Artistic Connections in Post- Reconquista Catalunya Nova: Three Capitals in the Cathedral of Tortosa

Artistic Connections in PostReconquista Catalunya Nova: Three Capitals in the Cathedral of Tortosa Matilde Grimaldi Two capitals placed in the cloister of the cathedral of Santa Maria of Tortosa (Spain) are among the few sculptural remains of the former Romanesque cathedral which was levelled between 1428 and 1703 for the construction of the extant Gothic building. The capitals, each formed by two fragments assembled together, depicting scenes of the Life of Christ, were positioned in the portal accessing the cloister garth in 1848, while the original location of the sculptures within the cathedral complex is still uncertain. Based on iconographic and stylistic comparisons the pieces can be dated to 1270. The artefacts present strong similarities with other pieces scattered around the region (some of which are still unpublished); this corpus of sculptures includes another capital kept in the cathedral museum and also the sculptural decoration of the Porta de l’Epistola of the cathedral of Tarragona. This paper will suggest the presence of an artist or a workshop active in Catalonia around the second half of the 13th century. In 1148, the region known as Catalunya Nova, along the south-western part of the Catalan Mediterranean coast, was conquered by Christian armies led by the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (Fig 1). The area soon experienced the vigorous creation of an ecclesiastical infrastructure, of which the first major building site was that of the cathedral of Santa María, in the town of Tortosa, soon to be followed by the cathedrals of Tarragona and Lleida. The region had been under Muslim rule for over four centuries; therefore the architectural and sculptural models required for the realisation of a large Christian building were initially absent. Furthermore, previous research has proven that the cathedrals of Tarragona and Lleida mostly employed local styles, evolved after the Christian conquest, rather than styles imported from neighbouring regions (Ballart Hernández et al 1995, 113–118; Bango Torviso 1996, 17–42; Niñá Jové 2012, 101–117; Boto-Varela 2015). The presence of multiple major building sites at the same time creates the strong possibility that significant exchanges between Fig 1 Map of the Iberian Peninsula in 1148 (author) 37 Church Archaeology the various towns took place and, therefore, that the evolution of the different styles could be identified between one site and another. This would potentially shed light on how an architectonic and sculptural style evolved in a region which did not house any previous Christian artistic tradition. This paper will attempt to take a first step in this direction, by comparing some sculptures from Tortosa Cathedral (dismantled in the late Middle Ages) with sculpture from Tarragona Cathedral. Previous research has already established that the other large contemporary cathedral of the region, Lleida, employed a different sculptural style with respect to Tarragona (Niñá Jové 2014), but Tortosa-Tarragona comparisons had never been attempted due to the paucity of the material on which to work for the former. Two historiated capitals re-employed in the present cathedral cloister in Tortosa, and already established to be part of the Romanesque cathedral, will be presented, along with a third, previously ignored capital, stored in the cathedral museum. These pieces will be compared with the Porta de l’Epistola of the cathedral of Tarragona, highlighting the strong stylistic similarities, which suggest that a single artist or workshop was active in both locations. The following pages will open with an historical introduction to Tortosa at the time of the construction of the cathedral. Then the pieces in question will be presented and described from a stylistic and iconographic point of view. Comparisons with other pieces, both in Tortosa and in Tarragona, will follow and these similarities will be used to advance the hypothesis of a single artist or workshop active in both locations. Historical background Tortosa is a town of ancient origins (known in Roman times as Dertosa) situated in Southern Catalonia along the river Ebro, approximately 40km upstream from the estuary. This strategic position along the river contributed enormously to the importance of the town, which was one of the main trading hubs of the Western Mediterranean (Vilella 1995, 51; Curto 1988; Orvietani Busch 2001, 207–64; Ferrer 2012). Along with most of the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, Tortosa was conquered during the Muslim invasion of AD 711–14 and, after the collapse of the caliphate, became the capital of the homonymous taifa. In 1146, Pope Eugene III encouraged crusaders to capture the towns of Tortosa and Almería, granting them 38 Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova indulgences equivalent to those granted to crusaders for the Holy Land. On 31 December 1148 the count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV conquered the town with military support from King Alfonso VII of León and Castile, the Templars, Genoa, and Pisa (Font Riuz 1953, 104–28; Forey 1973, 420; Viguera 1992, 75–6; Virgili i Colet 1995, 35–49; Miravall i Dolç 1999; Virgili i Colet 2001, 44–70; Caffaro, Storia). The day after the conquest, Count Ramon donated to the Church the main mosque of Tortosa, provisionally converted into the cathedral of Santa Maria de las Estrellas (Diplomatari, doc 13, 58–9). This act constituted the first nucleus of the Tortosa church revival: the diocese of Tortosa was restored after four centuries with the adaptation of the mosque to Christianity, and the appointment of Bishop Goffredus of Avignon (1151–1165), who founded the Augustine college annexed to the cathedral. The seizure of Tortosa was determined largely by pragmatic reasons. Due to its location on the estuary of the river Ebro, Tortosa was in contact with other important polities placed alongside the river upstream, including the kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre and the northern regions of the kingdom of Castile. Furthermore, the only bridge across the Ebro between the sea and Zaragoza was in Tortosa, which meant Tortosa also controlled most of the land trade along the northern part of Iberia’s Mediterranean coast. Construction of the Romanesque cathedral The events briefly described above culminated with the construction of the large and magnificent cathedral in Tortosa, intended to stress the Christian possession of a broad region confronting the taifas of Valencia and Murcia, still under Muslim control. The sphere of influence of the Tortosa diocese exceeded its geographical boundaries: the area comprised part of the current western province of Tarragona, seat of the archbishopric; it was limited to the north by the bishoprics of Lleida, Zaragoza and Teruel; it included the province of Castelló de la Plana and part of the territories annexed from 1238 onwards to the ecclesiastical district of Valencia. The symbolic meaning of the conquest of Tortosa as a victory against the infidels required the erection of a grand church, as exhorted by the Papacy in a letter of 1156 addressed to Count Ramon Berenguer IV (Diplomatari, doc 66, 118). As proven by the large number of donations, the works started before April 1158 with financial support from both ecclesiastical and secular authorities and the community (Diplomatari, doc 85, 137; doc 155, 207–9; Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova Church Archaeology Fig 2 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister: diagram of the capitals (author) doc 207, 265–6; doc 214, 273–4; doc 229, 289–90). A consecration inscription kept in the cathedral museum also places the starting of the works to the year 1158, stating that construction ended twenty years later: ANNO INCARNACIONIS D(OMI)NI CE MCLVIII COEPIT HOC TEMPLU(M) AEDIFICARI ET XX ANNIS EDIFICATU(M) FUIT Despite the abundance of medieval sources – mainly collected in the Chapter Archive – none of the surviving documents provides us with a detailed description of the building, which was described only as grand and extremely expensive (multis ac magnis expensis) on the occasion of the ceremony of consecration of the east end. This took place on the 28th November 1178 and was attended by King Alfonso II of Aragon and his wife Sancha, the count of Barcelona, the archbishop of Tarragona, the bishops of Osona, Urgell, notable local families and the barons of Catalonia (Diplomatari, doc 301, 373–378). The building and most likely its sculptural decorative programme must have been completed before 1272 as the Costums de Tortosa, a collection of local regulations, mention the west portals of the cathedral (Costums, V, Del offici de pes i de mesures, IX, 15, 5). It should also be noted that while Tortosa was the first and the most ambitious building project in the newly conquered regions, it was not the only one as similar efforts were also undertaken in other major towns of the area, in particular Tarragona and Lleida. The sudden presence of multiple building projects probably led to a sharing of skills and workers, especially sculptures, since there was no local sculptural tradition under Muslim rule. Dismantling of the Romanesque cathedral Despite the efforts that went into its construction, by the 14th century the cathedral and its annexes were already considered outdated and unsuitable for the 39 Church Archaeology Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova Fig 3 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister capitals: Massacre of the Innocents and Consultation with the Three Wise Men (Photo: author) increased number of canons, the size of the Tortosa community and the religious demands of the period. Thus, in 1339, Bishop Berenguer de Prats and the cathedral chapter enacted a constitutione for the renewal of the complex. This decision followed a number of restoration works promoted by Bishop Berenguer de Prats between 1316–40, which also encompassed the Chapter House and the construction of the extant Bishop’s Palace. In order to ensure the continuity of religious functions, the first stages of the construction of the Gothic cathedral simply wrapped around the existing Romanesque building, without destroying it. Thus, the elevation of each portion of the Gothic church corresponded to the progressive demolition of a part of the former church, moving sector by sector. After the first stone was laid in 1347, works started with the elevation of the Gothic apse. The first dismantling of the Romanesque building only took place in 1428 and involved the apse; the last demolition, carried out in 1703, concerned the façade. The Llibres de l’Obra, a collection of 41 manuscripts in Old Catalan produced from 1345 to 1463 and now kept in the cathedral chapter archive document the entire process. 40 Sculptural evidence of the lost cathedral: cloister capitals Current location The destruction of the Romanesque cathedral makes an analysis of the original sculptural decorative programme almost impossible, as no records mention the fate of the sculptures removed during dismantling. The two capitals in the cathedral cloister are thus of exceptional importance. The Romanesque cloister was the core of the Augustinian community present in Tortosa from 1153. It may have been restored during the second half of the 14th century to its current appearance; the original trapezoidal plan was maintained so as to connect the church with the refectory and the canons’ annexes. The pointed arcades recall several other similar Gothic Catalan cloisters such as of Santa Magdalena of Montblanc (14th-century), the cloister of Santa Maria de Jonqueros (built from 1366 thanks to King Peter IV of Aragon’s donations), the cloister of Santa Maria de Montsió (started in 1351; dismantled and moved to Esplungues in 1888) and the cloister of Sant Vincenç de Cardona (dated 14th- 15th century) (Conejo Da Pena 2002–3, 129–43; Conejo Da Pena 2003, 239–54). The cloister of Tortosa houses an extraordinary collection of gravestones and inscriptions from 1206 onwards that provides a valuable corpus of epigraphy Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova and Gothic sculpture, though the most interesting and enigmatic pieces are four misplaced fragments from two capitals in the southern walk. The capitals flank the portal leading to the cloister garth and they are carved in limestone. According to the date recorded on the wrought iron gate opening on the cloister inner garden, the arrangement of the blocks as we currently see it was made in 1868 (Villanueva 1806, 50–51; Matamoros 1932, 28; Almuni i Balada 1991, 30–32; Segarra i Barrera 1997, 121–122; Almuni i Balada, Lluís i Ginovart 2000, 125). The two blocks show only tiny differences in size and shape, and their shared height of about 35cm and identical style proves that they were conceived as a single work (Fig 2). Iconography The surviving scenes depict the life of Christ, although with conspicuous gaps in the narration. On the left jamb of the portal the first fragment shows the Scrutatio Propheti and the Massacre of the Innocents, with a remarkable synthesised narrative in which the relief of Herod, depicted crowned and enthroned on the corner, appears at the same time in two scenes. On the right he receives the response of the prophets while on the left the same Herod, holding Church Archaeology a sceptre in his right hand, is ordering the soldiers on the left to commence the massacre as they snatch innocents away from their mothers’ arms (Fig 3). The interpretation of the right-hand scene as the Scrutatio Propheti is confirmed by the account of the Gospels: [...] (Herod) assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. [...] Then Herod summoned the Three Wise Men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem [...] Matthew (2: 4–8) The three figures on Herod’s left, unfortunately very worn and damaged by exposure to the elements, can be identified with the wise men, depicted in the act of consulting a scroll. A very similar arrangement of the characters with Herod on the corner occurs in a capital decorating the right jamb of the portal of San Miguel Arcángel of Estella, in Navarre, which was carved during the last quarter of the 12th century (Rodríguez Montañés 2002, 53–79). Given the representation of the scenes and their narrative sequence they should be read from the right to the left. The second fragment of the block on the left jamb (Fig 4) is carved with a scene that can be interpreted Fig 4 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister capitals: Descent from the Cross and Jesus at Herod’s court (Photo: author) 41 Church Archaeology Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova Fig 7 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister capitals: Appearance on the road to Emmaus (Photo: author) Fig 5 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister capitals: Arrest of Christ and Last Supper (Photo: author) Fig 8 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister capitals: Entry into Jerusalem (Photo: author) Fig 6 Tortosa, Cathedral, cloister capitals: detail of the Last Supper (Photo: author) 42 Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova either as Christ before Pilate or, perhaps more likely, as Jesus at Herod’s court: Christ is depicted with his wrists fastened, surrounded by soldiers and dressed in an elegant robe, different from the one he wears in the Arrest scene. On the left side a crowned and enthroned figure, possibly Herod Antipas, is mocking Christ (Luke 23: 7–15). As before, the direction of reading is from right to left with a Descent from the Cross following Jesus at Herod’s Court. The scene includes two winged heads of angels, representing the Sun and Moon, depicted beside the upper arm of the cross. At the centre, Joseph of Arimathea takes down the body of Christ from the cross whilst, on the right side and partially lost, Nicodemus removes the nail from Christ’s hand; on the left the Virgin holds Christ’s other hand. A remarkable vivacity may be observed in the expression of Nicodemus who is looking up Christ’s nail while handling pincers. It should be noted that there is no scene of the Crucifixion between Jesus at Herod’s court and the Descent from the Cross. On the right jamb of the doorway to the cloister garth lies another capital, in two pieces. The first fragment is carved with the Arrest of Christ in Gethsemane, followed by what seems to be an unusual depiction of the Last Supper (Fig 5). At the centre, behind some sort of a shrine sitting on columns, and surrounded by three standing and two kneeling figures, Christ performs the Eucharist: he holds the bread and a chalice of wine as his body and his blood, prefiguring his sacrifice. The solemnity of the moment can be seen both in the disciples’ astonishment – they have just heard that one of them will betray him – and in their gesture of worshipping the altar-shrine, on which the sacrifice of Christ is symbolically carried out. The images engraved on the front of the altar-shrine, regrettably very worn, seem to refer to the inevitability of the sacrifice: two angels and two kneeling figures with hands in prayer, placed symmetrically, are adoring the Manus Dei at the centre (Fig 6); the image seems to recall the role of Christ as an instrument of God’s plan at the moment which preludes his human suffering. The second and last fragment is carved with the Appearance on the road to Emmaus: a haloed Christ stands between two men, all three holding rods (Fig 7). This iconography is quite common in the sculptural programmes of Iberian cloisters – an excellent example would be the pier reliefs in the cloister abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, near Burgos – and it is based on accounts in Mark (16: 12–13) and Luke (24: 13–35): after the Resurrection Christ appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Church Archaeology The rods they hold and the clothing are some of the distinctive features of the depiction of the journey in medieval iconography. On one corner of the relief a fantastical building with mullioned pointed windows and crenellated towers represents their destination. The Entry into Jerusalem is depicted on the same fragment, out of sequence (Fig 8). Followed by a cortège, Christ is welcomed by the people of Jerusalem laying their clothes on the ground before his passage. Despite the poor condition of some parts of the capitals, mainly caused by exposure to the elements, the fragments show a number of interesting features. The artist’s accuracy in the depiction of the eagle on the soldiers’ shields, the distinctive signum of the Roman Empire, may be noted. However, other elements taken from the artist’s familiar setting frame the representation: the architecture representing the city of Emmaus reflects the late Romanesque style adopted in Tortosa and its surroundings, of which almost nothing remains. Moreover, the accuracy in the depiction of soldiers and their notable presence in the scenes of the two capitals may refer to the Ribera district (Tortosa and Miravet) of the Order of the Temple. Thanks to the endorsement of the Crown of Aragon, the Templars exercised control over the whole area of Catalunya Nova after the conquest of 1148 (Pagarolas i Sabaté 1999). Another capital in the cathedral museum A damaged and unfinished double capital (Fig 9) was found about a decade ago during excavations in the annexes of the cathedral of Tortosa; this object, currently kept in the cathedral museum, has only been briefly studied (Fumanal Pàges and Vidal Franquet 2010, 64). The capital is partially carved: the two short sides feature the outline of two unfinished scenes, one of the long sides is squared while the other long side shows a very preliminarily outlined frame. On the short right side a female figure on a donkey holding a child is outlined: this is most likely part of the Flight into Egypt. The opposite side shows a man being beaten with a sword and a kneeling figure, but the scene is not complete enough for it to be identified. At the base of the capital two curved incisions indicate that the capitals were made for columns with a diameter of 13.5cm, probably the cloister capitals. Observing the small portion of the sculpted upper frame, on the left, just above the standing man’s head, one can note how it matches the frame at the top of the cloister historiated capitals. This similarity, as well as their dimensions, suggests that the pieces belong to the same decorative programme, even though for some 43 Church Archaeology Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova Fig 9 Tortosa, Cathedral Museum, capital: unidentified scene and Flight into Egypt. Drawing of the upper frame and of the bottom: red dotted line added to complete the preliminary incisions made by the sculptor (Photo and illustrations: author) unknown reason this last capital was unfinished. However, the unfinished status of the capital allows for some considerations to be made on the working practice of the Tortosa cathedral sculptors. In particular the presence of uncompleted material suggests that all sculptural work took place at the building site, rather than the stone being brought in with carvings already carried out. Concerning the sculptural process, the curved incisions at the base of the capital show that the workers identified with care the position the stone had to take once placed atop the pier: this was probably the first step in the process, followed by a rough squaring of the block and later by detailed carving. No hypothesis can instead be advanced to explain why the short sides were worked upon before the long one, nor to explain why two scenes were both begun but not completed. 44 Original location in the Romanesque cathedral Given the shape of the astragals of the assembled capitals, and of the same moulding profiles on the unfinished capital in the museum, the pieces must have been intended for clustered pillars or jambs. Also, on the base of the unfinished capital, the incised circles are not aligned, so it must have been sculpted for a crossshaped pier or a portal jamb. A possible location of these capitals depicting the Life of Christ could have been the four corner piers of the Romanesque cloister; the choice of the subject fits well with a claustral decorative programme. The remaining capitals of each walk were probably carved with monstrous creatures, with simple foliate designs or left uncarved, as in the lower cloister of the monastery Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova of Santo Domingo de Silos (second half of the 11th to first half of the 12th century). Regrettably, other examples of Western Catalan Romanesque cloisters are lost – with the exception of the cathedral of Tarragona – and a proper comparison cannot be made. An alternative hypothesis could be that these capitals formed one of the three western portals of the lost cathedral, which were only briefly mentioned in 1272 by the Costums de Tortosa (see above). According to local tradition, the original location of these capitals was in the chapter house. As mentioned above, the sequence of the scenes allows us to conjecture the original presence of other fragments: the sculpted cycle must have included key scenes such as the Nativity and Crucifixion. The puzzling combination of certain episodes carved on the same stone (eg the Appearance on the road to Emmaus placed on the side of the Entry into Jerusalem or Jesus at Herod’s court flanked by the Descent from the Cross) can only be explained by the original presence of other capitals. Judging from the state of abrasion of the limestone and the level of the surface blackening it is possible to conjecture that the capitals were formerly placed outside and exposed to the elements. Dating and comparisons: defining a corpus of sculptures Porta de l’Epistola in the Cathedral of Tarragona Studies carried out so far on Catalan medieval art have not analysed these Tortosa sculptures in sufficient detail, but only briefly give an iconographical reading of the sculptures and suggest a date at the beginning of the 13th century (Segarra i Barrera 1997, 121–2). Since a contextualisation of the already fragmentary sculptural remains has not been made, the close resemblance of the Tortosa reliefs with the sculptural decoration of the Porta de l’Epistola in the façade of the cathedral of Tarragona has not previously been noted (Fig 10). The capitals and the frieze of the left jamb of this portal show the Visitation of the Magi, St Joseph with two women, and seven standing figures holding a rod and a book. On the right jamb a scene of baptism is carved, the Martyrdom of St Bartholomew and the Majestas Domini. The figures and spaces of the sculptures of Tortosa and Tarragona are composed in the same way: each character stands at the same height as the others in the manner of a Roman sarcophagus, facial types are perfectly alike, eyes are carved in an almond shape, cheeks are very marked, drapery is Church Archaeology identical, fingers and toes are lightly incised in the stone. However, despite the very clear affinities with the Tortosa pieces, the sculptures of Tarragona also differ in some details, a fact which, together with the different shape and quality of the block of stones employed, suggests ruling out the possibility that the capitals of Tortosa hail from one of the west portals of the cathedral of Tarragona. At Tarragona every figure is housed in a niche, all the heads are placed at the same level and all the figures protrude in the same fashion creating a harmonious rhythm. In Tortosa, however, some projecting elements (eg arms, figures and columns in the Descent from the Cross and in the Last Supper) are completely detached from the background which would suggest that the sculptors were more confident and prepared to take more risks with the stone. Also, the Tarragona sculptures’ facial types and expressiveness are more standardised. As a result of these stylistic observations it may be argued that the sculptures are the product of the same artist or workshop, and the small differences described seem to suggest that the capitals of Tortosa represent a stylistic evolution ofthe work of the artist or workshop which sculpted the Porta de L’Epistola in Tarragona. The comparison with Tarragona offers a good insight for dating the capitals of Tortosa. The Porta de l’Epistola has been variously dated by scholars. Emma Liaño Martínez dates the sculptures between 1215 and 1230 and relates them to the sculpted decoration of Santa Tecla Vella, which is near the cathedral of Tarragona (1979–1980, 140). On the other hand, Isabel Companys i Ferrerons, Maria Joana Virgili Gasol and Núria Montardit Bofarull (1995a, 131–4) place the Porta de l’Epistola in the period immediately before the Fig 10 Tarragona, Cathedral, Porta de l’Epistola: detail of the capitals (Photo: author) 45 Church Archaeology activity of master Bartomeu from Girona in the cathedral of Tarragona, who worked on one of the lateral portals (maybe the Epiphany portal a cornu Evangelii) from 1277 to 1282. They consider the Porta de l’Epistola as the work of a local artist, still linked to a more archaic Romanesque style but at the same time confident with Gothic iconography, and they date the sculptures as between 1260–70. The representation of the Martyrdom of St Bartholomew was based on the Golden Legend written by Jacobus de Voragine between the 1260s and the end of the 13th century: consequently the date of 1260 can be taken as a terminus post quem for the iconographical spread of the Martyrdom. A decisive element for resolving the dating dispute is the spread of the cult of St Bartholomew in Southern Catalonia: it took place during the reign of King Pere el Gran thanks to the archbishop of Tarragona Bernart d’Olivella (1254–1287) and provides a further dating element (Companys i Ferrerons et al 1995a, 133). In addition, a further crucial iconographic element contributes to the dating of the Tortosa capitals: the head of Christ in the Descent from the Cross scene is crowned by thorns, according to a tradition initiated when Louis IX of France brought the crown of thorns from Constantinople to France. After 1239, when the valuable relic reached Paris and the Sainte-Chapelle was erected to be its shrine, the cult spread throughout Europe and it became a distinctive attribute of representations of the Passion. In the light of crown of thorns iconography, the dating of the Porta de l’Epistola to 1260–1270 seems to be more realistic, and consequently the capitals of Tortosa would certainly have been carved around 1270. Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova The gabled panel is framed by two columns supporting a pointed arch below which a Crucifixion scene is carved: the Virgin, and St John the Evangelist holding a book attend; on the head of Christ, represented as patiens, a crown of thorns is placed, and the Sun and Moon flank the cross (Fig 12). Unfortunately, as for the majority of the pieces kept in the Museum, the provenance and the place of finding is unknown, but it most likely represents further evidence for a local workshop of stone carvers. Conclusion The cathedrals of Tortosa and Tarragona were the first two major ecclesiastical architectural works undertaken in Catalunya Nova after the Christian conquest and this paper has given some tentative indications as to the existence of a workshop or group of masons working on both construction projects. The existing sculptural remains of the lost Romanesque cathedral of Tortosa are unfortunately limited in number and size. However, analysis of them, together with a comparison with the Porta de l’Epistola in Tarragona furnishes Gravestone of Ramon de Milà An additional comparison can be made with the marble tombstone of Ramon de Milà conserved in the Diocesan Museum of Tarragona, dated to 1266 (Companys i Ferrerons et al 1995b, 200–201): the details of the position and the drapery of Ramon de Milà, the kneeling figure at the centre, recall the worshipping characters carved on the Tortosa capitals (Figs 6 and 11). A gravestone in the Museu de Tortosa While the strong similarities examined so far induce us to consider that all these artefacts were sculpted by the same hand, another finding in Tortosa leads us to enlarge the corpus of this workshop active in Catalonia in the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. An unpublished gravestone currently in the depository of the Tortosa town museum can be added to the corpus. 46 Fig 11 Tarragona, Diocesan Museum, gravestone of Ramon de Milà (Photo: author) Artistic Connections in Post-Reconquista Catalunya Nova Church Archaeology Acknowledgements I am indebted to the Society for Church Archaeology whose 2013 research grant allowed me to carry out onsite research in Tortosa and the neighbouring region, making this study possible; I am very grateful to the anonymous reviewers of Church Archaeology for their helpful comments. This paper is part of my PhD research at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and I am especially grateful to my supervisor Dr Tom Nickson for his continuous advice and support. I am also thankful to the Chapter of the Cathedral of Tortosa for the privileged access they allowed me to the cathedral grounds and museum, and to Jordi Camps i Sòria, Chief Curator of the Department of Romanesque Art, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, for some useful insights. Bibliography Fig 12 Tortosa, Museu de Tortosa, gravestone (Photo: author) significant evidence to support not only the hypothesis of a common school or workshop but also to suggest a temporal development in style, with the Tortosa remains appearing to show a maturation in sculptural technique. The author of this paper is currently working on a reconstruction of the lost Romanesque cathedral of Tortosa with the aim of establishing its place and role in the evolution of ecclesiastical architecture in Southern Catalonia. In this context, the issues examined in this paper represent a step towards a clearer understanding of the development of a distinctive local sculptural style. Matilde Grimaldi is in the final year of her PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her dissertation (The Lost Cathedral of Tortosa and its Context: 1148–1703) deals with the development of Romanesque art in Southern Catalonia and the relationship this process had with the wider Mediterranean artistic milieu as well as with the historic forces shaping the region. 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