ROMANESQUE PAINTER, Catalan
(active around 1180 in León)

The Annunciation to the Shepherds

c. 1180
Fresco
Panteón de los Reyes, Colegiata de San Isidoro, León

The Panteón de los Reyes of San Isidoro in León is the burial place of several kings and queens of León (almost 33 members of the ancient Court of León). The burial chamber was decorated by an artist from Catalonia who around 1180 painted magnificent frescoes over the walls and on the ceiling. Using mainly bluish-grey, red and deep-brown shades and a typically Byzantine style, the artist depicted scenes from the life of Christ that are enlivened by ornamental plant motifs and animals.

The Panteón de los Reyes has been called the "Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque period."




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