The Virgin and Child in Majesty and the Adoration of the Magi

In this fresco, the Magi approach the Virgin and Child, not in a manger but enthroned in majesty and in the company of archangels. Mounted in the apse from Fuentidueña, this fresco originally came from a different site, the apse of the church of the Virgin near Tredòs, nestled in the Pyrenees, near the border between Spain and France. Despite its remote location, the church occupies a strategic position in the mountains, at the head of the Garonne River. In the twelfth century, it was controlled by the Knights Templar, then a wealthy military order dedicated to the protection of the Holy Land and to the Christian reconquest of Spain. The church is one of several in Catalonia where the same accomplished artist worked. The church of the Virgin was sacked in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War. Subsequently, its frescoes were acquired by museums and private collectors, while other objects from the church disappeared entirely.