Sketches of a Nascent History of Art: the drawings of the «Lonja de Palma» for Jovellanos’ «Memoria»

Abstract

The Memorias of the Gothic buildings that Jovellanos wrote (1806-1808) as a prisoner in the castle of Bellver (1802-1808) have been recognized not only as an essential element for interpreting the Gothic architecture of the island of Mallorca, but also as a major contribution to the developing art-historical discipline in Spain. Despite the fact that the Memorias had been repeatedly published, the drawings originally accompanying them were assumed to be lost. However, the recent fi nding of a new manuscript version of the text, now complemented by its illustrations, has prompted us to present these fi ve drawings as well as revisit the Memoria of the Lonja, the best of all the Memorias that Jovellanos wrote. This fi nding has also lead us to refl ect upon the importance the plates had for Jovellanos to be able to carry out his Descripciones of the monuments, as well as for Ceán Bermudez —the actual recipient of Jovellanos’ texts— to have a better understanding of the monuments so skillfully «described» by the illustrious son of Gijón.