La reforma de la capella del Santíssim de la Catedral de Mallorca. Antecedents i conseqüències de la intervenció de Miquel Barceló

Resumen

The Holy Sacrament Chapel was historically called St. Peter’s Chapel and it is located in the right apse of the Cathedral of Mallorca. Between 2000 and 2007, a contemporary intervention in this space was proposed and developed by the painter Miquel Barceló. On the one hand, through the historical reconstruction of the chapel we can review the changes and transformations of one of the most relevant and significant spaces of the entire temple. The evolution of the chapel goes from medieval times to the end of the twentieth century. On the other hand, Miquel Barceló is an artist from Mallorca who has a long career and international fame. The intervention was profoundly affected by different issues related to the economic, political, and patrimonial situation of the beginning of the century. It should be noted that the conservation of the Cathedral’s heritage was then in an unprecedented situation in the context of the recent Director Plan. The conservation of the Cathedral’s heritage was affected by the exceptional nature of Barceló’s intervention. The remodeling of the Holy Sacrament Chapel was based on the iconography linked to the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the Wedding at Cana and consisted of the incorporation of a ceramic mural, five stained glass windows, and different pieces of furniture. The ceramic skin was made in Vincenzo Santoriello’s workshop, located in Vietri sul Mare –Naples–, while the stained-glass windows were executed in Jean-Dominique Fleury’s workshop, located in Toulouse. As a result of the singularity of the project, the Fundació Art a la Seu de Mallorca was created as an entity that would take care of its management. This institution was active between 2002 and 2008. The media was all over the development of the project. Once Barceló’s intervention was finished, both the artist and the Cathedral continued with their own paths separately. In the case of the Cathedral, it has undergone an internal process of transformation, which has helped to define the cultural management beyond the appropriation of Miquel Barceló’s work. However, the trace left by the intervention on both agents still continues.