The Batlló Crucifix, Batlló Majesty, or Majestat Batlló, is a 12th century Romanesque carved wood crucifix now in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The magnificently decorated and well-preserved sculpture is thought to have come from the Pyrenees, possibly from the city of Olot of the comarca of Garrotxa.[1]As with much medieval art, its creator is unknown, although a medieval legend credits Nicodemus with producing the sculpture soon after the actual Crucifixion, a pious tradition repeated elsewhere in Europe in connection with similar monumental crosses (e.g., the Holy Face of Lucca of Lucca, Italy).[2]
The cross was procured for the museum in 1914 by the collector Enric Batlló, for whom the piece is now named. At the time of its first arrival at the museum, it was covered with a thick coating of varnish that obscured but helped preserve its bright colors, which have now been restored.[3] The Battló Crucifix stands three feet tall and shows a living and conscious Jesus on the cross. The image of Jesus is meditative, his head bowed down but with a look of serenity and resignation. A Latin inscription above his head reads, "JHS NAZARENUS REX IUDEORUM" ("Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews”) as in biblical accounts (Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, John 19:19). Although medieval crucifixes often depict Jesus wearing a tiny loincloth or tattered cloth to convey the struggle, pain, and sacrifice of his death, the Batlló Crucifix portrays Jesus wearing a long and sumptuous robe. Such robes, called colobiums are linked with royal and priestly functions and provide a message of strength to the viewing audience. They can be seen as a visualization of image of the Apocalyptic Christ from the Book of Revelation.[4]The iconographic tradition of Jesus in a colobium dates to 586 in a manuscript of the Syriac Gospels called the Rabbula Gospels, written by the monk Rabbula somewhere in Mesopotamia. It is thought that the tradition of depicting Christ in such vestments was brought to Catalonia by artisans from Pisa who arrived in 1114 to help Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona in his conquest of the Balearic Islands.[5] These larger wooden crucifixes are often referred to as "majesties" (Catalan majestat,Spanish majestad) and less than fifty survive today. Many were life-size and hung as roods high in the church in front of the altar.
The Majestat Batlló is especially noteworthy for the excellent preservation of its colors, particularly on the colobium. The robe is covered in blue and red floral designs which imitate patterns seen in oriental silk. Not only are the designs very fine, but Arabic writing appears in the hem of the garment, a tribute to the fine Muslim textiles produced during the Romanesque period. An interlaced knot pattern on the belt of the garment can be interpreted as a common medieval symbol of protection seen on many medieval churches, Bibles, and everyday goods and may have pre-Christian origins. The Book of Kells is a beautiful example of such interlaced pattern.