In this volume of Gems, you will discover works that will surprise you. Catalans themselves are not sufficiently aware of the value of our country’s art during these centuries, nor of the often spectacular beauty it can display.

Reading it, you will learn that during this period, the cathedrals of Palma and Tortosa were built; the castle of Torredembarra; the Bofarull Palace in Reus; the Laberint d’Horta, the Llotja, and the Sant Antoni market in Barcelona; the Palace of the Marquis of Dosaigües in Valencia; and the altarpieces of Arenys de Mar and Cadaqués. Furthermore, Damià Campeny sculpted the fantastic Lucretia, and Marià Fortuny painted The Spanish Wedding.

This new book in the Gems collection brings together an anthology of buildings, altarpieces, and artistic ensembles, spanning from the 16th century to the mid-19th century, from Catalan-speaking territories: from 1507, with the Valencia Cathedral, to 1887, with the Barcelona Cathedral.

Catalonia generated a Baroque style of considerable density and intensity, which took strong root in the country’s construction habits. Later, with the triumph of unifying academicism across Europe, Catalonia also produced—especially in sculpture—some figures capable of comparing with the best exponents of foreign Neoclassicism.

The art of these centuries possesses an exuberant plasticity, dynamism, and richness that make it highly photogenic. Presenting this anthology may come as a great surprise to the public, who are unaware of the quality of art from a period that, in other eras, was abusively labeled as decadent.

We have long underestimated all this art, but when we showcase outstanding examples and bring them together, we realize that these were not four centuries of emptiness, but rather the necessary continuity to regain momentum.

It is the expression of an era that has been eclipsed; by a magnificent Gothic period before it, and by an extraordinary Modernism after it. But the Baroque—and the immediately preceding and succeeding styles—is also the expression of a very important period in the country’s history.