New York: Rizzoli; Skira, 1990. First Edition. Scarce. 
A solid and attractive scarce book. Published 25 years ago, this edition is now long out of print and hard to find.
From the Dust Jacket: "The historic region of Catalonia, forming the northeastern corner of Spain, stretches from the Pyrenees southward along the Mediterranean. From the ninth to the thirteenth century, the principality of Catalonia, long ruled by the Counts of Barcelona, was an important place of passage and communication between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. Its privileged position is reflected in the astonishing vitality of Catalan art, from the early Middle Ages onward. IT includes some of the finest and best preserved works of the international Romanesque style: wall paintings in churches and monasteries, altar frontals, illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, and painted beams and ceiling boards from private palaces. IT is a colorful art combining popular appeal with great originality. This is the first in a series of three volumes on Catalan painting from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century."
From the Text: "THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. As a preliminary to the actual study and description of the paintings, I felt that a brief survey of the historical background would be helpful, because some knowledge of the circumstances that affected and contributed to their creation is essential. Then I shall deal with their iconographic and technical aspects, before moving on to the styles, chronologies and personalities of the various artists. The book closes with a chapter of general conclusion and an assessment of the art of the respective periods, followed by a bibliography. During the Romanesque and immediately preceding periods, Christian art, the only one with a continuous history in Catalonia, was produced in a region unknown today as Old Catlonia (Catalunya Vella), mainly consisting of the Pyrenean river valleys. The areas composing the region are classified in three ways: by basins, by counties and by bishoprics or dioceses, three criteria that go a long way back in time. a basin is a geographical term covering a valley or river basin. A diocese, created in Spain between the fourth and fifth centuries, is the area within a bishop's jurisdiction. A country is the area under the jurisdiction of a count, a civil and military authority existing since the Visigothic period, with antecedents in the Late Roman Empire..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Very Large Folio - sized hardcover book with dust jacket and folder; 152 pages of text with 105 color illustrated tipped-in plates. Good/Very Good Condition. Original hardcover bindingr. A solid and attractive copy of this book. 
Please look through our other listings
Collection from Halesowen, Cradley Heath or Dudley. Postage available at extra cost