Virgin

This Virgin is from Vic and is presented next to other alabaster pieces that we have just described and which, like it, were made sometime in the mid-14th century. This leads us to mention the boom in alabaster work at that time, when it took root as one of the materials most frequently used by Catalan sculptors (at least until the 16th century). Alabaster is characterised by the fact of being a relatively soft material, it being possible to carve it directly quite easily and without the need for a complex set of tools. It is equally known for its whiteness, a characteristic that was wisely taken advantage of by the sculptors of the Gothic period. We merely have to compare these alabaster pieces with the brightly coloured images of the 12th and 13th centuries, which we have been able to see in the Museum's rooms, to realise the difference in tastes and sensibilities between the Romanesque and Gothic periods.