Convent of St Jerome, near Barcelona

Convent of St Jerome, near Barcelona  

Thomas Shotter Boys after George Vivian, 1838 

Hand-coloured lithograph 

Vivian depicts a sunbathed view of the monastery of San Jerónimo, nestled on the verdant mountainside of the Valley of Hebrón, which was isolated from Barcelona city at the time. The image is close to Vivian’s original on-site pencil drawing, created during his first tour of Spain in 1833 (Biblioteca Nacional de España). Both Vivian’s drawing and the lithograph serve as a valuable record of this monastery, which no longer exists. Founded by Queen Violant of Bar in 1393, the monastic complex comprised a main convent building, which is seen on the right. It included a pharmacy, an infirmary, and a library. The top floor provided accommodation. The buildings, further back on the left, comprised a hostelry, the hospital for the poor, a barn and stables. The complex provided healthcare for the community of monks, guests, travellers and the poor from its foundation to the early nineteenth century.1  

Vivian’s interest in the subject might have stemmed from the fact that the monastery had served as a refuge for anti-Napoleonic troops during the early years of the Peninsular War (1808-1814). In 1834, a year after Vivian’s visit, the monastery was used as a lazaretto during the cholera outbreak in Spain. It was abandoned in 1835 due to the anti-clerical and anti-Carlist riots that swept Catalonia that year. Most of the royal complex was demolished in 1836. 

The site of the ancient monastery is now part of the Horta-Guinardó district of Barcelona. Only remnants of the original complex remain at this location. Today, visitors will find a modern university hospital. Built in 1955 as the Residencia Sanitaria Francisco Franco, it was renamed as Hospital Vall d’Hebrón after the end of the dictatorship.  

1 On the monastery’s history, see O. de Fàbregues-Boxar, ‘Compilation of historical data on healthcare at Vall d’Hebron’, Neurosciences and History 7.1 (2019): 1-14. 

Title: Convent of St Jerome, near Barcelona.  

Author/Artist: Thomas Shotter Boys (1803-1874, lithographer) after a drawing by George Vivian (1798-1873).   

Technique and Material:  Hand-coloured lithograph on paper.  

Size: 240 x 385 mm (image), 550 x 365 mm (page).  

Published: Plate 16 from George Vivian, Spanish Scenery, London: P & D Colnaghi. 

Date: 1838.  

Marks and Inscriptions: on the image, lower left: ‘Convent of San Jeronimo, Barcelona’; lower edge, left: ‘G. Vivian Esqr. delt.’; right: ‘T. Boys lithog.’  

Institution: Barry Ife Collection.