Mural paintings from the Herrera Chapel


The mural paintings from the Herrera Chapel are a group of mural paintings by Annibale Carracci and collaborators, of around 1602, now divided between the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, and the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
They are frescoes that were painted for a chapel in Rome around 1604, but later transferred to canvas and moved to Spain by 1851.

History

In 1602, the Spanish nobleman Juan Enriquez de Herrera dedicated a chapel to the Spanish Franciscan Saint Diego de Alcala in what is now Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore in Rome, but was then "Saint James of the Spanish", the Spanish national church in Rome. He commissioned Saint Didacus of Alcalá Presenting Juan de Herrera's Son to Christ and frescoes from Carracci. The mural decoration, with scenes from the saint's life, was done by the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci. In 1604, this master began designing all the preparatory cartoons, but he became ill while personally directing the work "in situ". So, the work was finished by his collaborators, who included Giovanni Lanfranco, Sisto Badalocchio and Francesco Albani.
The Spanish national church in Rome later became the new Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli, and the old church was cleared of its artworks. The frescoes in the Herrera chapel were transferred to canvas at the request of the sculptor Antonio Solá, at the expense of Ferdinand VII, and arrived in Spain in 1851. They are now distributed between MNAC and Museo del Prado.

Description

The group consists of 16 items, 9 of which are kept at the MNAC and the other 7 at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. From the former church of San Giacomo degli Spagnuoli in Rome.
#ImageTitleAuthorsMuseumReference
1Apostles around the Empty SepulchreCarracci and Francesco AlbaniMNAC
2Miracle of the RosesCarracci, Francesco Albani and Domenico ZampieriMNAC
3Assumption of the VirginCarracci and AlbaniMNAC
4Everlasting FatherCarracci and AlbaniMNAC
5Healing the Man Born BlindCarracci and AlbaniMNAC
6Saint PaulCarracci and AlbaniMNAC
7Saint PeterCarracci and AlbaniMNAC
8Saint Didacus PreachingCarracci and Sisto BadalocchioMNAC
9Apparition of Saint Didacus above his sepulchreCarracci and Sisto BadalocchioMNAC
10Apotheosis of Saint FrancisCarracci and workshopMuseo del Prado
11Apotheosis of Saint James the GreaterCarracci and workshopMuseo del Prado
12Apotheosis of Saint LawrenceCarracci and workshopMuseo del Prado
13Saint Didacus Receiving AlmsCarracci and AlbaniMuseo del Prado
14Saint Didacus Receiving the Franciscan HabitCarracci and AlbaniMuseo del Prado
15The Miraculous RefectionCarracci and AlbaniMuseo del Prado
16Saint Didacus Saves the Boy Sleeping in the OvenCarracci and AlbaniMuseo del Prado