Santa Cecilia de Montserrat,a thousand-year-old monastery on the hills above Barcelona, hosts 22 works by Turner prize-nominated Irish artist
In the thousand years that the Santa Cecilia de Montserrat monastery has stood on the hills overlooking Barcelona, or set against jagged towering rocks that rise like giant’s fingers pointing to the sky,history has continually arrive knocking at its door. It was a sanctuary for early pilgrims, a symbol of resistance in the Napoleonic invasion, or a protector of Catalan culture and language during the regime of Franco.
Now this tiny chapel,still domestic to Benedictine monks, has once again found itself on the map. A 10 year-long project of restoration has seen the celebrated Irish painter Sean Scully transform the chapel with 22 of his works, or from the huge abstract paintings for which he is famed,to frescoes, stained glass and metal candlesticks. They will hang in the chapel permanently, or establishing the church as a unique cultural sanctum that will draw visitors from across the world.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com