La Seu will lend two of Gaudí’s stained glass windows for their exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris

Two of the stained glass windows designed by Antoni Gaudí, which currently rest in the Sacred Art Museum of Mallorca, will be exhibited at the Museé d’Orsay in Paris between April and July 2022. They will be part of an exhibition on Gaudí that is being carried out , jointly, the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and the Parisian Museé d’Orsay. Before being transported from the Museum of Sacred Art of Mallorca, the stained glass windows must receive a consolidation intervention of their most damaged parts, a process that will be financed by the French museum.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí carried out one of the most important interventions in the history of the Cathedral. His imprint was noticeable on the furniture, outside and inside the Seu, and also in its lighting through stained glass windows.

Originally, the two stained glass windows were part of a joint request by the museums, for the loan of certain works by Antoni Gaudí that the Cathedral of Mallorca owns, within the framework of its intervention at the beginning of the 20th century. The Cathedral made a selection among the works requested, assessing the state of conservation and the liturgical use of these pieces. And so, for example, specimens such as the tintinábulo and the conopeo de la Seu will not be able to come out because they are used in the celebration of Corpus Christi.

Photo: Catedral de Mallorca.

Initial reluctance to the loan

In the case of the stained glass windows, the Cathedral was initially reluctant to lend them due to their conservation problems, which could be aggravated in the transfer. However, given the Musée d’Orsay’s specific interest in stained glass, it will be the French center that finances the necessary consolidation intervention on the most damaged panels, necessary for them to travel.

The specific consolidation work will be carried out by Jordi Bonet, from Barcelona, from Vitralls Bonet, a craftsman who has already collaborated with La Seu on numerous occasions. The Musée d’Orsay exhibition in which Gaudí’s stained glass windows will be shown will begin on April 12 and end on July 17, 2022.