Charterhouse of Aula Dei

The Charterhouse of Aula Dei is a monastery located in the Spanish municipality of Zaragoza. Formerly belonging to the Carthusian order, in 2011 it was transferred to the religious community of "Chemin Neuf". It was declared a National Monument on February 16, 1983, and is currently a site of cultural interest. The monastery's layout follows a fundamentally Renaissance design, of the walled monastic type. Internally, the rooms are organized around three courtyards bordered by cloisters. The church houses a collection of paintings by Francisco de Goya, damaged during the monastery's abandonment in the 19th century and initially restored at the beginning of the 20th century. Between 1772 and 1774, Goya painted eleven scenes on the walls of the nave, beneath the springing of the church's vault. The technique used was oil on wall, employing the alla prima brushstroke, which, along with the color, He achieves a remarkable volume in his depictions, combined with vibrant colors, partly influenced by the Venetian painting he studied during his trip to Italy. The figures are treated with great restraint and ample drapery, creating compositions where the human figure takes center stage over the landscapes or architecture. The paintings are located in the place where they were created; Goya considered the architectural space of the church and adapted each scene to its intended location. Currently, this cycle of the Virgin's life is divided into seven scenes: the Revelation to Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, the Birth of the Virgin, the Betrothal of the Virgin, the Visitation, the Circumcision of Jesus, the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of Mary, and the Epiphany. Four of these scenes disappeared due to the abandonment of the building when the Order had to leave the Carthusian monastery following the Mendizábal confiscations. For this reason, when examining the preserved paintings, it is evident that some areas were repainted at the beginning of the 20th century by the Buffet brothers, who also recreated the murals that had not been saved.