{"id":189768,"date":"2026-01-09T13:56:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bellesguardgaudi.com\/?p=189768"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:56:15","slug":"did-you-know-a-symbol-faithful-to-the-original-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bellesguardgaudi.com\/en\/did-you-know-a-symbol-faithful-to-the-original-image\/","title":{"rendered":"Did you know? A symbol faithful to the original image"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ferran Garc\u00e9s<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We recently welcomed the New Year, but we also have to say goodbye to the nativity scene and other Christmas traditions. However, at Torre Bellesguard, it\u2019s hard to bid farewell to one of the most prominent elements of these festivities. And it\u2019s hard because it is right at the center of the building\u2019s main fa\u00e7ade, in the form of a stained glass window. We\u2019re talking about the Christmas star, also known as the Star of the East or the Magi\u2019s star. We mention it on every visit. It must also be referenced in the building\u2019s historical studies. As you see, Christmas never disappears from Torre Bellesguard…<\/p>\n

Present since the first study<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first biography of Gaud\u00ed was published two years after his death, in 1928. The author, Josep F. R\u00e0fols, was an architect who had worked personally with the master. For him, the most remarkable element of Torre Bellesguard is the mentioned stained glass, which was already interpreted then as the Star of the East (1). Joan Berg\u00f3s, another architect friend and Gaud\u00ed\u2019s biographer, even stated that the base of the stained glass, shaped like steps, was meant to contain images of the Magi (2).<\/p>\n

Later, other interpretations were proposed, linking the stained glass to the Virgin Mary, also represented with an eight-pointed star. Both interpretations are complementary. After all, the Magi and the Virgin meet in the Bethlehem nativity scene. If we were to study the history of Christmas, this star would also deserve mention.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The original image<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the earliest representations of Christmas and the Epiphany, the eight-pointed star was the most common form of this popular symbol, though not the only one. Later, the image would take on other appearances, following the development of astronomy and art, along with social changes such as the introduction of the Black King. Today, recalling Gaud\u00ed\u2019s advice that \u201coriginality consists in returning to the origins,\u201d we thought it would be a good idea to show some examples of the earliest representations of the Star of the East. This journey also allows us to see how Western art and the elements of this well-known scene have evolved.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Historical examples<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Three Magi, Byzantine mosaic, c. 565, Basilica of Sant\u2019Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy. Considered the first image where the names of the Magi appear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nativity, Byzantine mosaic, 12th century, Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Italy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Adoration of the Magi and the Virgin in the apse of Santa Maria de Ta\u00fcll, 12th century. Lleida, Catalonia.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chi-Rho and Epiphany, stone relief, 12th century, Cloister of San Pedro el Viejo. Huesca, Aragon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Adoration of the Magi, c. 1180, Spanish Beatus now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Adoration of the Magi, Pietro Cavallini, c. 1200, Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome, Italy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nativity, painting, first third of the 13th century. Altar frontal of Santa Maria de Mosoll, Lower Cerdanya, Catalonia. Currently housed at MNAC (Museu Nacional d\u2019Art de Catalunya).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Altarpiece of the Holy Spirit, Pere Serra, 1394. Collegiate Basilica of Santa Maria de Manresa. Detail of the Epiphany on one of the left panels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, a curious and lesser-known image. The growing popularity of the Magi led, toward the end of the Middle Ages, some illustrators to invent coats of arms for the Magi. Thanks to a treatise preserved in the Historical Archive of Nobility (see: AHNOB<\/a>), we can learn about this tradition in the mid-16th century. In one of them, unsurprisingly, we see an eight-pointed star (3).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong>
\n(1) R\u00e0fols, Josep F.: Antoni Gaud\u00ed (1852-1926)<\/em>, Ed. Canosa, Barcelona, 1928, p. 75. Catalan edition: 1928; Spanish edition: 1929.
\n(2) Berg\u00f3s Mass\u00f3, Joan. \u201cTorre se\u00f1orial de Bellesguard (1900-1902)\u201d. Antoni Gaud\u00ed, the man and the work<\/em>. 1st ed. Barcelona: Ariel, 1954, p. 98.
\n(3) It should be noted that some of these coats of arms show stars with six or seven points, perhaps reflecting changes in the representation of this symbol from the late Middle Ages to the early Renaissance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ferran Garc\u00e9s We recently welcomed the New Year, but we also have to say goodbye to the nativity scene and other Christmas traditions. However, at Torre Bellesguard, it\u2019s hard to bid farewell to one of the most prominent elements of these festivities. And it\u2019s hard because it is right at the center of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":189720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-did-you-know"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDid you know? 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