Page 255 - The mystery of faith

Based on information gleaned from the church archives of Santa María del Mar, which he consulted
prior to their destruction in the Civil War, Bonaventura Bassegoda i Amigó studied the retablo and
sagrario, or tabernacle, that replaced the earlier Gothic example and published his findings in his
monograph dedicated to the building. This work was executed at the same time as the altar dedicated
to Sant Pau, and at a time that coincides stylistically with the present Atlantes. The Baroque
replacement retablo and furnishings were begun in 1630, but not completed until 1682–1683 with the
intervention of a number of differing hands in the later period.17 The base or plinth was made of jasper,
while the remainder was made of wood. The tabernacle or ciborium was originally intended to have
been made of silver and placed in the central niche of the first level but for reasons of cost it was instead
made of carved wood. Domènec Rovira was put in charge of this project on 28 May 1645 and the work
schedule he signed, together with the other craftsmen, stipulated that forty-eight statues carved in the
round should grace this tabernacle.18 From this description we may deduce that this was a work of truly
monumental size. The base was to be graced by four angels bearing candelabras, six figures of
worshipers, and a further six with musical instruments, four Old Testament priests or prophets, a
frequent aspect of Catalan tabernacles, and six figures of the virtues. The remaining figures were of
putti or angels gracing cartouches. The first and second orders and the cupola were usually intended to
represent the Judaic tent over the tabernacle.19

On account of the fact that we do not have the specific measurements or dimensions of the Santa María
del Mar retablo, the proposal that our Atlantes once formed part of this structure must remain a
hypothesis, yet in altars of this type the tabernacle alone could easily exceed two metres in height and
therefore the present Atlantes could very well have formed part of the set of the virtues, which may have
been made up entirely of other atlantes, or, alternatively, an even number of caryatids, as in the Nuestra
Señora del Rosario altarpiece and the main altarpiece, both of which are in the Church of Santo
Espiritu, Tarassa.

Alas, the Santa María del Mar retablo was yet again replaced at the end of the eighteenth century and
only a few fragmental elements and figures have survived. The jasper plinth with its angels was
incorporated into the new work while the figures of Saint John the Evangelist, the Virgin surrounded
by angels, and a relief representing the Circumcision were moved elsewhere in the church.20 Bassegoda
cites the detailed testimony of an eyewitness, Father Pedro Serra i Postius, who, while describing the
retablo only mentions the tabernacle in passing.21 Despite Father Pedro Serra i Postius’s admiration for
the piece, it must have seemed archaic by the end of the eighteenth century and we do not know where
the dismembered parts have gone, though some may have been stored in the church and evaded
Bassegoda’s notice. The subsequent events of 1936 destroyed much of what survived in Santa María del
Mar. A few elements of the eighteenth-century plinth have survived together with some fragments
whose origins are unclear, and these are now housed in the Museo Marès. It is evident that wood
sculptures such as the Atlantes or virtues do not take kindly to the ravages of history.

Analysing our Atlantes we are struck by the originality of the cushion they wear on their heads intended
to suggest their support of an architectural element above. Both figures stand barefoot and cross their

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