Olla Art has another work by the Italian artist Enrico Baj in its collection. Special for several reasons, as it is a unique proof (‘prova unica’) of which the colour scheme differs completely from the edition that has been printed of the same work. Special also because of the large format, the complex printing technique and the textile that is glued to the print.
The title of the work, which dates from 1975, is Ermengarda. The editor is the famous Milanese Studio Marconi (reopened in 2010 as Studio Marconi ’65), with which Baj frequently collaborated. The work can be found as number 466 in the catalogue raisonné compiled by Roberto Sanesi, Jan van der Marck and Enrico Baj himself (Sanesi et al., 1986).
Ermengarda de Vallespir
Ermengarda is an Italian girl’s name, but Baj often refers to historical figures in his work, so that is probably the case here as well. The most famous Ermengarda is Ermengarda de Vallespir, born in Catalonia in the middle of the tenth century. She was a daughter of Gausbert, Count of Empúries, and married Count Oliba Cabreta in 966, making her Countess of Pallars (a Catalan region southwest of Andorra). Oliba and Ermengarda donated lavishly to convents during their reign. In 988 Oliba retired to such a convent, where he died in 990. He divided the administration of his domains among his three sons.
From 990 to 994 Ermengarda, together with her sons, held sway over the Catalan region of Cerdanya, east of Andorra, now part French and part Catalan territory. In 994, her sons gained full control of their domains, and Ermengarda retired to Vallespir, a Catalan region in the French Pyrenees, which she governed vigorously until her death in 1001.
Enrico Baj, Ermengarda, 1975
Screenprint with collage on paper, 99.2 x 69.7 cm (full sheet)
More information
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Note
Roberto Sanesi et al. (1986). Catalogo generale delle stampe originali. Milan: Edizioni Electa.