Altar Bocabella (1890)

A few years after commissioning the young Gaudí the continuation of the works of the Sagrada Família, where he had already finished the Crypt planned by the previous architect Del Villar and began the apse and the project of the upper church, by him absolutely, Josep Maria Bocabella commissioned an altar for his oratory particular. The founder of the Expiatory Temple then was widowed and septuagenarian, and supported his son-in-law Manuel Dalmases, had full confidence in Gaudi to made the Sagrada Família a much more monumental and grandiose church that originally planned. They had the plan to build it in ten years if the handouts were collected sufficient. Josep Maria Bocabella, as the founder of the Association of Devotees of San Jose, had achieved a large number of relics and ecclesiastical authority granted him the right to a private altar in his home in the street Miralbell 4, 1, house which disappeared with the Reform of Barcelona. The altar is carved from mahogany and measures 176 x 85 x 9 cm. It has a cavity in the center for the relics, covered by a white marble. The are is supported by two columns joined by a strong striated crossbar. The predella has two decorated levels, both with floral motifs. In the center, below the sanctuary, there is a Latin legend with the formula of the consecration. At the top level, there are two other sacred, one with the principle of the Gospel of St. John and the other with the formula of the sink. The door of the tabernacle is of Damascus cloth, with a very personal interpretation of Christ name formed by the "ro" and "ji". Above, there are three cherub heads claiming the corbels of the crucifix and candlesticks. The altarpiece, surrounded by orange leaves, is composed of three large prints: on the right, St. Teresa of Jesus, to the left, St. Pauline of Nola, and in the center, the Holy Family, with the caption: "Jesus, Joseph i Maria, vos dono'l cor y l'ŕnima mia "(in Catalan: Jesus, Joseph and Mary, I give you my heart and my soul). The work was done by Frederic Labňria, craftsman emigrated to Barcelona from Reus, whose family and that of Gaudi were friends and then began working as a sculptor in the Sagrada Família. The altar obtanined the appropriate licenses to celebrate the Eucharist by Lion XIII in November and December 1890, granted in favor of Josep Maria Bocabella i Verdaguer, his daughter Francesca and his son-in-law Manuel de Dalmases i Riba. Currently, belongs to a private collection.

Josep Maria Tarragona, Novemeber 2, 2008
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