Altarpiece dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel

The name Master of Cervera was coined by Gudiol i Ricart for an anonymous painter trained in Valencia by whom we have numerous works coming mostly from the area of central Catalonia, among them the altarpiece dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michael from the church of Sant Joan in Cervera. About this altarpiece in the Museu Episcopal de Vic, also dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michael, we have documentary information that in 1494 a resident of Verdú made a donation to pay for it, most probably just after it had been installed in the church. This is a painter influenced by the Flemish style introduced to Valencia by Jaume Baçó (Jacomart) and then developed by Joan Reixach, without however attaining the artistic quality of these masters. This Valencian influence can be seen in the decorative and dramatic feel that dominates the entire altarpiece, where the landscapes in the backgrounds of the scenes still coexist with the gilt backgrounds present on the predella and the central panel. This central panel with the Archangel defeating the devil is composed with a great artistic mastery of rhythm and proportion. The figure of the Archangel, whose face is endowed with a serene angelic beauty recalling the very beautiful faces of the archangels painted by Jaume Huguet, is contrasted with the beastly figure of Lucifer. By this same painter, the Museum conserves the fragment from a predella and a central panel from an altarpiece dedicated to Saint Emerentiana of unknown provenance, presently exhibited in the study galleries.