The centenary stone of the Sant Jordi hall begins to breathe once the works to remove the paintings from the walls and the vault have begun, and the forecast of the committee of experts that endorsed the project has been fulfilled. Beneath these works commissioned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship and which bear no relation to the ranch's Renaissance architecture, the first remains of the original decoration have been found. It is a small treasure of an artistic and patrimonial value far superior to that of the current paintings, they explain from the Government. And more remnants of Renaissance decor are showing up than they expected.
"It was known that there were remains of the original paintings because tests had been carried out prior to the start of the works, but now the magnitude of these paintings is being discovered," says Josep Girabal, general deputy director of Obres i Serveis of the Department of The presidency.
Girabal indicates that it will be up to the technicians to assess what to do with the original decoration, which needs restoration, and whose author is still unknown. “The importance of these paintings is that they are the ones that accompanied the Sant Jordi room when it was conceived four centuries ago and that by itself already has value. In addition, the Renaissance is not a period from which we have many works in Catalonia, which gives it greater relevance ”, he adds.
The restorer Rudi Ranesi, coordinator of the team in charge of the mural and stone painting, underlines the exceptional nature of the find, and assures that it has exceeded expectations: “We did not know that we would find so many ancient paintings. Now we have to reconsider the intervention because the process is slow and difficult”. Ranesi details that the decorations that have begun to appear "have a grotesque style, a technique used at that time, very interesting because it is quite unique in Catalonia and is contemporary with the building."
The Sant Jordi hall was built between 1598 and 1616 by the Barcelona architect Pere Blai, who designed the space as a large chapel, with three naves, spacious and bright, designed to meet the space needs of the Sant Jordi chapel, located in the Gothic gallery of the Palau de la Generalitat itself. “The Sant Jordi hall is a very special room, since in Catalonia there is very little Renaissance architecture, and less by a renowned author such as Pere Blai”, explains Júlia Roca, architect responsible for the heritage of the Palau de la Generalitat.
Before the removal of the murals began, which began on May 2 and will last fifteen months, it was not known exactly what was under these paintings, explains Roca. Hence, prospecting was already planned on the wall.
Yes, it was known that, in addition to the remains of Renaissance decoration found, on four of the walls were the sketches of the work commissioned at the beginning of the 20th century by Prat de la Riba to the painter Joaquim Torres García, who had to decorate everything the Sant Jordi room and could not complete the work. Some of those sketches have also started to appear now. As for the frescoes that Torres García came to paint between 1912 and 1918, that is another story. When Prat de la Riba died, Puig i Cadafalch covered them with curtains, until in 1968 they were torn off to be exhibited in another room of the Palau de la Generalitat that bears the name of the painter.
The murals that have begun to be removed from the Sant Jordi room – there are 69 and occupy 860 square meters – will be preserved with technical guarantees in a Generalitat warehouse.
Originally, when it was a chapel, this noble room was spacious and bright, with plastered stone walls. Once the murals have been removed, a provisional adaptation will be made with a felt covering in a light tone that will restore its original appearance.
