Montserrat, mother and land: a thousand years of devotion and collected memory

The Virgin Mary of Montserrat, the monastery and the mountain itself become the common thread of the exhibition “Montserrat, mother and earth” presented by the Frederic Marès Museum and curated by Sílvia Canalda. The proposal aims to delve deeper into the phenomenon of collecting linked to devotional objects, within the framework of the commemoration of the monastery's millennium.

The exhibition brings together a careful selection of pieces related to Montserrat from the collection collected by Frederic Marès and is enriched with works lent by other museums and private collections, thus offering an expanded and unique look at the cultural and spiritual survival of Montserrat.

• Unknown authorship, Translation and angelic veneration of the Virgin of Montserrat, 18th century. Private collection, Sabadell. © Photo: Pep Herrero.

In 2025 we commemorate the millennium of the founding of the monastery of Montserrat by Oliba, abbot of Ripoll and Cuixà and bishop of Vic. History tells us that around the year 880, on the mountain of Montserrat, there was a small hermitage dedicated to the Virgin Mary. However, it was not until a few decades later, in 1025, when a group of monks from Ripoll, sent by their abbot, built a Benedictine monastery next to that hermitage. Thus was born the monastery of Montserrat, a space that since its origins has been marked by a double dimension: the Benedictine monastic community and the Marian sanctuary. This double aspect has turned Montserrat into a place of prayer, evangelical life, pilgrimage and hope, a spiritual and cultural reference throughout a thousand years of history.

Visible from November 29, 2025 to May 24, 2026, in room 28 on the first floor, the exhibition invites visitors to enter the world of devotional collecting through the ever-living presence of the Virgin Mary, the monastery and the mountain of Montserrat. In line with the celebration of the monastery's millennium, the exhibition becomes a tribute to the memory accumulated over the centuries.

• Portrait of Na Sa de Montserrat, 1599, Museum of Montserrat. Abbey of Montserrat. © Photo: Dani Rovira.

It brings together around forty pieces, mostly from the collection of the Frederic Marès Museum, accompanied by thirteen more works from other institutions and private collections. All of them together form a landscape of objects that dialogue with each other and with the visitor, evoking the spiritual and cultural footprints that Montserrat has left on generations of devotees and travelers.

Iconographic evolution of the Virgin of Montserrat, the popular devotion generated around her and her diffusion through the world of print

The areas of the exhibition are divided into several sections that reveal the richness and complexity of Montserratian devotion and its cultural projection.

In fashion, it delves into the iconographic evolution of the Virgin of Montserrat, from the first representations to the recovery of the Romanesque carving in 1939. The tour shows how medals, prints and other media fixed her image and the title of “brown empress”.

Creure i pertànyer explores the visual and legendary stories surrounding Montserrat, as well as the expansion of its cult in modern times. It also highlights the consolidation, in the 19th century, of the mountain and its image as a reference for identity and a source of inspiration for artists and collectors.

Material Testimonies, tailored to everyone presents objects of pilgrimage and devotion, from medieval votive offerings to 19th century popular merchandising, showing how this material culture has nurtured specialized collections. At this point in the exhibition we find the piece by Francesc Grau Torres or the panel by Gaspar Homar and Josep Pey.

• Francesc Grau Torres, Our Lady of Montserrat, Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Valencia, 1678 - 1693 © Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia.

Family and Land, installed in the Sala de Montserrat, brings together pieces of great uniqueness and culminates with the painting by Antonio Arias Fernández (1643), an iconic image of the “brown empress.” The space emphasizes the links between the collection, family memory and territory.

Finally, Tradition and Creation: Sacred Nature establishes a bridge between tradition and contemporary perspective, highlighting how the mountain and its spirituality continue to inspire current art, exemplified by the work This Fire by Perejaume.