GENER, Guerau

Techniques

Tempera and gold leaf on panel

Profile and historiographical debate

Guerau Gener was son of a merchant from Barcelona, who was called by the same name, and he was born between 1368 and 1369. He developed his career in Barcelona, where he had been documented as a painter since 1390, and also in Valencia, where he should have received his initial training (Alcoy 1996a). On 16^th June 1391 he signed a contract for the refinement of his trade with Lluís Borrassà, even if this agreement would not last more than three months. Guerau Gener worked on important works that were committed for notorious centres as the monastery of Santes Creus or the cathedrals of Barcelona, Valencia and Monreale (Sicily). In Valencia he worked along with the painters Marçal de Sax and Gonçal Peris (all of them qualified as pictores ymaginarum sive retabulum, vicini Valentie). This explains why his painting style, which is emanated from northern Europe, is connected with the Valencian painting of the decade of 1390, and especially with that which was emanated from Marçal de Sax. His career was cut short by his death which took place any time before 16^th July 1411.

Despite the fact that the first documentary news about Guerau Gener begun to be spread in late nineteenth century, it is not until 1930 that the first file review on the painter was published. It was made by Agustí Duran i Sanpere. Among the first documents that were published by the historian it stands out both the contract and cancellation of Gener’s learning agreement under Lluís Borrassà’s supervision and the bill payment that granted Gener’s authorship for the altarpiece of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Elizabeth of Hungry from the Cathedral of Barcelona, which let us know his artistic personality.

Since then, few works have increased his low current catalogue. A document that was revealed by Count of Vilanova in 1930 allows linking Gener with the making of the altarpiece of Santes Creus, even if there is still no complete unanimity in the delimitation of the authorship. Much later, in 1986, Antoni José i Pitarch proposed identifying a table of Saint Dominic from the Museo del Prado as a part of the altarpiece that Guerau Gener and Gonçal Peris hired for Saint Dominic’s chapel of the Cathedral of Valencia (1405). In addition, despite the fact that it is still an attribution that has to be discussed, most recently, Francesc Ruiz has proposed the Sants Joans’ table belonging to the Alfred Sloan collection of New York on the bases of stylistic grounds.

Works

Known and preserved Works:

• Altarpiece of Saint Bartholomew and Saint Elizabeth of Hungry of the Cathedral of Barcelona (doc. 1401)
• Altarpiece of the monastery of Santes Creus,  which was commissioned to Pere Serra and finished by Lluís Borrassà (docs. 1403-1419) (MNAC, Museu Diocesà de Tarragona and part. col.)

Non-preserved known Works:

• Altarpiece of the Nativity, which was hired in Valencia by Guerau Gener, Marçal de Sax and Gonçal Peris (docs. 1405)
• Altar frontal and altarpiece for Saint Dominic’s chapel of the Cathedral of Valencia (docs. 1405 and 1407), which were hired by Guerau Gener and Gonçal Peris. It is possible that the Saint Dominic’s table from the Museo del Prado belongs to the set (inv. P3111) (José i Pitarch 1986)
• Altarpiece of the Cathedral of Monreale (Sicily) (doc. 1407)

Attributed works

• Sants Joans’ table from the Alfred P. Sloan collection of New York (Ruíz 2005)

Patrons

• Bartomeua Bou, who was Francesc de Santcliment’s widow. Francesc de Santcliment was lord of Alcarràs. She acted through her executors: Jaume Vallirana, Jaume Arboç, Francesc Codina, Francesc Bofill and Guillem Ferrer
• Pere Torrella, citizen of Valencia
• Jaume Prats, rector of the church of Ontinyent (Vall d'Albaida, Valencia), who acted through Antoni Gassó, who was rector of the church of Almenara (Plana Baixa, Castellón), as well as his executor
• The noble Pere de Queralt, who was Guerau de Queralt’s father and Archbishop of Monreale

Documentary Sources

Documented between 1390 and before 1411 as G(u)eraldus Ianuarii or G(u)eraldus Gener (o Giner) in Latin documents [Guerau Janer o Gener in Catalan documents]. Documents collected by the historiography (vid. infra.).

 Text: Cèsar Favà