NICOLAU, Pere

(b. ~1370 Catalonia, d. ~1410 Valencia)

Spanish painter. Originally from Catalonia, he was described as a ‘citizen of Valencia’ in 1390, when he was paid for work in the cathedral there. This was the first of many commissions in Valencia Cathedral, some of which were undertaken jointly with Andrés Marzal de Sax. Nicolau also received royal commissions for Martin I of Aragon and worked for churches in the province of Teruel, which attests to his renown. He founded an important school and evidently trained Gonçal Peris and the Master of Burgo de Osma.

The early Virgin of Humility attributed to him (Museo del Prado, Madrid) preserves some archaic elements, but the altarpiece of the Virgin (Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao) shows the delicate palette and refined yet exuberant draperies of the so-called International Gothic. In three slightly later altarpieces, also dedicated to the Virgin, expressive poses are adopted, like those seen in contemporary Parisian manuscript illumination. That from the church at Sarrión (Teruel) is Nicolau’s only surviving documented work (1404). The central panel (destroyed) shows the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Angels, while the wings (Museo de Bellas Artes, Valencia) represent Scenes from the Life of the Virgin. The altarpieces at Albentosa, near Sarrión (destroyed during the Civil War, 1936-39), and Santa Cruz, Moya (Cuenca), of which only fragments survive, are closely related to this work.

Nicolau’s style shows an international range of influences, including features characteristic of south Netherlandish, Tuscan (Sienese and Florentine Schools), Catalan and probably Bohemian painting. The Annunciation and Resurrection in Bilbao, the panels in Santa Cruz, Moya, and the Albentosa altarpiece appear to be entirely by his hand. The figures in the complex scenes are ably positioned and grouped, and there is intense narrative vitality. An excellent draughtsman, Nicolau favoured definite facial types. The prophets in the Albentosa altarpiece are striking in the way in which they address the spectator.

Altarpiece of the Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary

This altarpiece from Tortosa represents the seven spiritual joys, i.e., the transcendental moments in the life of the Virgin Mary - the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Epiphany, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Pentecost and the Dormition - though not in chronological order, for their initial positions were altered. The attributes of the figures depicted on the predella enable us to recognise them as archangels and saints. According to the usual iconography of such altarpieces, the central painting (now missing) would have portrayed the figures of the Virgin Mary and Child, while the ensemble would have been crowned with a Crucifixion.

The work is a fine example of the International Gothic style, as we see in its main features: the stylised forms, the precious description of details and textures and the bright colours.

Nicolau represents symmetrical compositions enlivened by a few diagonal lines in the architectural forms, depicted synthetically. The way in which he describes features - wide foreheads, round eyes and small noses brightened with touches of light - is one of his characteristic traits.

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Three Scenes from the Life of St Dominic

The first scene in the painting depicts the birth of St Dominic. The story is told that before his birth his barren mother made a pilgrimage to the Abbey at Silos, and dreamt that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a flaming torch in its mouth, and “seemed to set the earth on fire.” This story is likely to have emerged when his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, Dominicanus in Latin and a play on words interpreted as Domini canis: “Dog of the Lord.”

The second scene shows the resurrection of Napoleone Orsini;. while the third scene depicts the burning of the heretical books.

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