“Barcelona haggadahs. The Jewish splendour of Catalan Gothic art”, in the MUHBA, Plaça del Rei

From the 26th of March to the 5th of July the MUHBA in the Plaça del Rei will host an exhibition entitled Barcelona haggadahs. The Jewish splendour of Catalan Gothic art, in the Saló del Tinell. The exhibition gathers together, for the first time, eight haggadahs, Jewish Passover texts produced during the 14th century in Barcelona and the surrounding area. These manuscripts, which are of immense relevance to Jewish history, Catalan Gothic art and Catalan culture in general, are recognised worldwide, in particular for their illustrations, and were removed from Catalan territory more than five hundred years ago as a result of the expulsion of the Jewish people in 1492.

During the first decades of the 14th century, at the time of Catalan Gothic art, the city of Barcelona was very much open to the more innovative of artistic influences and the city’s workshops were very active in the creation of haggadahs at the behest of a number of Jewish families. At the time, Barcelona’s Jewish Quarter was the most important Jewish community in Catalonia and the Catalan-Aragonese kingdom as a whole.

On displaying these haggadahs the exhibition attempts to offer an insight into the presence of the Jewish community in Barcelona and its influence on the day-to-day life in the medieval city. The exhibition is jointly curated by Ana Bejarano, Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira and Manuel Forcano and, on the 24th and 25th of March, sessions entitled Haggadahs: history, narrative and artistic legacy will be held in parallel, also in the MUHBA Plaça del Rei.
 

Barcelona haggadahs. The Jewish splendour of Catalan Gothic art

When: from the 26th of March to the 5th of July

Tickets: 4,40 €

Where: Saló del Tinell del MUHBA Plaça del Rei

More information here