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St. George's Chapel
Frontispiece of the façade and portal
of the Capella de Sant Jordi,
by Marc Safont (1434).
Cross vault with rose window
from the XVI century
Interior of the chapel
The Capella de Sant Jordi was also a project
of Marc Safont's, following the decision of the Catalan Parliament
meeting at Barcelona in 1432. With this chapel, the Master Builder
completed in 1434 his task of beautifying the mediaeval palace.
The portal is flamboyant filigree work of mouldings and floral details, unusual elements in the austerity of Catalan Gothic.
Inside, the basic part of the chapel is a square space covered with a cross vault with the image of St. George beautifully sculptured in many colours at the key-stone of the vault and lit by a magnificent rose window opened in the XVI century.
This primitive chapel was presided over by two master-pieces, perhaps the most valuable conserved at the Palau: the sumptuous altar frontal embroidered in gold and silver, 1451 work by Antoni Sadurní, which tells the legend of the knight, St. George. At the ends of this frontal, pieces with Renaissance grotesques and shields of the Generalitat were added in the XVI century, as was the little silver statue of the patron saint, with Milanese jointed armour, dating from between 1420 and 1430.
Three centuries later, between 1738 and 1768, as can be seen from the Bourbon decorative symbols at the back, the chapel was extended with a new rectangular body crowned by a small cupola framed by four suspended capitals, like the one already mentioned at the corner of the main gallery. The front of the current altar was made by the jeweller Ramon Sunyer in 1956, and reproduces in silver the Gothic frontal of Antoni Sadurní described previously. In this part of the chapel, there are two Flemish tapestries by G. Pannemaker (XVIc.) depicting the history of Noah, and two huge candelabra dating from 1670.
History brought together major treasures in this chapel, but they have now all disappeared. In the sacristy, only a few holy items in metal and precious stones remain. Two reliquiaries containing relics of St. George are particularly worth mention: a silver Gothic reliquiary and one in the form of a pyramid by Felip Ros. Both date from the XVI century. The XVI century liturgical decorations are particularly valuable, with the most exquisite silver and gold embroidery.
The portal is flamboyant filigree work of mouldings and floral details, unusual elements in the austerity of Catalan Gothic.
Inside, the basic part of the chapel is a square space covered with a cross vault with the image of St. George beautifully sculptured in many colours at the key-stone of the vault and lit by a magnificent rose window opened in the XVI century.
This primitive chapel was presided over by two master-pieces, perhaps the most valuable conserved at the Palau: the sumptuous altar frontal embroidered in gold and silver, 1451 work by Antoni Sadurní, which tells the legend of the knight, St. George. At the ends of this frontal, pieces with Renaissance grotesques and shields of the Generalitat were added in the XVI century, as was the little silver statue of the patron saint, with Milanese jointed armour, dating from between 1420 and 1430.
Three centuries later, between 1738 and 1768, as can be seen from the Bourbon decorative symbols at the back, the chapel was extended with a new rectangular body crowned by a small cupola framed by four suspended capitals, like the one already mentioned at the corner of the main gallery. The front of the current altar was made by the jeweller Ramon Sunyer in 1956, and reproduces in silver the Gothic frontal of Antoni Sadurní described previously. In this part of the chapel, there are two Flemish tapestries by G. Pannemaker (XVIc.) depicting the history of Noah, and two huge candelabra dating from 1670.
History brought together major treasures in this chapel, but they have now all disappeared. In the sacristy, only a few holy items in metal and precious stones remain. Two reliquiaries containing relics of St. George are particularly worth mention: a silver Gothic reliquiary and one in the form of a pyramid by Felip Ros. Both date from the XVI century. The XVI century liturgical decorations are particularly valuable, with the most exquisite silver and gold embroidery.