20 kilos of classics at 3,564 euros

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early September, the La Pedrera Auditorium was packed to the brim for an unusual literary presentation. It celebrated the birth of an exceptional book, the Aurea Dicta illustrated by Miquel Barceló, a collector's gem that sells for 3,564 euros a piece.

At first glance, this exorbitant price – for a book! – might lead us to think that we are facing yet another fraud in the art market, which speculates by taking advantage of the most renowned painter in the country being behind it, but in essence, it is just the opposite: we are facing a large-scale patronage operation, to ensure the maintenance of the Bernat Metge collection, one of the most important literary initiatives in contemporary Catalonia.

But first, perhaps we should delve a little into history: at the beginning of the 20th century, Francesc Cambó saw how translations of Greek and Latin classics into English or French proliferated in Europe, in very carefully produced bilingual editions, and in 1922 he decided to promote a similar undertaking to discover these treasures to the Catalan public. These were the years of the Mancomunitat, and everything was yet to be done and everything was possible. The operation, of monumental ambition, was launched with the collaboration of the great Hellenists and scholars of the time, such as Carles Riba, Eduard Valentí, or Joan Crexells, and since then it has not stopped publishing volumes by Aristotle, Aeschylus, Cicero, and the whole troop (only stopping during the war). Currently, Bernat Metge has more than 400 titles and, punctual to the appointment, continues to release 4 new translations every year.

It is within the framework of patronage that Miquel Barceló's Aurea Dicta is understood, one of the most spectacular books published recently: two people have to carry it, because the bulk is considerable and approaches 20 kilos in weight

In 2017, the editorial team that makes this miracle possible left the Institut Cambó, after a few years in which declining sales and changing reading habits endangered the excellence of the collection, and now, under the shelter of La Casa dels Clàssics, it seeks to revitalize the love for the classics because, as Godard used to say, classique = moderne.

It is within the framework of this new patronage that Miquel Barceló's Aurea Dicta is understood, one of the most spectacular books published recently: two people have to carry it, because the bulk is considerable and approaches 20 kilos in weight. Inside the cardboard emerges a pine box with two very Barcelonian sea bass, with scales made by splitting the wood, and inside this chest is the book, magnetic, printed in 55 inks and incorporating a small altar to worship it.

The original Aurea Dicta collected famous phrases from the ancient world, in Latin and with their Catalan correspondence. Bernat Metge published it in 1960 and it was immediately a bestseller. It is currently out of print and unobtainable, hence this luxury re-edition. Of the 2,639 original quotes, Barceló has chosen 562, organized them into themes such as "Health. Illness. Medicine", "eating and drinking", "happiness" or "madness", and has dedicated himself to illustrating them with an infinity of wonderful watercolors. Those who have followed his work will see the bulls, fish, horses and dances, but here the bullrings of the nineties are transformed into the black hole of the afterlife, and the boats of Mali, into Charon rowing, transporting souls. For Barceló, freedom is a sea and violence, a pink shark. Ego sum qui sum, "I am who I am", says Exodus, and the painter accompanies the quote with a self-portrait with a subtle shadow of a Christian cross on his forehead, which you can see or not.

Collectors who fall in love with this exceptional Barceló – a lot have already been sold, and there are Aurea Dicta flying to Europe and Latin America – will collaborate in defraying the costs of Bernat Metge and will allow the "golden words" of the great sages of antiquity to continue to be translated into Catalan, published at popular prices.

Featured images: Images of the book Aurea Dicta, by Miquel Barceló. Images extracted from the website aureadictademiquelbarcelo.cat