Compartments from the high altarpiece of the church of Sant Joan in Fàbregues

Only three compartments of the altarpiece are conserved, with the depictions of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist (main compartment), the Baptism of Christ and Saint John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos (side compartments). It is the oldest known work by the Navarrese painter Joan Gascó, established in Vic at the beginning of the 16th century. These panels were painted before April 11th 1503, when Joan Gascó signed the contract for the lost high altarpiece in the parish church of Santa Maria in Vilanova de Sau, as in the contract for this work it specifies that it has to be prepared following the model of the altarpiece of Sant Joan in Fàbregues, already painted. A habitual aspect of Gascó's work is the coexistence of late Gothic elements (like for example the monumentality of the figures in the main panel on a gilt and 'estofat' [colour applied to a gilt ground and then scraped off to expose the gold] residual background) with more Renaissance elements (the articulation and proportionality of the figures on a landscaped background).