The Holy Countenance, Joan Gascó, 1513. Vic Episcopal Museum.
This iconic work by Joan Gascó, a painter from Navarre who came to Vic at the start of the 16th century, is clearly influenced by the Flemish school, which led to its being attributed in error to the German school and the painter from Cordoba Bartolomé Bermejo. The attribution to Joan Gascó is unquestionable, especially in view of the remarkable resemblance with the prophet David on the High Altarpiece of the Church of Sant Esteve in Granollers, which today is at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. The panel belongs to the tradition of veronicas of Christ and the Virgin which were common in Catalan churches in the low Middle Ages.
