“In the second small apse on the Epistle side of the cathedral church of La Seu d’Urgell, behind the Baroque altarpiece, there is a curious mural painting, quite difficult to see in its entirety.”
Josep Gudiol i Cunill, Els Primitius. I, Barcelona, 1927.
The chapel
The cathedral of La Seu d’Urgell, built in the 12th century, is one of the most monumental and spectacular buildings in the “high Romanesque” style in Catalonia. Its appearance, robust and solid, corresponds to the site’s defensive functions. Its floor plan comprises three naves and a large transept in front of the main apse and four small apses. From the middle of the 13th century the one on the south side was dedicated to Saint Catherine and decorated with the magnificent pictorial cycle dedicated to the holy martyr of Alexandria.
Later on, the chapel’s dedication was changed to Saint Lucy, and in the 17th century a Baroque altarpiece dedicated to the new titular saint was installed there, which for over two centuries concealed (and protected) much of the mural paintings. In the 1920s, in a context of growing interest in Romanesque art, the altarpiece was removed and later, between 1927 and 1933, the cycle was removed and sold in three pieces.