The Iberian Peninsula is a little-known area of Norman activity. In the Middle Ages, this region was a melting pot of cultures. Since the collapse of the caliphate of Cordoba (1031), it had also been dominated by military conflicts and power-political changes. In this situation, foreign fighters were highly welcome. From the early 11th century, Normans thus kept being drawn to the Iberian Peninsula. They fought in military battles and became involved in the conflicts between Christian and Moslem dominions, known as “Reconquista”. In that way, they became familiar with the region’s cultural wealth. Some Normans even settled there permanently. Only in one instance, in Tarragona, did Robert Burdet (d. around 1159) manage to establish a Norman principality; however, it only lasted for 20 years, before it passed into the rule of the count of Barcelona. Tarragona is a shining example for the failure of Norman ambitions. Different to other regions, local powers in the North of the Iberian Peninsula were too strong. There was no power vacuum for the Normans to fill. However, Norman-Iberian links continued – especially between the Norman territories in southern Italy, the county of Barcelona and the crown of Aragón.
St. Martin of Ix, Catalonia, 2nd quarter of the 12th c.
Tempera painting and metal plate on pine wood
Barcelona, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Inv. MNAC 15802-000
This painted panel once decorated the altar front of the church of St. Martin of Ix. It is one of the oldest surviving European paintings on wood and has a very distinctive style. Apart from a few burn marks on the left side, it is in very good condition. The bright, warm colours, the careful execution and the rich geometric decorations are typical of the Christian art from the north of the Iberian Peninsula. The frontal depicts the Second Coming of Christ and the story of St. Martin including the famous scene with the cutting of the cloak.