Lluís Borrassà
1360–1425 · Catalan Gothic painter, introducer of the International Gothic style in Catalonia
Lluís Borrassà (Girona, c.1360-Barcelona, c.1425) was a Catalan painter employed by the Crown of Aragon, and he is widely regarded as the man who brought the International Gothic style to Catalonia. He came from a family of artists in Girona and trained in its workshop before settling in Barcelona around 1383, where he ran a large workshop with assistants and pupils. Because of that output, some of his works are hard to identify and vary considerably in quality.
His style builds on the Italianate heritage of the Serra brothers, giving it greater expressiveness and drama. He painted many multi-tiered altarpieces in bright colours, and in the Guardiola altarpiece (1404) he gave up the traditional gold background. Among his works are the Saint Clare altarpiece (1414), now in the Episcopal Museum of Vic, and the Saint Peter altarpiece (1411-1413) in Terrassa. He influenced later painters such as Joan Mates and Bernat Martorell.
Works (3)
Panel painting by Lluís Borrassà, dated 1411, showing Jesus holding Saint Peter up as he sinks into the water, a religious subject. As a devotional image, it invites attention to how the painter arranges Christ and the apostle within the picture space. Today it is kept at the Rectoria de Sant Pere in Terrassa.
Altarpiece dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, a religious work dated around 1420 and painted in tempera on panel. It is attributed to Lluís Borrassà. Its considerable size suggests it was made for a prominent place of worship, although details of its original setting are not documented. It is now held at the Museum of Decorative Arts, where the careful tempera technique on wood can be appreciated.
Where to see the work
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs Paris · 1
Curiosities
A scattered altarpiece
The central panel of Saint Martha, Saint Dominic and Saint Peter Martyr (1414-1421) once stood in a chapel of Barcelona Cathedral, as part of an altarpiece that has since been dispersed. The panel is now in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Few of his polyptychs have survived intact, so much of his output has to be reconstructed from fragments held in different collections.
A predella for another painter's altarpiece
The Lament over Christ (1410-1411) is the central panel of the predella added to the Holy Spirit altarpiece by Pere Serra, and it is now in the Collegiate Church of Manresa. It was painted for an ensemble made by someone else, which suggests that Borrassà's workshop also collaborated with other masters of the period.
A painter at court
Around 1380 he is first documented as a member of the court of John I of Aragon, a king known for drawing prominent artists into his circle. This early link with the royal court came before he settled in Barcelona and built the workshop that became the city's largest until 1420.