Lluís Dalmau

He played a pivotal role in introducing Netherlandish realism into Catalan Gothic painting. He was active in Barcelona from 1428 to 1460 and served the king of Spain in an official capacity.

The recorded working language is Catalan. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are gothic. Places of work recorded in the authority are Barcelona. Positions recorded include court painter. Works named in the authority record are Virgin of the Councillors. Work by Lluís Dalmau is recorded in the collections of Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

• Name — Lluís Dalmau • Born — unknown • Birthplace — Kingdom of Valencia, Crown of Aragon • Died — after 1452 • Place of death — Barcelona, Crown of Aragon • Field — Painting • Movement — Gothic art • Patrons — Alfonso the Magnanimous • Works — Altarpiece of the Virgin of the Councillors • Illustration — Virgin of the Councillors, ca. 1443–1445, now in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Lluís Dalmau was probably born in Valencia around the beginning of the 15th century, although exact details of his birth and early life remain uncertain. The earliest records of the artistic activity of Lluís Dalmau date from 1428 and note his Valencian origin and that by then he already belonged to the “household of the lord king,” Alfonso the Magnanimous, who sent him to the Kingdom of Castile in 1428. In 1431, Dalmau received 100 gold florins to cover the expenses he would incur in traveling to Flanders, accompanied by the royal master of tapestries, who would facilitate contacts with Flemish artists. Dalmau’s stay in Flanders is estimated to have lasted close to five years, since the artist is mentioned again in July 1436, when he was paid wages and materials for the decoration of a tent made in Valencia by order of the king. It is also thought that there may have been another trip to Flanders between 1438 and 1443, the year the contract for the altarpiece of the Virgin of the Councillors was signed, a period for which there are no records of the painter. After completing this work, he continued to reside in Barcelona, and on 15 September 1448 he was commissioned to produce the altarpiece of Saint Baldiri of Sant Boi de Llobregat.

Most of Lluís Dalmau’s works have been lost. Only two survive whose authorship is documented with certainty: the Altarpiece of the Virgin of the Councillors and the Altarpiece of Saint Baldiri. He is also attributed with the decoration of the vault of the tomb of Sança Ximenis de Cabrera in the Chapel of Saint Clare and Saint Catherine of the Barcelona Cathedral.

• Image — Title — Date — Medium — Description — Location • — Altarpiece of the Virgin of the Councillors — 1443–1445 — Oil on panel 311 × 311.5 cm — Depicts the five councillors of the municipal government of Barcelona surrounding the enthroned Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, presented by Saint Eulalia and Saint Andrew. It represents a devotional homage by the councillors to the Virgin, conceived as a sacra conversazione. It is considered one of the most important Flemish Gothic paintings produced in Catalonia. The work was commissioned by the Consell de Cent for the chapel of the City Hall of Barcelona. — Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona • — Arcosolium of the tomb of Sança Ximenis de Cabrera — — — Oil painting — The soul of the deceased is carried toward God the Father (elevatio animae), between the Virgin Mary and Saint Michael. — Chapel of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Barcelona Cathedral

• Image — Panel — Date — Medium — Description — Location • — Altarpiece of Saint Baldiri — 1448 — Oil on panel — Only a few panels from this altarpiece survive: the central panel, the most significant, remains in its original location; the Beheading of Saint Baldiri, now in the MNAC; and the Judgement of Saint Baldiri before the king, today in the Hans Rudolf Gerstenmaier collection. — Parish church of Sant Boi de Llobregat • — Beheading of Saint Baldiri — 1448 — Oil on panel — The panel formerly belonged to the Barraquer collection in Sant Feliu de Guíxols and was acquired by the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya on 31 May 2017, thanks to the financial support of the Palarq Foundation. — Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Among the lost works, documentary evidence records commissions for the king as well as religious works, including: • Painting and gilding a beam of the king’s tent, July 1436, in Valencia. • An Annunciation on a cloth frontal for the altar of the chapel of Xàtiva Castle, commissioned on 11 September 1436. The chapel was dedicated to Saint Mary and had been built between 1431 and 1434 by order of Queen Maria. • On 4 January 1437, he painted a chair for the King of Navarre (the future John II of Aragon). • On 5 February 1438, he painted an image of Saint Michael on the wooden boss of the king’s tent. • In 1449, he was commissioned to paint the altarpiece for the Chapel of Saint Anthony in the church of Santa Maria del Mar. • On 20 March 1454, he decorated the Chapel of Saint Elmo in the Church of Santa Clara in Barcelona. • On 23 March 1457, he produced the altarpiece of Saint Cecilia for the church of Mataró.