13. Altarpiece of Our Lady of the Rosary

You are standing before the Altarpiece of Our Lady of the Rosary, the earliest remaining large Catalan altarpiece dedicated to the fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary.

To understand this work, we must travel back to the end of the sixteenth century. During those years, devotion to the Rosary spread with extraordinary strength throughout Catalonia.

The Dominican friars were its principal promoters, but a historical event would give an even greater boost to its popularity.

In 1571, the Battle of Lepanto brought together a coalition of Christian kingdoms against the Ottoman Empire, whose expansion across the Mediterranean they sought to halt. Tradition tells us that, before the decisive battle, the soldiers prayed the Rosary.

Following the victory, Pope Pius V attributed the outcome to the intercession of the Virgin Mary and encouraged devotion to the Rosary throughout the Church.

Like the Altarpiece of Saint Michael, this work is Renaissance in style. Its architecture resembles the façade of a church, with large classical columns dividing the different sections of the altarpiece.

But what exactly is the Rosary?

You may know the Rosary as a string of beads used to count prayers. Yet it is much more than an object: it is a way of contemplating the life of Jesus through the eyes of Mary.

The altarpiece is arranged as a great visual journey through the fifteen traditional Mysteries of the Rosary. In the predella – the horizontal band beneath the image of the Virgin – you will also find four scenes from Mary’s childhood inspired by the apocryphal Gospel of James.

Now move your gaze to the far left of the altarpiece and look at the first scene. It depicts the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will become the Mother of God. From this point onwards, the fifteen scenes of the Rosary are read as though you were turning the pages of a book, from left to right and from bottom to top.

The first five Mysteries tell the story of Jesus’ childhood, including his birth and his Presentation in the Temple.

The next five ones lead us into his Passion, with scenes such as the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Scourging.

Finally, the last five Mysteries celebrate his glory through events such as the Resurrection and the Ascension into Heaven.

At the centre of the altarpiece stands the image of Our Lady of the Rosary. The original sculpture was lost in 1936, and the figure you see today dates from the Baroque period.

This altarpiece invites us to a journey through the whole life of Jesus, from the Annunciation to the Resurrection.

Each scene is an open window onto a moment of the Gospel, allowing those who contemplate it to unite prayer with sight and to let the story of Christ’s life transform their own.