With its imposing presence and distinctive profile, rising from the plain toward the sky, it is no surprise that the mountain of Montserrat has become a spiritual symbol of Catalonia. It has also become an artistic theme and the subject of a considerable number of collectible objects like those you can see at the exhibition “Montserrat. Mother and Earth”, organized at the Frederic Marès Museum of Barcelona between November 29 and May 24, 2026.

The exhibition (in the image, a decorative panel by Gaspar Homar/Josep Pey, depicting the Virgin of Montserrat, Barcelona, around 1901–1905. Museu Frederic Marès. © Photo: ArtWorkPhoto.eu) has been curated by Sílvia Canalda, art historian and professor at the University of Barcelona (UB), and includes around forty works, many from the Marès Museum itself and others from private collections.

Here you will see how collecting and devotion intersect, and more specifically, which collectible objects (and artworks) have emerged from devotion to the Virgin and the sanctuary where she is found. All of this coincides with the celebrations of the monastery’s millennium. You will therefore see various Montserrat-related objects collected by Frederic Marès, among others.

They will show how the image of the Virgin of Montserrat has evolved iconographically, both in prints and in collectible objects, and will also devote special attention to the role of the image in the art world through time, concluding with contemporary representations.

In fact, since 1974 the Marès Museum has had a Montserrat Room within the Collector’s Museum, which gathers the pieces dedicated to the Virgin that the sculptor had assembled, driven both by Christian devotion and by a collector’s impulse.

Ancient iconography, legends about the discovery of the Virgin’s image, emphasis on the iconographic evolution of the image of the Virgin of Montserrat, all sorts of artifacts that served as supports and reminders of devotion, and even unexpected artworks such as the image of the Virgin painted in Córdoba by Antonio Arias Fernández or a contemporary piece by Perejaume, complete the exhibition—an essential event for properly celebrating the millennium of Montserrat as a spiritual center of Catalonia.

If you want to know what devotion and collecting have to do with one another, you will have to visit the exhibition “Montserrat. Mother and Earth” at Frederic Marès Museum, but first check all the related information on the website.