119 - Capital; Catalonia, 14th century.

Capital; Catalonia, 14th century. Carved stone. Measurements: 23 x 20 x 19 cm. Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935). Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance. An architectural capital of remarkable volumetric development, decorated with an elaborate repertoire of stylized plant motifs. The composition features large, lanceolate leaves and palmate forms that unfold in relief across the various faces, connected by stems, veins, and curvilinear elements in the classical tradition. The ensemble is crowned by an upper abacus with a widened profile, whose geometry is marked by a contrast with the dynamism of the plant ornamentation.The piece belongs to the tradition of 14th-century Catalan Gothic architectural sculpture, characterized by the progressive stylization of plant motifs and their application to structural elements of civil and religious buildings. Of particular stylistic relevance is the work of the stone-carving workshops in Girona around 1300, which specialized in the mass production of palmette and lily capitals. These pieces circulated widely throughout the territories of the Crown of Aragon during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, constituting one of the characteristic ornamental motifs of Catalan Gothic architecture. In this context, the parallel piece preserved at the Museu d’Art de Girona—known as the “Capitell de palma” and dated to around 1300–1320—stands out.