Our Lady of the Saviour, second half of the 12th century. Polychrome wood carving, 67.5 x 19 x 14.5 cm. Sant Salvador Hermitage, Cofolis. Girona Art Museum - Bishopric of Girona Collection.
Our Lady of El Salvador or of Puig-alder dates back to the late 12th century, although it was discovered in 1984 within one of the walls of the Sant Salvador Chapel, the only vestige of the old castle of Puig-alder in the municipality of Les Planes d’Hostoles (Garrotxa).
Despite being badly damaged and having lost the Child who she would have held on her lap, the carving still retains the upper part and the remains of the original polychromy. It is a clear example of the type of Romanesque virgins of the Byzantine tradition: stylisation, symmetry and frontality, an oval face, almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and an expressionless closed mouth with no smile, which denotes the severity and distance of a divine figure. Features that epitomise the idea of the Mother representing the throne of the Son whom she presents and offers to the world.
