Miralda's Lamb returns to the MNAC

The National Art Museum of Catalonia is exhibiting again, until January 7, one of the most unique pieces in its collection: 'The Lamb of the Apocalypse "Agnus Dei"' by Antoni Miralda (Terrassa, 1942), a key figure in conceptual art and known for his collective actions and rituals full of significance.

Among his projects stands out the Honeymoon Project (1986-1992), a symbolic marriage between the Statue of Columbus in Barcelona and the Statue of Liberty in New York. This initiative included various actions, one of which was the offering of a spectacular quilt, a giant embroidery measuring 18x15m, inspired by the lamb in the apse of Sant Climent de Taüll , a major work of Catalan Romanesque art. In 1989, this lamb paraded down Fifth Avenue in New York , carried by ninety people who stuck their heads out through perforations designed specifically for the occasion, leaving a rather unique collective image.

’Anyell de l’Apocalipsi «Agnus Dei»’ a Nova York (1989)

'The Lamb of the Apocalypse «Agnus Dei»' has already been exhibited twice at the MNAC: in 1995, in the exhibition Agnus Dei. Romanesque art and artists of the 20th century, and in 2019, with the ceremony-performance Peccata Mundi. Now, its reappearance once again transforms the Oval Room into a stage where the mysticism of Taüll and a pop universe of colossal dimensions meet.

Miralda's tapestry, which reinterprets the mystical lamb in shades of turquoise, mauve, pink and silver, projects a new dimension to Christian iconography. The lamb, an essential symbol in the Christian tradition since the first centuries, represents Christ as a kind shepherd who guides his flock and as a sacrifice for the redemption of humanity. With seven eyes and the book of seven seals, the lamb that describes the Apocalypse is an allegory of divine manifestation. This image, very present in Romanesque art, links the figure of Christ with the lamb sacrificed to save Humanity. In Miralda's hands, however, this traditional representation is radically transformed.

Arc de l’Anyell apocalíptic de Sant Climent de Taüll, cap a 1123.