monumental sculpture made by a workshop related to the one that sculpted the doorway of the monastery of Ripoll. For this reason it is called the Vic-Ripoll Workshop. Over the centuries, the Romanesque Cathedral of Vic underwent various alterations and enlargements and was eventually demolished to make way for the construction of the present Cathedral. This entailed the dispersal of its Romanesque sculpture, of which there are some elements in the Museu Episcopal de Vic and also in other museums around the world, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, the Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum in Kansas City or the Rochester University Memorial Art Gallery, in the USA. We cannot say for sure where these reliefs were originally set. According to old testimonies, they could have been part of a doorway or perhaps an altarpiece. There are several ideas for the reconstruction of the original ensemble in which depictions of an apocalyptic kind (Christ in Majesty, prophets and apostles, the Tetramorph) were combined with scenes from the life of Jesus (the Last Supper) and of Saint Peter, to whom the Cathedral is dedicated. These five reliefs represent the winged lion, symbol of the evangelist Mark, the Angel, symbol of the evangelist Matthew, the Lamb of God, Christ conferring the primacy on Saint Peter and the Resurrection of Tabitha.