The Saint enshrined: European tabernacle - altarpieces, c. 1150–1400

Altarpieces are among the most outstanding and celebrated achievements of medieval art. They continuously grew larger and more magnifi cent. However, the road that led to them was a complex, multi-path process in which different object types were combined, mixed and merged in a variety of innovative ways. In this process, tabernacle-altarpieces (also known as tabernacle shrines) played a remarkable role. Tabernacle-altarpieces can be defi ned as more or less architecturally shaped enclosures containing one single fi gure that could be closed off with movable wings. The present volume aims to explore such altarpieces as a European object type on the road leading to late medieval altarpieces. Tabernacle-altarpieces were fashionable across Western Europe between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries, from Finland to Spain and from Iceland to Italy. Despite their often (but not always!) modest size, tabernacle-altarpieces heralded essential aspects of later altarpieces, such as the combination of media (sculpture and painting), the juxtaposition of representational and narrative iconography, and the possibility to conceal and disclose holy fi gures inside. Moreover, they were by no means superseded by ‘fully-fl edged’ altarpieces, since the phenomenon lived on during the Late Middle Ages. THE SAINT ENSHRINED European Tabernacle-altarpieces, c. 1150-1400 F. Gutiérrez Baños J. Kroesen (eds) E. Andersen THE SAINT ENSHRINED: EUROPEAN TABERNACLEALTARPIECES, c. 1150–1400 Fernando Gutiérrez Baños Justin Kroesen Elisabeth Andersen (eds) Institut d’Estudis Medievals Los estudios recogidos en esta obra fueron publicados originalmente en el vol. 23/1 de Medievalia. Revista d'Estudis Medievals, revista publicada por el Institut d’Estudis Medievals de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ISSN 0211-3473; eISSN: 2014-8410) http://revistes.uab.cat/medievalia [email protected] © del texto: los autores La obtención de los permisos para reproducir las ilustraciones, cuando sean necesarios, es responsabilidad exclusiva del autor del artículo. Distribuido bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución – No Comercial 4.0 Internacional Institut d’Estudis Medievals Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Edifici B 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès) Barcelona, Spain Maquetación: Jorge Ardévol Diseño de la cubierta: Francisco M. Morillo Foto de la cubierta: Justin Kroesen. Retablo-tabernáculo de la iglesia de Mont-devant-Sassey, Francia Impresión: SAFEKAT, S.L. – Madrid ISBN: 978-84-490-8876-6 Depósito legal: B 11.425-2020 Patrocinadores Colaboradores Impreso en España - Printed in Spain TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION “Tabernacle-altarpieces: Variety within Unity” Fernando Gutiérrez Baños, Justin Kroesen & Elisabeth Andersen ESSAYS “Tabernacle Shrines (1180–1400) as a European Phenomenon: Types, Spread, Survival” Justin Kroesen & Peter Tångeberg “Closing the Tabernacle: European Madonna Tabernacles c. 1150–1350” Elisabeth Andersen “Marian Tabernacles on Main Altars: Norwegian Thirteenth-century Altar Decorations in Their European Context” Stephan Kuhn “Tabernacle-altarpieces in Central Europe: Examples, Types, Iconography” Stephan Kemperdick “(Dis)closed: Tabernacle altarpieces in the Rhineland” Pavla Ralcheva “Central Italian ‘Tabernacula’: A Survey” Cristiana Pasqualetti “Minor or Major? Castilian Tabernacle-altarpieces and the Monumental Arts” Fernando Gutiérrez Baños “El tabernáculo de la Virgen de los Reyes y la memoria documental de otros tabernáculos góticos de la catedral de Sevilla” Teresa Laguna Paúl 9 17 59 101 129 157 183 231 275 “Movement on the Altar: Gothic Tabernacle-altarpieces in the Crown of Aragon (and Their Context)” Alberto Velasco Gonzàlez “Images and Altar Structures in Romanesque Catalonia: A Restored Virgin and Child Sculpture in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya” Jordi Camps i Sòria 331 395 INTRODUCTION  ESSAYS  TABERNACLE SHRINES  AS A EUROPEAN PHENOMENON: TYPES, SPREAD, SURVIVAL LOS RETABLOSTABERNÁCULO , UN FENÓMENO EUROPEO: TIPOS, DIFUSIÓN, SUPERVIVENCIA Justin Kroesen Universitetsmuseet i Bergen [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4141-4221 Peter Tångeberg Independent scholar [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5148-7272 Received: 22/11/2019 – Accepted: 14/01/2020 Abstract Tabernacle shrines from the period 1180–1400 are rare today, and not a single one is entirely preserved with its original polychromy and in the context for which it was made. Most examples are found in Scandinavia, Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula, which indicates that such shrines were a European phenomenon. This is confirmed by isolated survivals found in intermediate locations in France, Germany, and Slovakia. The similarities between these objects from the north, center, and south of Europe enable us to follow their Europe-wide development. The one country that possesses by far the largest number of preserved tabernacle shrines is Sweden. This is why the present study refers to Swedish examples to identify European types. The first type is the ‘Appuna-type’ shrines, dating from c. 1200, that contain an early sculpture of the Sedes Sapientiae. The second group are shrines of the Fröskog-type, which are characterized by the presense of reliefs on the interiors of their wings. The third type, more vertical and of architectural character, is called the ‘Kil-type’ and had its largest spread during the fourteenth century. It was in the relative periphery of the continent, and in modest churches Medievalia 23/1 (2020), 17-57 – ISSN: 2014-8410 (digital) DOI: https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/medievalia.499 in isolated locations, that tabernacle shrines had the best chances of surviving. The fact that academic art history was not invented precisely there has largely prevented tabernacle shrines from making it into our art-historical handbooks to date. Keywords Medieval art, liturgy, altar, altarpiece, tabernacle, sculpture, reliefs, panel painting, Sweden. Resumen Los retablos-tabernáculo del período 1180-1400 son raros hoy en día, y ninguno se conserva entero, con su policromía original y en el contexto para el que fue producido. La mayoría de ejemplos se encuentran en Escandinavia, Italia y la península ibérica, lo que pone de manifiesto que se trataba de un fenómeno europeo. Esta dimensión viene confirmada por algunos ejemplos aislados en territorios intermedios, en Francia, Alemania y Eslovaquia. La similitud de las obras en el norte, centro y sur de Europa es tal que permite esbozar su desarrollo en términos generales. El país europeo que posee la mayor cantidad de retablos-tabernáculo conservados, es, con diferencia, Suecia. Es por esta razón que, en este estudio, nos referimos a ejemplos suecos para identificar tipologías europeas. El primero es el “tipo Appuna”, de alrededor de 1200, que contiene una escultura temprana de la Sedes Sapientiae. El segundo es el “tipo Fröskog”, que se caracteriza sobre todo por la presencia de relieves en el interior de las alas. El tercer tipo, más vertical y con marcado carácter arquitectónico, se denomina el “tipo Kil” y tuvo su mayor difusión en el siglo xiv. Fue en la relativa periferia del continente, y en iglesias modestas en localidades aisladas, donde los retablos-tabernáculo tuvieron las mayores probabilidades de sobrevivir. El hecho de que la Historia del Arte como disciplina académica no fuese escrita precisamente allí ha influido en que hayan permanecido poco estudiados hasta hoy en día. Palabras clave Arte medieval, liturgia, altar, retablo, tabernáculo, escultura, relieves, pintura sobre tabla, Suecia. 18 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg 1. an overlooked object type Existing literature on medieval altars and their decorations focuses almost exclusively on altarpieces or ‘retables’. This object type has come to dominate the aspect of the medieval altar to such an extent that ‘altar’ and ‘retable’ are often used as synonyms in various languages, particularly German. Altarpieces, including the widespread Antwerp triptychs, the imposing late Gothic carved Flügelaltäre of Germany and Austria, and the fine painted polyptychs of central Italy, have thus become part of the inner canon of medieval art history. Altar retables fill the medieval sections of some of the world’s greatest art galleries, including Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, and Florence’s Galleria degli Uffizi, and many beautiful books have been published about them (Limentani Virdis/Pietrogiovanna, 2002; Kahsnitz/Bunz, 2006; Boodt/Schäfer, 2007).1 Other categories of altar decoration have remained conspicuously underrepresented. An example is the oldest continuous form of altar furnishings, the canopy or baldachin, which has hardly been studied on a European level since the publication of Joseph Braun’s seminal work Der christliche Altar in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung in 1924.2 The same is true of altar frontals, among which the painted ones were the object of a more recent multi-disciplinary Norwegian research project (Plahter/Hohler/Morgan/Wichstrøm, eds, 2004). A common aspect of research in the above-mentioned categories is that they have generally been regarded as mere forerunners to the altar retable; canopies and frontals would have been replaced by tryptychs or polyptychs as if these were the natural outcome of all developments (Kroesen, 2014a; Kroesen, 2014b). It has been suggested that canopies were physically ousted by the growing dimensions of altarpieces, while some frontals might have ‘jumped up’ to the top of the altar to be reused as retables (Kroesen/Schmidt, 2009, with bibliography). Much in this rendering of things is problematic, for a number of reasons. First, canopies and baldachins were much more widespread than is often assumed, and they were sometimes successfully combined with fully-fledged altarpieces. Second, it is impossible to distinguish altar frontals formally from early altar retables, and it is almost always uncertain exactly if, why and when the former may have been moved. Moreover, frontals remained in vogue long after the retable had emerged, and a considerable number of cases are known where both were com- 1The spectacular Iberian ‘wall retables’ (such as in Toledo, Sevilla, and Oviedo cathedrals) have received conspicuously less attention. See Berg Sobré, 1989 and Kroesen, 2009. 2 Chapters on canopies and baldachins in vol. 2, pp. 185–275. See now also: Kroesen, 2019a. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 19 bined (Schmidt, 2009). Third, retables themselves show a great variety of forms and types; for example, altarpieces without wings may have been much more common in Central and Northern Europe than is often acknowledged.3Even more problematic is the fact that the pluriformity and multi-mediality of altar decorations is hardly ever taken into account. In many churches, it was wall paintings, stained glass windows and textiles rather than painted and sculptured panels that served as visual backgrounds to high- and side altars (Kroesen, 2014a). Another category that, despite its European spread, has remained largely overlooked is the so-called tabernacle shrine. This is the most common name to designate a saint’s sculpture standing inside a cupboard that is equipped with a baldachin and moveable wings. Scandinavian authors including Karl Meinander in Finland (Meinander, 1908), Harry Fett in Norway (Fett, 1911) and Evert Wrangel in Sweden (Wrangel, 1915) were the first to study this object type in their respective countries. However, it was fully ignored in Joseph Braun’s earlier mentioned 1924 European survey. In 1967, Mojmir Frinta published a short but seminal article on what he called ‘the closing tabernacle’, followed by two pieces by Claude Lapaire on ‘retables à baldaquin’ and ‘retables à tabernacle polygonal’ in 1969 and 1972, respectively (Frinta, 1967; Lapaire, 1969; Lapaire, 1972). Over the last three decades, the most valuable contributions to the study of the subject have been on tabernacle shrines in Sweden (Tångeberg, 1989) and central Italy (Krüger, 1992), on their role as constituents in composite ‘altar ensembles’ (Fuchß, 1999), their relationship with early (winged) altarpieces in Germany (Wolf, 2002) and France (Le Pogam/Vivet-Peclet, eds, 2009), on Marian tabernacles in Scandinavia (Andersen, 2015), and, most recently, on tabernacle shrines in medieval Castile (Gutiérrez Baños, 2018).4 There are various reasons for the relative silence about this type of medieval altar decoration. The first is the fact that scholarship never developed a proper technical term to designate such objects. In medieval texts, the object type cannot be easily retrieved, since the word tabernaculum could have more than one meaning, including that of ‘Sacrament house’ – the receptacle in which the Host was stored. The medieval Icelandic description of sculptures standing ‘in husi oc hurðum’ (in 3This is best evidenced by stone retables in France whose study remains a desideratum to date, as well as by fourteenth-century altarpieces preserved in Sweden, see Tångeberg, 2005. 4 It was in the framework of Gutiérrez Baños’s research project entitled ‘Retablos-tabernáculo de la Baja Edad Media en la Corona de Castilla: estudio, documentación y difusión’ that the international symposium The Saint Enshrined: European Tabernacle-altarpieces, c. 1150–1400 took place in Valladolid on 7–8 June, 2019, the fruits of which are published in the present volume. 20 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg a little house with doors) found in the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century máldagar inventories is perhaps the most explicit and clearest of all (Wallem, 1910, p. 44). For medievals, the shrine was certainly the least interesting since it was its holy contents that mattered most. ‘Tabernacle shrine’ is the most commonly used term in scholarly literature, along with ‘closing tabernacle’; ‘Tabernakelschrein’ and ‘Baldachinretabel’ in German, while in that language ‘Turmretabel’ (tower retable) has also been proposed (Steinmetz, 1995). The French usually speak of ‘retable à baldaquin’, while Spanish uses ‘retablo-tabernáculo’ and also has the term ‘retablo-templete’. Most Scandinavian authors use the short but accurate terms ‘helgonskåp’ (Swedish) and ‘helgenskap’ (Norwegian, Danish) meaning ‘saint’s cupboard’. For the sake of clarity, this article will use the most widespread term ‘tabernacle shrine’. Another reason for the oblivion surrounding medieval tabernacle shrines as altar decorations is their relatively poor survival. Today, most medieval shrines survive in a severely damaged or even fragmentary state. Many wings are lost, as well as their original carved or painted decorations; many crownings are now missing; and figures and shrines have often been moved or overpainted. Almost none of the over seventy Italian Marian shrines listed by Klaus Krüger in his pioneering study of 1992 has retained its wings (Krüger, 1992, pp. 219–230). While the situation is somewhat less dramatic in Scandinavia and Spain, there too, hardly a single tabernacle shrine is preserved in its entirety. This is aptly expressed by the title of Fernando Gutiérrez Baños’s recent survey of medieval tabernacle shrines in Castile: ‘pasear entre ruinas’ (walking among ruins [of what once was]) (Gutiérrez Baños, 2018). In addition, not a single tabernacle shrine from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries is preserved entirely in situ inside a medieval church anywhere in Europe. Perhaps the closest is the Marian shrine from around 1290–1300 in the crypt of the church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption at Mont-devant-Sassey on the river Meuse in northern France (Fig. 1). Here, the height of the shrine perfectly matches its spatial setting under the vaults and the base fits precisely behind the removable stone slab (ara) to fill the depth of the altar mensa. However, the wings are now lost, although they can still be recognized on old photographs (Locatelli/Pousset, 2014). By far the most tabernacle shrines are decontextualized as a result of them having been moved around, hidden and rediscovered. In Sweden, for example, most tabernacle shrines are now in churches that were rebuilt after the Middle Ages, while many others were transferred to museums.5 5The collections of the State Historical Museum (Statens Historiska Museet) in Stockholm include more tabernacle shrines than any other European museum. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 21 Another aspect that has caused the oblivion of this category of altar decorations is the uneven spread of examples across the continent. Most early tabernacle shrines are preserved in central Italy (Tuscany, Umbria, Latium, Abruzzo), northern Spain (Castile, the Basque Country and Catalonia) and Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Finland). It was here, in the relative periphery of the continent, that they clearly had the best chances to survive, sheltered, in many instances, by mountainous environments. The seclusion of places that are remote and hard to access, a certain degree of poverty, and, by consequence, the low turnover of artistic renewal have, together, resulted in the over-average survival of tabernacles in these regions. The relative rarity of extant tabernacle shrines in the countries where academic art history was largely written – Germany, France and Britain – has certainly also contributed to the research bias of largely ignoring tabernacle shrines as medieval altar decorations.6 The European country that preserves by far the richest stock of medieval tabernacle shrines is Sweden, which possesses about 35 per cent of all extant examples in Europe: in an ongoing research project we have been able to register 495 medieval tabernacle shrines (up until around 1530) in all of Western Europe, of which c. 170 are found in Sweden.7 This means that, contrary to what is often believed, many shrines were maintained in churches through the Lutheran Reformation.8 Moreover, the Nordic country possesses some of the best specimens of all types of shrines that can be distinguished based on their date, number of doors, ground plans, etc. For these reasons, it can be stated that Swedish tabernacle shrines are a European phenomenon, and this is why in our project we have named each type after its best Swedish representative. Among the early shrines from the period between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, we distinguish the ‘Appuna type’, the ‘Fröskog type’ and the ‘Kil type’. Common aspects to all three types are a more or less square ground plan and the presence of four hinged doors, of which the two narrow outer ones together covered the front of the shrine.9 6 Typically, an early researcher of medieval altar decorations, Eberhard Hempel, considered the tabernacle shrine as a ‘nordisches Gebilde’ (a nordic phenomenon), see Hempel, 1938, p. 140. On their survival in the north and south, see now Sureda i Jubany, 2019, pp. 53–55. 7 Our research project, which is funded by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation (San Francisco, USA) and the Böckler-Mare-Balticum-Stiftung (Bad Homburg, Germany), was started in 2015. The book with the results will be published in 2021. 8 For this topic, see Kroesen, 2018. 9 In this article only those shrines are discussed that are completely preserved or can be reconstructed. A small number of Italian shrines from the fourteenth century with only two doors or polygonal groundplans have not been taken into account. 22 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg 2. the appuna type The Appuna type, the earliest of the three mentioned types, was in vogue between c. 1180 and c. 1250. It is named after the enthroned Virgin and Child from c. 1180–1200 that originates from Appuna (Östergötland) and is now preserved in the State Historical Museum in Stockholm (Fig. 2).10 Characteristic features include the strictly frontal pose of the Mother and Child and the shape of the throne with rounded posts and knobs (Andersson, 1975, p. 11). Behind the throne is a 117 cm tall back panel or ‘dossal’ that ends in a pointed gable. Preserved paint fragments on the sculpture and the panel clearly indicate that both originally belonged together, as is further confirmed by the fact that the back posts of the throne are flattened in order to make them fit better to the dossal (Tångeberg, 1989, p. 33).11 At the backside of the panel are four rectangular notches, two on each side, that remind one of the presence of hinges. This indicates the former existence of a shrine with folding doors, two wider shutters covering the sides and two narrower ones that together covered the front.12 Wooden pins at the top of the dossal indicate that there was originally a baldachin. While its shape is unknown, the pointed back gable would suggest a saddle roof or perhaps a composite form of two crossing saddle roofs. Traces of nails at the bottom of the throne indicate that it rested on a pedestal. The tabernacle shrine from Appuna is the earliest of its kind in Sweden and one of the oldest examples in Europe. By far the most and the closest parallels are found in Italy, but none is better preserved; therefore, the shape of the baldachins of the Appuna type must remain unclear. Of some seventy-three Italian Madonna shrines listed by Klaus Krüger, around sixty-five are dated to around 1200 or the first half of the thirteenth century.13 These Italian shrines show a number of striking similarities to the example from Appuna, including the four hinges that are mostly fixed at the backside of the dossal. Only about 10 per cent of the Italian Appuna shrines are preserved to a degree that allows for a general reconstruction. Among the best survivals is a Marian shrine of Umbrian origins from 10 Stockholm, Statens Historiska Museum, inv. nr SHM 7890. 11 The same feature is also found in other contemporary Virgins including the famous Viklau Madonna in the same museum, inv. nr SHM 18951. 12 Aron Andersson (Andersson, 1975, p. 11) described these features without concluding that this makes the Appuna shrine the oldest known example of a tabernacle shrine, a fact that was first acknowledged by Norberg, 1939, pp. 85–86. 13 Krüger highlighted the fact that the Italian shrines represent a type that was spread over large parts of Europe, see Krüger, 1992, p. 19. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 23 1200–1220, now preserved in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich (Fig. 3) (Krüger, 1992, p. 225).14 The Virgin sits before a dossal (h. 147 cm), the front of which is decorated with a painted pattern of yellow circles filled with birds and fantastic creatures on a reddish background. Traces of a saddle roof along the upper rim show that the sculpture was originally protected by a baldachin. The Virgin and Child from Appuna represent a type of the Mother of God enthroned that is found throughout Scandinavia, all the way up to Finland and Iceland, as well as in western Germany and in the southern Netherlands (Kunz, 2007). There are no reasons to believe that Appuna should have been an exception, so that tabernacle shrines may be assumed to have known a considerable spread as early as the late twelfth century.15 In Sweden, besides Appuna, the only contemporary Virgins that preserve parts of their back panels are found in Tveta (Södermanland) and Hilleshög (Uppland). In Norway, a late-twelfth-century wing, now kept at the University Museum in Bergen, belonged to a shrine that probably contained the Virgin from Urnes (Vestland) from around the same date preserved in the same museum.16 Arches in low relief divide its surface (h. 129 cm) into four fields that seem to have been filled with a combination of paintings (above) and reliefs (below) (Blindheim, 1993; Andersen, 2015, p. 171). Although most Appuna shrines hold (or held) a sculpture of the Virgin and Child, some contain other saints. In Näsby (Småland, Sweden) we find an enthroned bishop (St Nicholas?) with a hinged dossal (h. 92 cm) of the same type as in Appuna. Another enshrined bishop, originally from Edestad (Blekinge, Sweden) and now kept at the Blekinge Museum in Karlskrona, marks the transition to the second type (Fröskog, see below) and can be dated to c. 1230 (Fig. 4).17 The pointed ending of the back panel (h. 143 cm) corresponds to the shrine from Appuna; its saddle roof with a trefoil arch spared out from the gabled front and round arches from the sides may provide an impression of what the baldachins of many other Appuna shrines could have looked like. The Edestad shrine has preserved one of its doors that ends in a round arch, corresponding to the side of the baldachin. Carved out from the inside of the door are two trefoil-arched niches 14 Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, inv. nr MA 4054. 15 See Tångeberg, 1989, p. 32: ‘Es ist ungewiss, inwieweit es schon im 12. und im 13. Jahrhundert allgemein üblich war, dass Skulpturen in Schreinen mit verschliessbaren Türen (sog. Heiligenschreinen) aufgestellt waren. (…) Einige Beobachtungen scheinen jedoch dafür zu sprechen, dass die Heiligenschreine bereits in dieser Zeit gewöhnlich waren’. 16 Bergen, Universitetsmuseet i Bergen, inv. nrs MA 297b (shrine door), MA 46 (Virgin), and several smaller fragments. 17 Karlskrona, Blekinge museum, inv. nr 1246. 24 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg 4. the kil type The baldachins of the youngest Fröskog shrines discussed, including Castildelgado and Mont-devant-Sassey, stand out for their architectural appearance. This feature would become a characteristic aspect of tabernacle shrines after 1300. They thus announce the rise of a new, more slender type of tabernacle shrine that would remain in vogue during much of the fourteenth century. It usually houses a standing figure and is mostly equipped with wings in the shape of flat painted panels. In Sweden, this type is epitomized by the shrine in Kil (Närke) from c. 1350 (Fig. 10) (Tångeberg, 1989, p. 37). Measuring 202 cm in height, it contains an unidentified standing apostle and is marked by a strong vertical thrust. Of the four wings only the wider one on the right side survives, decorated with (heavily worn-off) secondary paintings divided over two registers.35 The baldachin is composed of four pointed gables lined with crocketed decorative slats and round arches at the bottom. The baldachin gables of Castildelgado and Mont-devant-Sassey are pierced through with traceries – rose windows in the first and openwork wimpergs in the latter – and both have round-carved trefoil arches inside the openings below. The same characteristics recur in several Swedish shrines from the first half of the fourteenth century. An example containing the enthroned St Olaf in Tidersrum (Östergötland) has a height of 209 cm and was dated by dendrochronology to 1320–1330.36 The construction of this shrine is strongly reminiscent of Montdevant-Sassey, with its cross-saddle roof carrying a painted square tower at the crossing and inserted corner turrets. A Marian shrine of the same type from c. 1340–1350 originally belonged to the church at Ny (Värmland) and is now preserved in the Såguddens museum in Arvika.37 Its back panel (h. 162 cm) ends in a pointed gable, the form of which corresponds with those at the front and sides.38 All gables except for the one at the rear are pierced with rose windows containing quatrefoils on the sides (the one at the front is damaged). Similar characteristics are found in the shrine from Vanaja (Tavastia, Finland), which houses a sculpture of St Olaf enthroned. It dates from around 1320 35 The painted rosettes on the base and the baldachin, the rhombs and nimbus on the dossal and the angels with banderoles on the gables were all added in the late Middle Ages. 36 Research conducted by the Östergötlands museum in Linköping (Sweden). It is not entirely certain if the shrine and the figure originally belonged together. 37 Arvika, Såguddens museum, inv. nr 385. 38 The fact that the front gable is higher and the back gable lower than those on the sides makes it unlikely that the baldachin ever had a roof. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 31 and is now preserved in the National Museum of Finland in Helsinki (Fig. 11).39 The shrine, with a height of 170 cm, has a cross-shaped baldachin covered with saddle roofs with crocketed slats at the front gable. Its front rests on two slender columns with finely carved bases and capitals and inside is an elaborate eightpart ribbed vault with a round disc at the apex. Three sides of the shrine have lancet openings lined with round-carved pointed trefoil arches that reinforce its architectural appearance. The shrine from Vanaja still possesses the inner pair of originally four wings; as in Swedish Kil, these are carried out as flat wooden panels and here too, the paintings have almost fully vanished. The European spread of the Kil type is illustrated by examples from Slovakia and Germany. The first one, dating from c. 1300, originally belonged to the church of Vojňany (Spiš, Slovakia) and is now preserved in the National Gallery of Slovakia in Bratislava (Fig. 12).40 It measures 148 cm in height; the figure it contained – probably representing the Virgin and Child – is now lost. The front and side gables of the baldachin are decorated with crocketed slats and their architectural appearance is reinforced by painted black windows on a white background, a motif that is also found on several thirteenth-century shrines from Norway. The baldachin is supported at the front by two (renewed) thin columns. The relief decorations on the insides of the doors – standing figures of two unidentified female saints on the inner doors (St Agnes on the left?) and Sts Peter and Paul on the outer ones – are still reminiscent of the Fröskog type, although here they represent individual saints rather than narrative scenes. A now wingless shrine with a statue of St Pancras from Steinkirchen (Brandenburg, Germany) dating from c. 1300 is preserved in the Bode Museum in Berlin (Fig. 1 Kemperdick, in this volume) (Kunz, 2014, pp. 219–227).41 It measures 175 cm in height and has a baldachin that rests on two slender columns with bases and capitals at the front. While there are trefoil arches in the openings on the sides, the round-arched opening at the front is filled with a round-carved trefoil arch, as in the above-mentioned contemporary examples from Tidersrum, Vana- ja, Mont-devant-Sassey and Castildelgado. Other than in those cases, however, the ground plan of the German shrine is not more or less square but rectangular, 39 Helsinki, Suomen kansallismuseo, inv. nr KM 5039:1. 40 Bratislava, Slovenská Národná Galéria, inv. nr P 131–134. Dates suggested for this object vary from c. 1260 to the first half of the fourteenth century. Comparison with other shrines of a similar type makes the mentioned date around 1300 most plausible. 41 Berlin, Bodemuseum, inv. nr 3198. The actual paintings found on the shrine and figure are late medieval. 32 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg and its baldachin is flat-topped. An architectural feature is added by the crenellations that line the top of the shrine. A similarly shaped baldachin is found in a shrine from an unknown church in the province of Huesca (Aragon, Spain), now preserved in the National Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona (Fig. 17 Velasco Gonzàlez, in this volume) (Frinta, 1967, p. 100; Krüger, 1992, p. 24; Favà Monllau, 2019; Velasco Gonzàlez, in this volume).42 It is relatively small (h. 122 cm) and can be dated to the second quarter of the fourteenth century. As in Steinkirchen, this shrine also holds a standing figure – in this case St Nicholas – and here too the front of the baldachin is supported by two slender columns while the top is decorated with crenellations. The arches are filled with round-carved traceries of five-lobed arches at the front and three-lobed ones on both sides. The painted rhomb pattern on the back panel reminds of the Fröskog shrines, while the flat painted wings correspond with the Kil type. Only the two wide inner shutters are preserved, showing four scenes from the life of St Nicholas, separated by text bands. Two fourteenth-century examples from the Basque Country, both now without wings, show that tabernacle shrines with a vertical thrust and gabled baldachins also spread further west on the Iberian Peninsula. The example in Villamanca (Álava province), dating from c. 1330, is relatively high (h. 174 cm) and narrow and holds a figure of the standing apostle James the Greater (Fig. 13) (Portilla Vitoria, 1995, p. 855; Gutiérrez Baños, 2018, p. 46). The three gables of the baldachin, which rests on slim round columns at the front, are decorated with rosettes on a red background and crowned with pointed crockets. Of a contemporary shrine from Gazeta in the same province and now kept in the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art in Vitoria/Gasteiz, only the baldachin and part of the back panel survive (López de Ocáriz/Sáenz Pascual/García Maudes, 2006; Gutiérrez Baños, 2018, p. 51).43 The Gazeta shrine closely resembles the one in Villamanca, but here only one of the rosetted side gables is preserved while the front carries the Face of Christ. The ceiling features a painted star, a motif that is also found in the above-mentioned shrine from Norwegian Dal. The Diocesan Museum in Donostia/San Sebastián possesses a fourteenthcentury shrine from Arrasate/Mondragón (Gipuzkoa province) containing a 42 Barcelona, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, inv. nr MNAC 24041. 43 Vitoria, Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro/Elizbarrutiko Arte Sakratuaren Museoa, inv. nr 619. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 33 standing figure of an unidentified male (probably Dominican) saint.44 The boxshaped baldachin that rests on slender columns at the front has three gables lined with coarsely shaped crocketed slats.45 Five painted panels from c. 1400 originating from Zuazo de Cuartango/Zuhatzu Kuartango (Álava province), now kept in a private collection, can be interpreted as the back panel (h. 109 cm) and four wings of a tabernacle shrine of the same type. They feature scenes from the life of St Peter on the insides and portraits of two standing saints on the outsides of the outer wings. These panels are an important indication that such fourteenthcentury Basque-Castilian shrines were usually equipped with flat painted wings, as was common with shrines of the Kil type also elsewhere. Some Italian shrines may also be classified as Kil type; although their four painted wings do correspond with the Swedish namesake, the architectural shape of the canopies is much less pronounced. The best preserved example is a Marian shrine from c. 1330 now kept in the Diocesan Museum of Foligno that originally belonged to the chapel of Santa Maria Giacobbe in Pale di Foligno (Umbria) (Fig. 14) (Krüger, 1992, p. 226; Pasqualetti, in this volume). The back panel (h. 147 cm) is crowned by a simple rectangular baldachin in the shape of a flat panel painted with stylized stars; of the four hinged shutters in the shape of painted panels only six fragments returned after repeated thefts. Of two similar shrines only the central figure and the four wings survive. The first one, containing a standing image of St Eustace, originated around the same date and belonged to the church at Campo di Giove (Abruzzo) (Krüger, 1992, pp. 23, 33, 83; Nicoletti, 2014). A further example with roughly the same characteristics from c. 1330 featured St Christina and originally stood in the church of the same name in Caso (Abruzzo) (Krüger, 1992, p. 23; Delpriori, 2015, p. 138). Both shrines were equipped with four wings of equal width, as in Pale di Foligno, which indicates that these shrines must also have had a rectangular ground plan. The wings all feature painted scenes from the life and martyrdom of the titular saints. In Germany, the only surviving tabernacle shrine that belongs to the Kil type is the so-called ‘Kleiner Dom’ (little cathedral) from 1360–1370. It originally belonged to the convent of the Poor Clares in Cologne and is now preserved in the Bavarian National Museum in Munich (Ringer, 2001; Ralcheva, in this volume).46 The conspicuously wide rectangular shrine (h. 148 cm) has a marked 44 Donostia/San Sebastián, Elizbarrutiko museoa, s.n. Thanks to Jesús Muñiz Petralanda who brought this shrine to our attention. 45 The current paintings are post-medieval. 46 Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, inv. nr L MA 1968 a-d. 34 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg architectural appearance caused by its crowning in the shape of two openwork buttressed spires. It contains a sculpture group showing the Annunciation under a baldachin decorated with pointed gables at the sides and a wide ogee arch at the front, all with intricate traceries. The shrine has four hinged doors that carry painted figures and scenes from the life of the Virgin on a golden background on the insides and – again – the Annunciation on the outsides. Stephan Kemperdick has identified a number of panels carrying paintings from c. 1360–1370 on both sides now preserved in various German museums as the remnants of another four tabernacle shrines of the same type (Kemperdick, 2002a; Kemperdick, 2002b; Kemperdick, in this volume). Two tabernacle shrines of exquisite execution from Burgundian-Nether- landish origins show that similar characteristics – architectural canopies, painted wings – were also common in these regions around 1390–1400. The first is a narrow Marian shrine (figure lost), possibly from around the Burgundian ducal court at Dijon and now in the Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp, which has a height of 137 cm (Deneffe/Peters/Fremout, eds, 2009, pp. 83–124).47 The gabled canopy rests on slender columns and is crowned by a soaring openwork buttressed spire; the wings show four scenes from the Life of the Virgin on a golden background. The small, so-called ‘Chapelle Cardon’ (h. 99 cm), now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, was probably produced around the Lower Rhine around 1400 (Fig. 15) (Le Pogam/Vivet-Peclet, eds, 2009, p. 171; Ralcheva, in this volume).48 The enthroned Virgin is crowned by an intricate baldachin with traceries under crocketed ogee arches that surround a openwork buttressed spire ending in an elegant finial. The insides of the wings show six scenes from the Birth and Infancy of Christ, all against a golden background. Both shrines may have served as crowning elements for winged altarpieces (Kroesen, 2017, pp. 241–244). 5. some conclusions It is not easy to gain a comprehensive understanding of the development and spread of tabernacle shrines between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries in Western Europe. Preserved examples are scattered out and mostly preserved in 47 Antwerpen, Museum Mayer van den Bergh, inv. nr MMB 0002. 48 Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv. nr. RF 2314. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 35 an incomplete state. When plotted on the map of Europe, three clear concentrations come to light: in Scandinavia (across Sweden, Norway and Finland as well as in Iceland), on the Iberian Peninsula (especially in northern Castile, the Basque Country and Catalonia) and in central Italy (Umbria, Abruzzo) (Fig. 16). The shrines show a considerable variety in size, design, refinement and use of materials. Although most tabernacle shrines contain a figure of the Virgin and Child, they were also used to display other saints. Much more striking than their variety, however, is the remarkable degree of similarity found in shrines from the north and south (Kroesen/Leeflang/Sureda, 2019a, pp. 13–14). All examples are (or were) equipped with four wings, of which the outer pair together covered the front. They all consist(ed) of a plinth, back wall and canopy with arched openings on three sides. In their painted decorations, several motifs, including black windows on a white background and celestial bodies on the ceiling under the baldachins, are found across Europe. Moreover, the formal development of the shrines roughly followed the same lines from north to south. In Scandinavia, Spain, Italy and elsewhere they evolved from a Romanesque model in the twelfth century to an early Gothic one with relief scenes inside the wings during the thirteenth century to a more vertical, more architectural structure with painted panel doors in the fourteenth. These three models – called Appuna, Fröskog and Kil after their best representatives among the rich Swedish material – appeared on the scene around the same time in all parts of Europe. Since no direct connections existed between Scandinavia, Spain and Italy during the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries – at least none more specific than those between all parts of the continent – these shrines in the north and south must be regarded as the rare surviving examples of what was once a common type of early altarpiece throughout the Latin West, from Iceland to Italy and from Spain to Slovakia. This is confirmed by the discussed ‘lone survivors’ found in countries that lie in between: Mont-devant-Sassey (France), Steinkirchen (Germany) and Vojňany (Slovakia). It was in the periphery of the continent, mostly in small and modest country churches and often helped by a certain degree of isolation and economic stagnation, that such examples had the best chances of survival.49 The fact that academic art history was not invented precisely there 49 Europe’s ‘empty centre’ may be explained by the ravages of iconoclasm, wars and revolutions, as well as by large-scale artistic renewal, especially during the Baroque period. 36 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg has largely prevented tabernacle shrines from making it into our art-historical handbooks. 6. bibliography Andersen, E., 2015: “Madonna Tabernacles in Scandinavia c. 1150-c. 1350”, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 168/1, pp. 165–185. Andersson, A., 1975: “Romanesque and Gothic Sculpture”, in A. Andersson & M. Rydbeck, Medieval Wooden Sculpture in Sweden, vol. 4: The Museum Collection, Catalogue, Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell international, pp. 9–90. Bendixen, B., 1911: “Aus der mittelalterlichen Sammlung des Museums in Bergen”, Bergens Museums aarbog, 12, pp. 3–71. Berg Sobré, J., 1989: Behind the Altar Table. The Development of the Painted Retable in Spain, 1350–1500, Columbia (MO): University of Missouri Press. Blindheim, M., 1993: “En romansk alterskapsdør. Et løst identifakasjonsproblem”, in Det ikonografiske blik. Festskrift til Ulla Haastrup, Copenhagen: Falcon, pp. 19–26. ——, 2004: Gothic Painted Wooden Sculpture in Norway 1220–1350, Oslo: Messel. Boodt, R. de & Schäfer, U., 2007: Vlaamse retabels: een internationale reis langs laatmiddeleeuws beeldsnijwerk, Louvain: Davidsfonds. Braun, J., 1924: Der christliche Altar in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung, 2 vols, Munich: Widmann. Delpriori, A., 2015: La scuola di Spoleto. Immagini dipinte e scolpite nel Trecento tra Valle Umbra e Valnerina, Perugia: Quattroemme. Deneffe, D., Peters, F. & Fremout, W. (eds), 2009: Pre-Eyckian Panel Painting in the Low Countries, vol. 1: Catalogue, Turnhout: Brepols. Favà Monllau, C., 2019: “A tower for a universal bishop”, in J. Kroesen, M. Leeflang, & M. Sureda (eds), North & South. Medieval Art from Norway and Catalonia 1100–1350 (=exhibition catalogue Museum Catharijneconvent and Museu Episcopal de Vic), Zwolle: WBooks, pp. 123–125. Fett, H., 1911, “Overgangsformer i unggotikkens kunst i Norge”, Foreningen til norske Fortidsmindesmerkers Bevaring Årbok, 67, pp. 1–21. Forsyth, I. H., 1972: The Throne of Wisdom. Wood sculptures of the Madonna in Romanesque France, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Franco Mata, Á., 2007: “Retablo de Yurre”, in F. López López de Ullíbarri (ed.), Exposición Canciller Ayala (=exhibition catalogue cathedral of Vitoria), Vitoria: Diputación Foral de Álava, pp. 254–255. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 37 Frinta, M., 1967: “The Closing Tabernacle. A Fanciful Innovation of Medieval Design”, The Art Quarterly, 30, pp. 103–117. Fuchß, V., 1999: Das Altarensemble. Eine Analyse des Kompositcharakters früh- und hochmittelalterlicher Altarausstattung, Weimar: VDG. Gutiérrez Baños, F., 2018: “Pasear entre ruinas: retablos-tabernáculo castellanos de la Baja Edad Media”, BSAA arte, 84, pp. 41–83. Hempel, E., 1938: “Der Flügelaltarschrein, ein Stück deutscher, vlämischer und nordischer Kunst”, Jomsburg, 2, pp. 137–151. Kahsnitz, R. & Bunz, A., 2006: Carved Splendor: Late Gothic Altarpieces in Southern Germany, Austria and South Tirol, Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum. Kaland, B., 1973: Baldakin fra Hopperstad, Madonna fra Hove (=Fortidsminner LIX), Oslo: Foreningen til norske fortidsminnesmerkers bevaring. Kemperdick, S., 2002a: Avantgarde 1360. Ein rekonstruierter Baldachinaltar aus Nürnberg (=exhibition catalogue Städel Museum Frankfurt am Main), Frankfurt am Main: Das Städel. ——, 2002b: “Nürnberger Meister um 1350/60. Die Krönung Mariens/Der kreuztragende Christus (Fragment eines Altarflügels)”, in B. Brinkmann & S. Kemperdick, Deutsche Gemälde im Städel 1300-1500 (=catalogue Städel Museum Frankfurt am Main), Mainz am Rhein: von Zabern, pp. 33–54. Kollandsrud, K., 2018: Evoking the Divine. The Visual Vocabulary of Sacred Polychrome Wooden Sculpture in Norway between 1100 and 1350, Ph.D. diss., Universitetet i Oslo. Kroesen, J., 2009: Staging the Liturgy. The Medieval Altarpiece in the Iberian Peninsula, Louvain/Paris/Walpole (MA): Peeters Publishers. ——, 2014a: “The Altar and Its Decorations in Medieval Churches. A Functionalist Approach”, Medievalia. Revista d’Estudis Medievals, 17, pp. 153–183. ——, 2014b: “The Longue Durée of ‘Romanesque’ Altar Decorations. Frontals, Canopies, and Altar Sculptures”, in K. Kollandsrud & N. Streeton (eds), Paint and Piety. Collected Essays on Medieval Painting and Polychrome Sculpture, London: Archetype, pp. 15–38. ——, 2017: “Retabel und Tabernakelschrein. Auf Spurensuche nach einer niederländischen Sonderkonfiguration in der spätmittelalterlichen Altarausstattung”, in J. Kroesen, E. Nyborg & M. L. Sauerberg (eds), From Conservation to Interpretation. Studies of Religious Art (c. 1100-c. 1800) in Northern and Central Europe in Honour of Peter Tångeberg (=Art & Religion 7), Louvain/Paris/ Bristol (CT): Peeters Publishers, pp. 217–258. ——, 2018: “The Survival of Medieval Furnishings in Lutheran Churches. Notes towards a Comparison between Germany and Scandinavia”, ICO Iconogra- 38 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg phisk post – Nordisk tidskrift för bildtolkning/Nordic Review of Iconography, 3-4, pp. 4-39. ——, 2019a: “Altar Canopies: Baldachins and Ciboria”, in J. Kroesen, M. Leeflang, & M. Sureda (eds), North & South. Medieval Art from Norway and Catalonia 1100–1350 (=exhibition catalogue Museum Catharijneconvent and Museu Episcopal de Vic), Zwolle: WBooks, pp. 56–65. ——, 2019b: “The diva from the Sognefjord”, in J. Kroesen, M. Leeflang, & M. Sureda (eds), North & South. Medieval Art from Norway and Catalonia 1100–1350 (=exhibition catalogue Museum Catharijneconvent and Museu Episcopal de Vic), Zwolle: WBooks, pp. 113–115. Kroesen, J., Leeflang, M. & Sureda, M., 2019a: “European Church Art 1100– 1350. Unity in Diversity”, in J. Kroesen, M. Leeflang, & M. Sureda (eds), North & South. Medieval Art from Norway and Catalonia 1100–1350 (=exhibition catalogue Museum Catharijneconvent and Museu Episcopal de Vic), Zwolle: WBooks, pp. 11–15. —— (eds), 2019b: North & South. Medieval Art from Norway and Catalonia 1100–1350 (=exhibition catalogue Museum Catharijneconvent and Museu Episcopal de Vic), Zwolle: WBooks. Kroesen, J. & Schmidt, V., 2009: “Introduction”, in J. Kroesen & V. Schmidt (eds), The Altar and Its Environment, 1150–1400, Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 1–10. Krüger, K., 1992: Der frühe Bildkult des Franziskus in Italien: Gestalt- und Funktionswandel des Tafelbildes im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert, Berlin: Mann. Kuhn, S., 2019: “In a small house with doors (‘i husi oc hurðum’)”, in J. Kroesen, M. Leeflang, & M. Sureda (eds), North & South. Medieval Art from Norway and Catalonia 1100–1350 (=exhibition catalogue Museum Catharijneconvent and Museu Episcopal de Vic), Zwolle: WBooks, pp. 110–112. Kunz, T., 2007: Skulptur um 1200. Das Kölner Atelier der Viklau-Madonna auf Gotland und der ästhetische Wandel in der 2. Hälfte des 12. Jahrhunderts, Petersberg: Michael Imhof. ——, 2014: Bildwerke nördlich der Alpen 1050 bis 1380. Kritischer Bestandskatalog. Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Petersberg: Michael Imhof. Lange, B. C., 1994: “Madonnaskap med kirkemodell som baldakinkroning”, Foreningen til norske Fortidsmindesmerkers Bevaring Årbok, 148, pp. 23–36. Lapaire, C., 1969: “Les retables à baldaquin gothiques”, Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 26, pp. 169–190. ——, 1972: “Les retables à tabernacle polygonal de l’époque gothique”, Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 29, pp. 40–64. tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 39 Le Pogam, P.-Y. & Vivet-Peclet, Ch. (eds), 2009: Les premiers retables (XIIe-début du XVe siècle). Une mise en scène du sacré (=exhibition catalogue Musée du Louvre), Paris: Musée du Louvre Éd. Limentani Virdis, C. & Pietrogiovanna, M. 2002: Flügelaltäre: Bemalte Polyptychen der Gotik und Renaissance, Munich: Hirmer. Locatelli, Ch. & Pousset, D., 2014: Étude archéodendrométrique du retable-ta- bernacle de l’église Notre-Dame de l’Assomption de Mont-devant-Sassey (55), Besançon: Laboratoire d’expertise du bois et de datation par dendrochronologie. López de Ocáriz, J. J., Sáenz Pascual, R. & García Maudes, C., 2006: Gácetako irudi hormartekatuak/Imágenes emparedadas de Gáceta, Vitoria: Diputación Foral de Álava. Meinander, K. K., 1908: Medeltida altarskåp och träsniderier i Finlands kyrkor, Helsinki: K. F. Puromies boktryckeri. Mor, L., 2016: “Retablo a portelle castigliano – Shrine Castilian Retable”, in Alpha – Omega: A Collection of Works of Art (=catalogue Chiale Fine Art), Racconigi and Paris, pp. 44–53. Nicoletti, L. P., 2014: “Sulle tracce della custodia di Campo di Giove: fortuna critica e di mercato dei frammenti delle ‘Storie di Sant’Eustachio’”, in C. Pasqualetti (ed.), La Via degli Abruzzi e le arti nel Medioevo (secc. XIII-XV), L’Aquila: One Group, pp. 75–86. Norberg, R., 1939: “Romansk träskulptur i Norra Småland”, Meddelande från Norra Smålands Fornminnes- och Jönköpings Läns Hembygdsförbund, 12, pp. 66–88. Plahter, U., 2014: “Norwegian Art Technology in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: Materials and Techniques in a European Context”, Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung, 28/1, pp. 298–332. Plahter, U., Hohler, E., Morgan, N. & Wichstrøm, A. (eds), 2004: Painted Altar Frontals of Norway 1250–1350, 3 vols, London: Archetype. Plahter, U. & Park, D., 2002: “Catalogue part”, in S. Boldrick & S. Feeke (eds), Wonder: Painted Sculpture from Medieval England (=exhibition catalogue Henry Moore Institute), Leeds: Henry Moore Institute. Portilla, M. J., 1995: Catálogo monumental de la diócesis de Vitoria, vol. 7: Cuartango, Urkabustaiz y Cigoitia, Vitoria: Publicaciones del Obispado de Vitoria. Ringer, C., 2001: “Der ‘Kleine Dom’ – ein kölnischer Schnitzaltar um 1360”, in H. Krohm, K. Krüger & M. Weniger (eds), Entstehung und Frühgeschichte des Flügelaltarschreins, Wiesbaden: Reichert, pp. 205–214. 40 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 47 Fig. 6. Dädesjö (Sweden), parish church, tabernacle shrine with St Olaf, 1250–1300; figure c. 1200 (photo Justin Kroesen). 48 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg Fig. 7. Marian tabernacle shrine from Urjala (Finland), 1275–1300, now in Helsinki, Suomen kansallismuseo (photo Suomen kansallismuseo). tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 49 Fig. 8. Marian tabernacle shrine from Múli (Iceland), 1250–1300, now in Copenhagen, Nationalmuseet (photo Justin Kroesen). 50 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg Fig. 9. Tabernacle shrine from Högsrum (Sweden), c. 1250, now in Stockholm, Statens Historiska Museet (photo Justin Kroesen). tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 51 Fig. 10. Kil (Sweden), parish church, tabernacle shrine with an unidentified standing apostle, c. 1350 (photo Peter Tångeberg). 52 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg Fig. 11. Tabernacle shrine with St Olaf from Vanaja (Finland), c. 1320, now in Helsinki, Suomen kansallismuseo (photo Suomen kansallismueo). Tabernacle Shrines (–) as a European Phenomenon 53 Fig. 12. Tabernacle shrine from Vojňany (Slovakia), c. 1300, now in Bratislava, Slovenská Národná Galéria (photo Slovenská Národná Galéria). 54 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg Fig. 13. Villamanca (Spain), parish church, tabernacle shrine with St James de Greater, c. 1330 (photo Justin Kroesen). tabernacle shrines (–) as a european phenomenon 55 Fig. 14. Marian tabernacle shrine from Pale di Foligno (Italy), c. 1330, now in Foligno, Museo Diocesano (photo Kasya Popova). 56 justin kroesen – peter tångeberg Fig. 15. The so-called ‘Chapelle Cardon’, Lower Rhine (?), c. 1400, now in Paris, Musée du Louvre (photo Musée du Louvre). or twelve trefoil, cinquefoil, or squared niches. The niches were divided by horizontal battens and architectural or foliage decorations. The scenes in the niches were executed in wooden relief figures (Fig. 2), or painted, or created through a combination of painting and relief. The back panel had a canopy that could be flat, arched, or angular. The top of the canopy could have carved crenellations or gables. The sides of the canopy were often carved as trefoils or rounded arches (or a combination). The Madonna figure, sitting on a throne with a plinth underneath her feet, was nailed to the back panel. For many tabernacles in Scandinavia the uppermost component has survived, which had the form of a church, as seen in Hedalen, Reinli, and Urnes in Norway, and Norra Ny in Sweden, but there are also church-form canopies preserved where the tabernacles are lost, such as those from Borgund, Kinsarvik, and Tuft in Norway. Most of these were once thought to be tabernacles for storing the host, but a study by Bernt C. Lange has shed new light on the tabernacles’ appearance. Lange suggests that the five well-preserved Norwegian wooden church models from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Reinli, Hedalen, Borgund, Kinsarvik, and Tuft) were not made for housing the host as a ‘sacrament-house’, but were the crowning architectural feature on Madonna tabernacles (Lange, 1994, pp. 23–36). The overall sizes of these tabernacles were from c. 1.4 m. to over 2 m., and even higher if they were capped by a church-model, which could measure up to 1.5 m. In the open position, they would be wider in proportion to their height. 3. iconography Madonna tabernacles and Madonna frontals, as well as small-scale ivories in the form of triptychs or polyptychs, share common features of composition and iconography, but, of course, they did not necessarily have the same function. In the extant wings from Scandinavia, there is little variation in terms of the scenes included in the decoration as well as their placement in the wings. Regarding the order of the scenes, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions given that so many reliefs are lost, and the preserved reliefs have often been replaced into positions they didn’t originally fill.4 4For example, in the tabernacles from Fröskog (Sweden), Yurre (Spain), and Marès I altarpiece (Spain). The latter has reliefs that did not originally belong to it, see Melero Moneo, 1991, pp. 432- 433. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  63 In some of the southern European tabernacles, however, there is greater variety and several additional scenes (Andersen, 2015, pp. 170–171). At least two scenes were always included in the story of the Incarnation: the Annunciation, often followed by the Visitation and the Adoration of the Magi. The first scene had a fixed place in the composition, at the bottom, on the right side, near the foot of the Madonna sculpture. The other most common scenes included are the Annunciation to the Shepherds, the Nativity, and the Presentation in the Temple. In addition, there is the occasional inclusion of the Flight into Egypt, Joseph’s dream, and the Massacre of the Innocents. In tabernacles from Italy and Spain can be found the Dream of the Three Magi, the Magi questioning Herod, Herod’s feast, the Baptism of Christ, the Death of the Virgin, and the Coronation of the Virgin, none of which is present in the tabernacles from Scandinavia. What is interesting is that there are no traces of scenes from the Childhood of the Virgin or the Miracles of the Virgin on the tabernacles’ wings, as are commonly included on other works such as altar frontals. 4. figural painting on exteriors Tabernacles dating from the second half of the fourteenth century and forward usually have figural paintings on the exterior. Often a representation of the Annunciation appeared on the exterior of the half-wings, forming the front of the tabernacle when closed. Later, during the fifteenth century, painted saints started to appear on the exteriors. Tabernacles preserved from c. 1150–c. 1350, on the other hand, seldom have traces of figures on the exterior; most of them have monochrome exteriors. A closer examination shows that only six of the twentynine pre-1350 Madonna tabernacles – two from Norway and four from Spain – have figural painting, or traces of figures, on the exterior. Of these, all represent St Peter, St Paul, or St John the Evangelist save one, which portrays the Passion of Christ. 4.1. St Peter and St Paul Four out of the six tabernacles with painted figures on the exterior depict St Peter and/or St Paul, who were the two pillars of the church, principes apostolorum.St Peter, whose symbol is one or two keys, declared Jesus to be the Messiah, was appointed by God to be the foundation of the Church, and was given the key to 64 elisabeth andersen heaven (Matthew 16: 13–19). Paul brought the Gospel to the Gentiles, after he had converted and become a well-known missionary. Both died as martyrs on the same day. Paul was beheaded in Rome, hence his attribute the sword. The two saints, who are often depicted together, flank Christ in Traditio Legis, or Christ Enthroned images, and they can be seen accompanying other figures and scenes such as the Madonna, the Transfiguration, the Man of Sorrows, and the Coronation of the Virgin. They are also on altar frontals, for example, in Kinsarvik, Norway, on either side of Christ in the Crucifixion,5 or on the Barnabas altarpiece, flanking an enthroned Maria Lactans.6On the murals in Birkerød Church, Denmark, St Peter and St Paul are in attendance at the Coronation of the Virgin.7 The tabernacle from Fåberg, Norway, has one side-wing preserved: the left wing, once hinged to the tabernacle’s back and closing to cover its side (Fig. 3). On the exterior, St Peter stands facing frontally, holding up two keys in his right hand and a book in his left. The apostle is tonsured and his hair and beard are short and curly. He is dressed in a white belted tunic patterned with small triplets of orange dots (Kollandsrud, 2018, pp. 231–232; Binski/Sauerberg, 2006, pp. 230–244; Blindheim, 2004, p. 114). His mantle is yellow, dulled today towards gray, and he is presented against a red background. The figure fills the length of the door and is framed by horizontal bands of acanthus vine along the top and bottom. One can assume that the Fåberg tabernacle had St Paul as a pendant on the other side-wing. Unfortunately, it is not possible to say what would have been the motifs on the half-wings. The two preserved wings of the Sant Martí Sarroca tabernacle depict St Peter on one half-wing and St Paul on the other, and thus they faced each other when the wings were closed (Fig. 4 Velasco Gonzàlez, in this volume). They are both dressed in white tunics and green cloaks on a red background. St Peter holds a double key in his right hand and a book in the other. The pigment describing his 5 Today in the University Museum of Bergen (BM MA 10), Norway. 6 Today at Kimbell Art Museum, Texas, USA. 7 Often in representations of St Peter and St Paul, where they are flanking a scene, St Peter is seen on the left and St Paul on the right. On tabernacles there are variations. On the preserved wings, St Peter and St Paul are painted on the half-wings, composing the front of the tabernacle when it was closed. The figures are painted in profile or half-profile, facing each other, as seen in the examples from Sant Martí Sarroca, Arana I, and the so-called ‘Chiale altarpiece’. On Arana I, Peter is on the right side and Paul on the left, as on the wing from Sant Martí Sarroca. On the Chiale altarpiece, Paul is on the right and Peter is on the left, as is their more common placement, such as on frontals. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  65 head is fragmented but his eyes are still visible, looking to his right, half facing the viewer. Traces of his curly beard are still preserved. St Paul, standing to the left, has a sword in his right hand and his left hand is effaced, but clearly it was raised; perhaps he was holding a book or pointing his finger. Sections of his long, straight hair and beard are still visible. The four wings of the Spanish tabernacle Arana I were taken apart and reused in several eighteenth-century altarpieces,8 today in Treviño, Spain, in the Church of St Peter (Gutiérrez Baños, 2018, pp. 64–68). The exteriors of the four wings were painted over once with a red background decorated with stars. This layer of paint was later removed. Today the exterior of the medieval tabernacle constitutes the back of the altarpieces, and therefore these panels are not visible to the viewer. The two half-wings once composing the front of a Madonna tabernacle when closed have paintings of St Peter and St Paul (Fig. 4). One of the side-wings portrays John the Evangelist. The paint on the fourth side-wing has vanished. St Peter is in three-quarter profile, looking to his right towards St Paul on the other half-wing. His beard is short and curly as is his tonsured hair. He holds one large key in his right hand and a book in the other. St Paul, facing the opposite direction, towards St Peter, holds his attribute, a sword, in his left hand and a book in the other. Both saints are dressed in blue robes and red mantles and are set against a yellow background. Another Madonna tabernacle from Spain, the so-called ‘Chiale altarpiece’,9 today kept at Killua Castle, Ireland, has all four wings preserved (Mor, 2016) (Fig. 5). The exteriors of the side wings are red, decorated with a lighter red pattern of dots. The half-wings, composing the front when closed, have figural decoration. The paint on the left half-wing is very damaged, with only traces of the figure’s blue mantle and red cloak remaining. The image on the other half-wing is also fragmented, but the upper part of the figure is preserved and portrays St Paul, who is presented in profile, looking towards the vanished saint on the other half-wing, who was probably St Peter. St Paul is dressed in a red mantle and blue cloak and wields a sword in his right hand and points upwards with the other. Both figures on the half-wings are set against a yellow background. 8 In two altarpieces and in a sacrament box for the main altarpiece. 9Chiale is an Italian surname designating the art dealer based in Racconigi and Brussels who brought this altarpiece to light in 2016. 66 elisabeth andersen 4.2. St John As mentioned above, a side-wing from the Arana I tabernacle portrays John the Evangelist (Fig. 6). Like St Peter and St Paul from the same tabernacle, he is dressed in a blue tunic and red cloak. St John’s hair is long and curly, and he is beardless. St John is typically represented in art as a beautiful, young, beardless man, with the poisoned cup or a book in his hand.10 St John from Arana I holds an open book in his left hand, and his right hand is raised, with one finger pointing towards the book. This panel was probably the left side-wing (Gutiérrez Baños, 2018, p. 67). The tabernacle from Urnes, Norway, has a preserved left side-wing.11 It has lost significant amounts of paint, with only traces of pigment on the interior and exterior. The figure on the exterior is very damaged (Fig. 6), but it is still possible to detect a beardless face and part of a raised arm, set against a red background. The hand is very fragmented, but there is a pointing finger. Blindheim suggests that the figure depicts an angel (Blindheim, 1993; 1998, p. 61). However, a closer study of the painting shows that what Blindheim assumed were the angel’s wings are, in fact, part of a frame that runs around the side-wing. It could be this is also St John, as seen in Arana I. A comparison of these two wings reveals similarities in pose: they both face in the same direction, and both have the same pointing finger and beardless face. This side-wing from Urnes reveals further close stylistic connections between tabernacles from Norway and Spain. It is the only preserved tabernacle wing in Scandinavia that has a combination of painted and carved figural scenes on the interior. The upper tier has painted figures, such as the angels in the upper gable and traces of an angel (Gabriel) in one of the niches. The lower tier has probably had carved figures; one magus is preserved that fits the side-wing from Urnes.12 A Spanish tabernacle, from Vallbona de les Monges, also has this same combination on the interior. And we can assume that it was not only a single wing on the Urnes tabernacle that was decorated with a figure on its exterior, but that there 10 St John belonged to the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples; and on the cross, Jesus gave his mother into John’s care. John was the first apostle brought to the dying Mary. 11 The Urnes tabernacle also had an identical half-wing; this was still in the church in 1953, but lost by 1955. Published drawings by Blix of the half-wing and the roof of the church-model exist (Blix, 1895, p. 17, fig. 10), but they do not provide any information about the exterior. 12 Thanks to Stephan Kuhn and Justin Kroesen for this information. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  67 was a matching, pendant, figure on the other side-wing, or, like the Spanish tabernacle of Arana I, that all four wings had figural decoration. 4.3. The Passion of Christ The last of these six examples of tabernacles with figures on the exterior is also the most elaborately decorated: the three wings from the Spanish Madonna tabernacle, called Wildenstein altarpiece (Gutiérrez Baños, 2018), today in the Met Cloisters Museum in New York (Fig. 7).13 The interior, now lost, displayed figures in relief against a gold ground. The edges of the gabled exterior panels bear the arms of Castile and León, and the three wings are decorated with scenes from the Life of Christ. The scenes of the side-wing are (top to bottom): the Betrayal of Christ and the Payment of Judas; Christ’s Descent into Limbo and Noli Me Tangere combined in one scene, together with Mary Magdalene kissing Christ’s feet. The right half-wing (top to bottom): Disrobing Youths from the Entry into Jerusalem; the Flagellation; and Angel at the Sepulchre. The other half-wing: the Deposition; and the Entombment, with Nicodemus, Mary, and St John. The painted figures are dressed in alternating red and blue tunics and cloaks and set against a yellow background. 5. monochrome exteriors Even if the decoration on the various Madonna tabernacles are damaged or have been painted over, or the wings have been reconstructed, we often find original paint preserved on the exterior of the wings. A closer examination of the exteriors of these European Madonna tabernacles shows that the majority have had monochrome exteriors, often in red, green, or black, sometimes with a decoration of foliage or patterns. In Oppland County, Norway, there are two neighboring stave churches, Hedalen and Reinli, with two altarpieces composed of a medieval corpus of a tabernacle that once housed a Madonna figure. The pair are very good examples of the appearance of these early tabernacles when closed, because they both have 13 Two of the panels were purchased in 1955 (accession number 55.62a,b), and the third panel was a bequest from Carl Otto von Kienbusch in 1977. See: Baetjer, 1995, p. 146. 68 elisabeth andersen all four wings preserved. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they were both remodeled and painted over, but the exteriors of the wings, today the backs of the altarpieces, were not (Andersen, 2015, pp. 165–185). In the middle of the eighteenth century the Hedalen tabernacle was remodeled to become an altarpiece consisting of a medieval crucifix attached to the overpainted corpus of the tabernacle. The Madonna figure and the church-model that once sat atop the tabernacle were placed elsewhere in the church. The figures previously positioned in the niches are today lost. The interior has been covered with ‘rose-painting’, but the wings have their original paint preserved on the exterior (Fig. 8). Red and green sections on the wings create a checkerboard pattern in all six squares (two half-squares in the half-wings form two squares when closed), and, additionally, the spaces within the trefoils at the top of the wings alternate red and green (Stein, 2010, pp. 58–91; Andersen 2015, pp. 165–185) (Fig. 10). The altarpiece in Reinli was originally the corpus of a medieval Madonna tabernacle (of the same shape as Hedalen’s). In the late nineteenth century, the two half-wings were placed side by side to form the middle section of the altarpiece, and the side-wings were made into the side sections of the new composition. The Ascension of Christ was painted on the middle section of the interior in the 1890s and scenes from the Old and New Testaments were added in the side sections in the 1920s. The back panel of the tabernacle was still in the church in 1885, but was later removed, probably already during the restoration of the church in the late 1880s. The church model that once surmounted the tabernacle was sent to the University Museum of Bergen in the 1870s. The exterior of the tabernacle is still preserved in its original condition, with the half-wings green and the sidewings red (Fig. 9). When closed, the half-wings in front of the tabernacle would have been green and the side-wings red (Stein, 2010, pp. 58–91; Andersen 2015, pp. 165–185) (Fig. 10). For some tabernacles all four wings were decorated in a single color. There are multiple examples that support this conclusion. The Madonna tabernacle from Fröskog, Sweden, has three preserved wings. Today the outsides of them are red with white foliage, but the foliage seems to have been added later, perhaps in connection with the re-painting of the interior in the eighteenth century. (Fig. 11). There are traces of later renovations that have the same foliage pattern, which indicates that the exterior of all four wings was initially red. Other examples in Sweden are found at Östra Vram Church, where there are two tabernacles, one with a central Madonna figure and the other with a St Olaf figure. The Madonna tabernacle has three extant wings, and while the interior has been painted over, the exterior retains its original color: red (Fig. 11). Also, at Nässclosing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  69 inge, Sweden, there are two preserved wings that were originally red.14 Outside of Sweden, there are examples in the north: the tabernacle from Múli, Iceland, has four wings painted red.15 And in the south, in Spain, we find the same: the four wings of the tabernacle from Vallbona de les Monges are all red (Fig. 11). And there are further instances of wings from Spain and Scandinavia that are red or have traces of red.16 In addition to red exteriors, we also find wings painted green or dark green or black. The Madonna tabernacle in Norra Ny Church, Sweden, has one preserved half-wing (Fig. 12).17 The polychrome on the interior is probably from the fifteenth century, and the exterior is in a dark (black?) color. Another Spanish tabernacle with all four wings preserved is that of Castildelgado in Burgos, today exhibited at the Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona (Fig. 12). The interior has been painted over and gilded, while the exteriors of the four wings have been preserved in what appears to be the original black paint. The tabernacle from Urjala, Finland, has three preserved wings that are also covered in a dark color (black?) (Fig. 12).18 6. foliage and pattern decoration Some wings have foliage or patterns painted on the exterior. A number of these decorations could be secondary additions, but others are harder to determine and need technical examination by a conservator. It is possible that in the case of a preserved left side-wing from a tabernacle in Røldal II,19 decorated with a red background and yellow foliage, that the foliage was part of the original ornamentation (Fig. 13). Foliage decorations can be found incised on the golden 14 Foliage patterns, as stencils, were later added to the wings. See in this paper ‘Foliage and Pattern Decoration’. 15 According to a conservation report from 1956 (N. J. Termansen), there are some traces of ornament with a thin glaze; this need to be further examined. 16 One wing from Marès I altarpiece, Spain; one wing from Fet, Norway. 17 In 1928 one other half-wing was reconstructed. 18 Most of the exteriors of these tabernacles have not been thoroughly examined by conservators.19 Røldal II is in some publications referred to as ‘Odda’ (Kollandsrud, 2018, p. 230; Plahter et alii, 2004, p. 198), without explanation. When it arrived at Bergen Museum it was written that it was from Røldal church. A lot of inventory was labeled ‘Røldal’ and may not all be from the same church, but as long as there is, to my knowledge, no indication why it may be from Odda, I choose to refer to it as ‘Røldal II’. 70 elisabeth andersen background of the figures scenes as well as painted or carved on the upper part of the niches, above the trefoil gable, on the interior. A preserved fragment from a canopy from Eidsborg, Norway, also displays this kind of foliage decoration (Kollandsrud, 2018, p. 230).20 The only extant wings, a half-wing and a side-wing, from a Madonna tabernacle with a pattern on the exterior are from Røldal I, Norway, but the half-wing has lost all its paint. The side-wing, however, has a zigzag pattern on the exterior (Fig. 13). The painting technique consists of ‘daubs’ in red and yellow on a black background. Perhaps it suggests a pattern of woven fabrics. 7. altered exteriors 7.1. Later overpainted exteriors The non-figural exterior of tabernacles has seldom been scrutinized, and when works are restored, the exteriors are often left untouched or unexamined. Only a handful of tabernacle wings have been painted over, either during the late Middle Ages or in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. And only one known example has later been painted with figural decoration on the exterior: the Madonna tabernacle from Aosta, Italy (Rossetti Brezzi, 2001, p. 40). It has all four wings preserved, and in 1510–1520 they were re-painted with the Annunciation scene in front (when closed, thus on the backs of the half-wings) and two saint bishops on backs of the side-wings. The surface of the two wings on the left side have since been destroyed. The Madonna tabernacle from Nässjö, Sweden, today has only one original wing preserved, with one relief figure: one of the Three Magi. The interior of the wing has lost is original niches and only fragments of initial paint are preserved. Both the Madonna figure and the wing were remodeled during the sixteenth century, and later they were integrated into a new tabernacle along with the preserved medieval wing on the left side and a new wing on the right side. On the exterior of the medieval wing there are traces of foliage decoration, maybe from the remodeling of the tabernacle in the sixteenth century, or they could be later painted additions, possibly from the seventeenth century. The same light green 20 Madonna tabernacles from the middle of the fourteenth century through the sixteenth often have foliage decoration on side-wings, while the half-wings could have the Annunciation scene. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  71 color is also painted over the original decorated niches in the interior. Traces of red pigment under the light green overpaint suggest that the wing once was red or partly red.21 Two tabernacles have later been decorated with a painted pattern of flowers (stencil): The tabernacles in Yurre, Álava, Spain, and in Nässinge, Sweden (Fig. 14). The tabernacle from Yurre has small blue flowers patterned on a red ground. The examples from Nässinge have red-orange flowers/leaves patterned on a brownish-red background. As mentioned above, foliage decoration was subsequently added to the Fröskog tabernacle. Because there are no conservation reports regarding the examination of the original pigments, one can presume that the tabernacles would have have been monochrome, at least the two from Fröskog and Nässinge. 7.2. Lost colors There is also a group of tabernacles that has lost most or all of their color on the exterior of the wings. Tabernacles from Jällby, Sweden, and Kumlinge in Finland are such examples, as is a wing from the so-called ‘Marès I altarpiece’ (Gutiérrez Baños, 2018), currently in the Museu Frederic Marès of Barcelona (Fig. 15).22 Some tabernacles have traces of color that may suggest that there has been a pattern or foliage, such as those in Jällby and Svinhult, Sweden (Fig. 16).23 The colors that are found on the fragments are red, green, or black, that is, the same colors found on the monochrome wings with preserved surfaces. None of these fragments are traces of figures. For a tabernacle from Vojňany, Slovakia, it is uncertain which saint it originally housed.24 It has been suggested that it held a Madonna sculpture (Buran/ Müllerová, eds, 2008, p. 1) (Fig. 16). This tabernacle differs from others of the same 1150–1350 period when opened. Rather than depicting scenes of the saint’s life on the interior, it offers four figures: St Peter and St Paul on the half wings, and two saints with uncertain identification on the side wings. One figure may be St John pointing towards the central saint sculpture. The other figure holds 21 This need to be confirmed through a chemical analysis of paint samples. 22 These have traces of ground and/or small pigments that shows that the wings once have been painted. 23 It is unclear, though, if the foliage was a later addition. 24 Today at Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava. 72 elisabeth andersen Røldal II (one wing) Hordaland c.1250–1300 Universitetsmuseet, Bergen MA 512 H: 1.14 m W: 0.36 (0.42) m Not identified Yellow foliage on a red background Urnes (one wing) Sogn og Fjordane c.1150–1200 Universitetsmuseet, Bergen MA 510 H: 1.29 m W: 0.45 m Oak Figure (St John?) on a red background Sweden Fröskog (three wings) Västergötland c.1250–1275 Historiska museet, Stockholm SHM 14965 H: 1.70 m (wings: 1.42m) W: 0.45/ 0.41/0.27 m Oak Red (with secondary light [white?] foliage) Jällby (four wings) Västergötland c.1250–1275 H: 0.90 m W: 0.29 m Oak Lost (fragments of red, patterns?) Norra Ny (one wing) Värmland c.1250–1275 H: 1.71 m / 1.31 m W: 0.29 m Not identified Dark (black?) Nässinge (two wings) Bohuslän c.1250–1275 Göteborgs stadsmuseum, Gothenburg GM 173 H: 1.43 m Oak Red (with secondary stencils) Nässjö (one wing) Småland c.1250-1275? H: 1.36 m W: 0.36 m Traces of secondary foliage/leafs Svinhult (two wings) Östergötland c. 1250 H: 1.22 m / 1.18 m W: 0.30/0.23 m Lost (traces of foliage of unknown date) Östra Vram (three wings) Skåne c.1300 H: 1.04 m W: 0.62 m Oak Red Finland Kumlinge (four wings) Åland c.1250–1275 H: 1.19 m Oak Original colors lost. Red Urjala (Urdiala) (three wings) Birkaland c.1250 Kansallismuseo, Helsinki KM 4563:1 H: 1.18 m Poplar? Dark (black?) closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  79 Iceland Múli (four wings) c.1275–1300 Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen 19014 H: 1.40/1.45 m W: 0.52 m Pine (newer details in oak) Red with traces of ornamentation Italy Alatri (four wings) Lazio c.1250 H: 1.57 m W: 0.44/0.55 m Beech Overpainted in 1745 Aosta (four wings) Aosta Valley c.1300–1350 Museo Civico, Turin H: 1.00 m W (all four wings): 2.64 m Not identified Overpainted in 1510–1520 Pale di Foligno (six fragments from four wings) Umbria c.1320–1330 Museo Diocesano, Foligno H: 1.47 m Not identified Not identified Spain Arana I (four wings, but fragmented and incomplete) Castile-León c.1275–1300 Church of St Peter, Treviño Not identified Figures (St Peter, St Paul and St John) on a yellow background Castildelgdo (four wings) Castile-León c.1300–1350 Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona MFMB 814 H: 2.08 m W (all four wings): 2.22 m Not identified Black Sant Martí Sarroca (two wings) Catalonia c.1275–1300 Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona MNAC 15924, 15925 Not identified Figures (St Peter and St Paul) Vallbona de les Monges (four wings) Catalonia c.1335–1350 Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona MNAC/MAC 9780, 9781, 9782, 9783 H: 1.45m W: 0.41m Not identified Red Yurre (Ihurre) (four wings) Basque Country c.1300–1350 H: 1.73 m W: 1.91 m Not identified Red (with secondary stencils) 80 elisabeth andersen Chiale altarpiece (four wings) Castile-León c.1300–1350 Killua Castle, Ireland Not identified Half-wings: figures (St Paul and maybe St Peter?). Sidewings: orange dots on red background Marès I altarpiece (one wing) Castile-León c.1300 Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona MFMB 2225 H: 1.66 m W: 0.70 m Not identified Lost (traces of red) Marès II altarpiece (one wing) Castile-León c.1300–1350 Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona MFMB 711 H: 1.44 m W: 0.45 m Not identified Dark grey-blue (fragmented) Wildenstein altarpiece (three wings) Castile-León c.1275–1300 Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, New York 55.62a-b, 1977.94 H: 1.05 m W: 0.41/0.39 m Not identified Painted figures (Passion of Christ), red, green and blue on a yellow and black background 12. bibliography Andersen, E., 2015: “Madonna Tabernacles in Scandinavia c. 1150-c. 1350”, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 168/1, pp. 165–185. Baetjer, K., 1995: European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue,New York. Binski, P. & Sauerberg, M. L., 2006 “Matthew Paris in Norway”, in J. 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Hotchin, J., 2018: “‘In Memory of Our Sorrow’: Lenten Veils and Emotions”, in Histories of Emotion: From Medieval Europe to Contemporary Australia. URL: https://historiesofemotion.com/2018/04/01/in-memory-of-our-sorrow-lent- en-veils-and-emotions/_edn2 Gutiérrez Baños, F., 2018: “Pasear entre ruinas: retablos-tabernáculo castellanos de la Baja Edad Media”, BSAA arte, 84, pp. 41–83. Kaspersen, S., 2003: “Altertavlerne i deres kirkelig-liturgiske og andagtsmæssige kontekst”, in S. F. Plahthe & J. Bruun, eds, Middelalderlige altertavler i Haderslev Stift, Hellebæk, pp. 39–41. Kollandsrud, K., 2018: Evoking the Divine. The Visual Vocabulary of Sacred Polychrome Wooden Sculpture in Norway between 1100 and 1350, Ph.D. diss., Universitetet i Oslo. Lange, B. C., 1994: “Madonnaskap med kirkemodell som baldakinbekroning med efterskrift av Jan Svanberg”, Foreningen til norske Fortidsmindesmerkers Bevaring Årbok, 148, pp. 23–36. Melero Moneo, M.ª L., 1991: “433.- Retaule (fragment)”, in Catàleg d’escultura i pintura medievals (=catalogue Museu Frederic Marès), Barcelona, pp. 432-433. Mor, L., 2016: “Retablo a portelle castigliano – Shrine Castilian Retable”, in Alpha – Omega: A Collection of Works of Art (=catalogue Chiale Fine Art), Racconigi and Paris, pp. 44–53. Neale, J. M. & Webb, B. (eds), 1893: The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments: A Translation of the First Book of the Rationale divinorum officiorum Written by William Durandus, Sometime Bishop of Mende, New York. URL: https://archive.org/details/symbolismofchurc00dura/page/n7/mode/2up Norberg, R., 1969: “Retabel”, in A. Karker, ed., Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder, t. 14, Copenhagen, cols 80–89. Plahter, U. et alii, 2004: Painted Altar Frontals of Norway 1250–1350, vol. 3: Illustrations and Drawings, London. Ratkowska, P., 1970: “The Remains of an Altarpiece with the Legend of St John the Baptist: An Unpublished Work of the Franco-Gothic Style in the National Museum in Warsaw”, Bulletin du Musée National de Varsovie, 11/1, pp. 1–18. 82 elisabeth andersen Rossetti Brezzi, E., 2001: “L’età gotica: il caso della Valle d’Aosta. La scultura lignea dipinta”, in Tra Gotico e Rinascimento. Scultura in Piemonte, exhibition catalogue, Turin, pp. 20–48. Smith, M. T., 1959: “The Use of Grisaille as a Lenten Observance,” Marsyas, 8, pp. 43–54. Stein, M., 2010: “Madonnaskapene i Hedalen og Reinli stavkirker. Forslag til rekonstruksjon av skapenes opprinnelige utseende”, Collegium Medievale, 23, pp. 58–91. Wallem, F. B., 1910: “De islandske kirkers udstyr i middelalderen”, in Foreningen til norske fortidsmindesmærkers bevaring Aarsberetning 1909, pp. 1–64. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  83 84 elisabeth andersen Fig. 1. Tabernacle in closed and opened position. Drawings by S. Holm, edited by E. Andersen. Fig. 2. Left: Madonna tabernacle in Kumlinge, Finland. Only the four wings and the reliefs on them are original from the thirteenth century (the interior has been overpainted). Right: Detail of the beautifully carved relief of the Visitation, from the lower right half-wing. Photo: F. Berg. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  85 86 elisabeth andersen Fig. 3. St Peter on the exterior of the left side-wing of the tabernacle from Fåberg, Norway. Photo: Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo. Fig. 4. Details of St Paul (left) and St Peter (right) on the exterior of the half-wings from the Arana I tabernacle, Spain. Photo: Centro de Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales de Castilla y León. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  87 Fig. 5. St Paul on the exterior of the right half-wing of a Madonna tabernacle from Spain (called ‘Chiale altarpiece’). Photo: Killua Castle, Ireland. 88 elisabeth andersen closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  95 Fig. 14. Left: Exterior of the tabernacle from Nässinge, Sweden. Photo: Göteborgs Stadsmuseum. Right: Exterior of the tabernacle from Yurre, Spain. Photo: E. Andersen. 96 elisabeth andersen Fig. 15. Left: Jällby, Sweden. Center: Kumlinge, Finland. Right: the so-called ‘Marès I altarpiece’ (Barcelona, Museu Frederic Marès). Photo: F. Berg. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  97 Fig. 16. Left: One of the two wings from Svinhult, Sweden, interior and exterior. Photo: F. Berg. Right: Tabernacle from Vojňany, Slovakia. Photo: Slovak National Gallery. 98 elisabeth andersen Fig. 17. Tabernacles housing saints. Left: Dädesjö, Sweden. Center left: Östra Vram, Sweden. Center right: Edestad, Sweden. Right: Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran, Spain. Photo: F. Berg. closing the tabernacle: european madonna tabernacles c. –c.  99 Fig. 18. The Narbonne Altar Cloth (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Lenten cloth made for Charles V in 1364. Photo: Musée du Louvre. Fig. 19. The scenes of the Narbonne Altar Cloth and a tabernacle from the region of Castile-León, Spain (called ‘Wildenstein altarpiece’). 100 elisabeth andersen Fig 20. Norra Fågelås, c. 1400, in open (left: seen from the front; center left and center right: seen from the sides) and closed positions (Stockholm, Historiska Museet). Photo: F. Berg. Fig. 21. Madonna tabernacle in Jällby Church, Sweden. Photo: E. Andersen. MARIAN TABERNACLES ON MAIN ALTARS: NORWEGIAN THIRTEENTHCENTURY ALTAR DECORATIONS IN THEIR EUROPEAN CONTEXT RETABLOSTABERNÁCULO MARIANOS EN LOS ALTARES MAYORES: LAS DECORACIONES DE ALTAR NORUEGAS DEL SIGLO XIII EN SU CONTEXTO EUROPEO Stephan Kuhn Universitetsmuseet i Bergen [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6006-7851 Received: 29/10/2019 – Accepted: 14/12/2019 Abstract Art historical research often assumes that sculptures of the Virgin Mary originally stood on the northern nave altar in Scandinavian parish churches. However, evidence suggests that several enshrined Marian sculptures actually had their place on the main altar in the chancel. This claim can be reconstructed with regard to the surviving tabernacle shrines in (and from) the small Norwegian parish churches of Hedalen, Reinli, and Hove. In addition to the shrines, a number of altar frontals with Marian imagery also probably belonged to main altars. Seen in their wider European context, these Norwegian altar decorations follow a homogenous pattern, common to large parts of Western Europe, that may be explained by the rise of a unified religious culture in aspects such as liturgy and theology. On the main altar, the Virgin and Child constituted the focal point of the church interior. This prominent position reflects the central role of the Mother of God in the history of salvation as an instrument of the Incarnation. On the main altar, Mary refers to this Christian mystery through her image as well as in the narrative scenes shown on the inside of the wings that surrounded the sculpture. Medievalia 23/1 (2020), 101-128 – ISSN: 2014-8410 (digital) DOI: https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/medievalia.506 102 stephan kuhn Keywords Norway, medieval art, altar decorations, saints’ sculptures, Marian sculptures, tabernacle shrines, altar frontals. Resumen La investigación histórico-artística asume a menudo que en las iglesias parroquiales escandinavas las esculturas de la Virgen María se encontraban originalmente en el altar norte de la nave. Sin embargo, las evidencias sugieren que varias esculturas marianas dotadas de un tabernáculo se localizaban en realidad en el altar mayor del presbiterio. Esta hipótesis puede ser reconstituida si miramos los retablos-taberná- culo que han sobrevivido en (o proceden de) las pequeñas parroquias noruegas de Hedalen, Reinli y Hove. Además de estos retablos, un cierto número de frontales de altar con imaginería mariana probablemente también pertenecieron a los altares mayores. Vistas en un contexto europeo más amplio, estas decoraciones de altar noruegas siguen un patrón homogéneo, común a amplias zonas de Europa Occidental, que pueden ser explicado por el surgimiento de una cultura religiosa unificada en aspectos tales como la liturgia y la teología. En el altar mayor, la Virgen y el Niño constituían el punto focal del interior del templo. Esta prominente posición refleja el papel central de la Madre de Dios en la historia de la salvación en tanto que instrumento de la Encarnación. En el altar mayor, María remite a este misterio cristiano a través de su imagen, al igual que lo hace en las escenas narrativas mostradas en el interior de los paneles que rodean la escultura. Palabras clave Noruega, arte medieval, decoraciones de altar, esculturas de santos, esculturas marianas, retablos-tabernáculo, frontales de altar. 1. introduction Several scholars have highlighted the presence of sculptures and panel paintings of the Virgin and Child on main altars throughout Europe and in all kinds of medieval churches around 1300. Few authors seem to be aware that their appearance on the high altar did not occur suddenly, but rather followed an existing tradition. There is indication that sculptures of the Virgin with Child set in tabernacle shrines were located on the main altar as early as the thirteenth century, in parish churches in Norway as well as elsewhere in Europe. In research history marian tabernacles on main altars 103 this is often ignored in favor of the prevailing assumption that images of the Virgin and Child in medieval parish churches in Scandinavia stood on one of the side altars, while the main altar only had a frontal, cross, and chandeliers.1 It is generally believed that images of Mary were located on the northern side altar, while images of Saint Olav or other saints stood on the southern side altar (Anker, 1981, p. 205). The present paper challenges this assumption by discussing several Norwegian tabernacle shrines and frontals with images of the Virgin and Child, dating from around the middle of the thirteenth century, that can be directly or indirectly connected to main altars. The paper also addresses the importance of tabernacle shrines for our understanding of the early development of Marian altarpieces. I discuss the different locations of Marian imagery inside the medieval church, followed by an account of the central role of Mary in medieval theology. I will depart from the assumption that Norwegian medieval altar decorations followed a general Western-European pattern. Contrary to many parts of Europe, where high medieval altar decorations are now very rare, the Scandinavian countries, especially Norway, can boast a considerable number of surviving examples. This rich Norwegian material provides a good impression of how altars were decorated in all parts of Europe during the high middle ages. 2. the location of marian images in the medieval church There is no doubt that sculptures of the Virgin Mary stood on one of the side altars in many Scandinavian churches. A great deal of evidence for this can be found in Danish country churches, such as wall paintings that served as a permanent form of altar decoration. It can be inferred from Marian imagery where 1With regard to Norway, for example, Peter Anker stated that the altar of Mary had ‘sin faste plass i alle kirker, til venstre for koråpningen. Av og til var det en egen alternisje i skipets østmur, som i Værnes kirke, eller til og med et eget kapell for Maria-alteret, som i Gamle Aker kirke, på nordsiden av koret. Men i de aller fleste kirker har Maria-alteret stått rett inn mot østmuren eller østveggen, med bildet stående oppå, ofte med en baldakin over, eller senere, plassert i et alterskap der dørene bare ble åpnet på de særlige Mariafestdager’ (Mary has a permanent place in all churches to the left in front of the chancel opening. Occasionally there was an altar niche in the nave’s east wall, for example in Værnes, or even a separate chapel for the Marian altar, as in Gamle Aker church on the north side of the chancel. But in most churches, the altar of Mary has stood directly in front of the east wall [of the nave], with the image standing on top, often with a canopy above, or later, placed in a shrine where the doors were only opened on the special Marian feast days). See: Anker, 1981, p. 205. 104 stephan kuhn Marian veneration took place inside the church interior. The Danish art historian Ebbe Nyborg was among the first to point out that wall paintings depicting the Madonna are commonly located on the north side of the triumphal arch in Danish parish churches (Nyborg, 1977, pp. 165–166);for example, in Måløv church on Zealand. Here we find niches on either side of the arch containing paintings that can be dated to 1150–1175. The northern niche depicts the Virgin Mary and Child in the Byzantine scheme of Hodegetria (‘showing the way’), while the southern niche features a bishop (Kunz, 2007, p. 266). In the churches of Råsted and Bindslev, both in northern Jutland, mural paintings preserved on the place of the former northern side altar show Mary as the enthroned Mother of God. The same pattern can be observed in several Swedish parish churches, such as in Hall on the island of Gotland. Here, above the vanished northern side altar, we find a protruding console that probably held an image of Mary and Child. The fourteenth-century wall painting under the console shows the coronation of the Virgin between two angels swinging censers between Peter (left) and Paul (right). Three saints are depicted on the northern wall; these can be identified as St Catherine, a holy bishop, and St Olav (Kroesen, 2019, pp. 20–21). In Mästerby (Gotland) a painted image of Mary from the twelfth century is preserved in a niche in the northeast corner of the nave (Fig. 1). Compared to Denmark and Sweden, the survival rate of wall paintings in Norway is generally low. Here, however, we sometimes find other forms of altar decorations that indicate the place of a former altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In Hopperstad stave church on the Sognefjord, a baldachin from the twelfth or thirteenth century standing in the northeast corner is reminiscent of a vanished Marian altar that once stood below (Fig. 2). The roof of the baldachin holds a painted Marian cycle and a sculpture of the Virgin most probably stood on the altar. In churches where two sculptures survive as a pair, art historians have traditionally relocated these on the side altars standing on both sides of the triumphal arch. In some cases, such as in the church of Dädesjö (Småland, Sweden) (Fig. 3), there are convincing arguments for doing this. This twelfth-century church was abandoned in 1794 when it was converted into a storage facility and the chancel was demolished. However, a description written by the vicar Sven Laurén in 1758 mentions the images of St Olav in a tabernacle shrine and a Madonna, both standing on top of a side altar (Ullén, 1969, p. 210). After the church was abandoned, the sculptures were kept in the tower of the new church building and returned to the side altars in 1922 (Ullén, 1969, p. 216), where they had probably stood since the thirteenth century. The church of Östra Vram (Skåne, Sweden) possesses two tabernacle shrines containing sculptures of the Virgin and Child marian tabernacles on main altars 111 dom in 1262, more than 1200 church inventories (the so-called máldagar) are preserved from between the thirteenth until the sixteenth centuries, mostly from small parish churches. Fredrik Wallem analyzed these inventories in his thesis from 1909 and made these extraordinary sources accessible for research. Sculptures of the Virgin and other saints sometimes described as standing in a tabernacle are mentioned frequently, but the location in the church remains uncertain (Wallem, 1910). Panel paintings are mostly mentioned in the inventories in an altar context simply with the terms tabulum, tabula, or the Icelandic words skript, blað, bilæti, or brík (Wallem, 1910, pp. 40 and 52). It is not possible to establish with certainty whether this refers to altar frontals or retables. Another aspect not mentioned in the inventories, as mentioned above, is the iconography of these panels. It was not until 1318 that a panel in the church of Ás í Kelduhverfi in northern Iceland was described in detail as toflu yfir alltare – ‘a panel above the altar’ (Morgan, 2004, p. 9). In England, a panel on the main altar is mentioned in Oxney in Northamptonshire (Lehmann-Brockhaus, 1956, nr. 3425). This chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, belonged to a cell under the Benedictine monastery of Peterborough and no more than six monks lived here permanently. It is mentioned that Robert de Lindesey, abbot of Peterborough, ordered the chancel of the chapel to be built around 1214–1222, and that a panel with the image of the Virgin was placed on the altar (Lehmann-Brockhaus, 1956, nr. 3425). Both the chapel and the image are now lost.10 It is in England, which had strong ties with Norway during the high Middle Ages that one finds indication for the location of sculptures in the context of the main altar. Roman regulations required a dedication of every altar. The patron of the altar had to be visible either on written or visual manner in the direct environment of the altar. This led – according to Paul Binski – to a visual representation of the saint or the Virgin Mary on the altar by the late thirteenth century. The synodal statutes of Exeter from 1287 require an image of the patron saint in the respective church, and – according to Binski – the preferred place for display was the chancel altar (Binski, 1995, p. 53). This regulation was repeated during the Synod of Trier in 1310 and in the fourteenth-century statutes of the bishop of Exeter for the collegiate church of St Mary in Devon (Binski, 1995, p. 53). A location of a Marian image in context of the main altar preserved in the St Mary’s Church of Great Canfield in Essex (Marks, 2004, p. 44). A mid-thirteenth century mu- 10 No traces of the chapel were found in 1845: Dugdale, 1846, p. 663. 112 stephan kuhn ral painting of the Maria Lactans is placed above the chancel altar between two windows. The Virgin Mary was by far the most popular patron of English parish churches (Marks, 2004, p. 64) which makes it possible that an image on or in the environment of the main altar was quite common. Although records on church dedications in Norway are scarce there are several churches where the dedication is known. From the 364 church dedications known in Norway in total sixty referring to the Virgin Mary (Dietrichson, 1888, pp. 130–133), which in turn, indicate a consecration of the main altar to her, that was marked by a written or figural notation. If one can draw some results of the scarce records, Mary was the most popular patron of Norwegian churches. A comparable pattern can be observed in church dedications on Iceland and in Denmark (Wallem, 1910, p. 15). Likewise, it has been common in other parts of Europe to mark the altar with an image of the patron. This can be observed by a rare example from the church of Steinkirchen in Brandenburg (Germany). Here, a shrine with the image of Saint Pancrate, the patron saint of the church, survived and is now on display in the Bodemuseum in Berlin (c. 1300, inv. 3198). The shrine from around 1300 lost its wings but originally had a width of approximate two meters, which corresponds exactly with the dimension of the main altar. The shrine with the image of the patron saint was most probably located on the main altar (Kunz, 2014, p. 226). A record from the Cistercian monastery of Walkenried in northern Germany refers to a sculpture of the Virgin Mary displayed on the main altar. This is a legal act between the Counts of Scharzfeld, Burchard and Sigebodo, and the knight Thudo dating from 1265. The source mentions an image of Mary on an altar: ‘[…] Walkenride monachorum in altari et super ymaginem beatae Mariae virginis’ (Hettling, 1852-55, pp. 245–246). Since such legal oaths were usually sworn before the main altar, Bernd Nicolai assumed that there was an image of the Virgin Mary standing on the main altar of this monastery church. He connected this Madonna with one of the two extant sculptures from Walkenried dated c. 1250 (Nicolai, 1994, pp. 33–34). The material (limestone) and the dimension suggest that the sculpture was permanently located on the main altar. This would imply that in Walkenried we have proof of a permanent image of the Virgin Mary on the high altar of a Cistercian church as early as 1250. However, it is not always certain if sculptures where placed direct on or behind the altar. According to an English document from around 1250, a Marian image in a tabernacle was placed in the chancel of Aldbury church in Herfordshire without mentioning explicitly the altar (Marks, 2004, p. 62). Traces in several chancels of English churches indicate a display of such sculptures and shrines in niches and on consoles on the walls in the environment of the altar marian tabernacles on main altars 113 (Marks, 2004, pp. 73–76). Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that sculptures and tabernacle shrines where displayed in parish churches without a direct altar connection. It may be concluded that written sources from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are generally scarce with regard to the iconography or location of objects inside churches. The few written sources that survive from medieval Norway do not explicitly mention the location of Marian images on main altars. However, indication may be drawn from important material survivals, including the tabernacle shrines from Reinli, Hedalen, and Hove, in relation to the spatial context from which they originate, in addition to other indications found here and there in other parts of Europe. All these indications make it highly plausible that sculptures of the Virgin Mary were placed on and in the environment of main altars from at least as early as the middle of the thirteenth century. 4. marian frontals Beside the tabernacle shrines discussed above, another element of altar decoration common with Marian iconography that should also be taken into account is that of altar frontals. In Norway, thirty-one altar frontals have survived, fifteen of which show the seated Madonna with the Christ Child in the center, surrounded by narrative scenes from the birth of Christ or scenes from Marian miracles. These panels resemble the aspect of contemporary Norwegian tabernacle shrines when opened, as observed by Bernt C. Lange (1957, pp. 194–196). The strong similarities in form and content lead one to assume that there was no principal difference between choosing a painted or a carved image, nor between its position at the front or on top of an altar, which makes these Norwegian painted altar frontals highly relevant to our discussion of Marian sculptures in altar contexts. The frontal in Skaun (Trøndelag) is one of the few medieval frontals that is still located in the original position for which it was made around the middle of the thirteenth century (Fig. 9). It perfectly matches the dimensions of the front of the medieval main altar in the chancel (height 97 cm, width 166 cm). From Tingelstad (Oppland), three frontals are preserved that now all belong to the collection of the Cultural History Museum at the University of Oslo. The church of Tingelstad was built during the thirteenth century and preserves its medieval main altar block; here, too, the frontal showing Mary and Child fits perfectly to its front (height 98.5 cm, width 160 cm). Both Marian frontals from Skaun and 114 stephan kuhn Tingelstad have a similar width of about 160–166 cm, which is also the case with three other frontals with Mariological iconography preserved in Norway – the frontals from Dale II (165 cm), Hamre (167 cm), and Odda (165.5 cm) – and it is most likely that these frontals have also served as frontals of main altars. In the wider European context, I should mention the small village church of Saint-Fructueux in Iravals/Yravals in French Catalonia (Pyrénées-Orientales), which contains a painted frontal with a central depiction of the Virgin Mary that is still located on the front of the altar in the apse.11 From the monastery from Santa Maria de Lluçà in Spanish Catalonia originates a frontal with Marian iconography now preserved in the Museu Episcopal at Vic (inv. MEV 4). It belonged to the main altar of the church of the Augustinian convent in Lluçà (Trullén, 2007, p. 103) where the front of the high altar is now adorned with a painted copy. Similarly, the provenance of four Marian frontals preserved in the Museu Nacional d’Art Catalunya in Barcelona is also known. The frontals from Avià (inv. 1578), Mosoll (inv. 15788), Alós d’Isil (inv. 15834) and Rigatell (inv. 35701) probably belonged to the decorations of the main altars in the respective churches.12 Most of the cases discussed are small rural parishes that were hardly at the forefront of artistic developments and where radical innovations are not likely to have occurred. The rare material survivals, of which the original spatial context is known, together with scarce written sources where the iconography of altar decorations is precisely mentioned, allow us to conclude that images of the Virgin and Child, either as sculptures or as panel paintings, must have been considerably widespread as decorations of main altars throughout Western Europe during the thirteenth century. 5. the virgin mary in medieval theology Placing the Virgin and Child on the main altar puts the Mother of God in the center of the church building as a focal point of liturgy and devotion. The central role of the Virgin Mary in the history of salvation is directly related to her role as an instrument in the Incarnation of the Savior. During the twelfth century especially, an increase in Mariological piety and veneration can be observed in texts 11 Géraldine Mallet assumed an origin of the frontal from the neighboring church of Saint-Éti- enne de Latour-de-Carol, see: Mallet, 2003, p. 246. 12 I thank Gemma Ylla-Català for kindly providing me with this information. marian tabernacles on main altars 115 from all parts of Europe. It is often assumed that the Cistercians functioned as catalyzers in the spreading of Marian piety. All Cistercian churches were dedicated to the Virgin, and a special attitude towards Mary can be observed in Cistercian texts from the thirteenth century, such as the mentioned miracle collection written by Caesarius of Heisterbach. Mary also played an extraordinary role in other monastic orders, and a strong Marian veneration certainly did not remain constrained to monastic congregations in medieval Europe (Kupferschmied, 2017, pp. 19–31; Kjesrud, 2015, p. 103). The most important sources for the study of Marian veneration in thirteenthcentury Scandinavia are written in Old Norse. Two important collections of texts survive: the Gammelnorsk Homiliebok, a collection of sermons, and the so-called Maríu Saga, a saga text on the Virgin including a collection of Marian miracles. In the Maríu Saga, which is preserved in forty-two editions from the twelfth century until the sixteenth century, the Virgin plays an important role as an intermediary between Christ and humankind. Irene Kupferschmied, who analyzed the sources of the saga and the miracle texts, has been able to identify the Latin sources for nearly all miracles; only three texts seem to have an Old Norse origin. Based on the common source texts of Central European origin, Kupferschmied assumed that the Mariological piety in medieval Iceland and Norway followed the common European pattern (Kupferschmied, 2017, p. 29). In these texts, Mary is directly involved in the faith of ordinary believers. The outstanding position of the Virgin in the salvation of humankind is even more explicitly expressed in the Marian sermon of the Old Norse Homiliebok: En þo er ein hennar iartæin hælgare oc øðre en allar iartæinir hæilagra manna, su er hon bar droten várn, þann er allar irtæinir oc alla miscum væitir hælgum maonnum. Oc þat allt er guð hefir os væit til miscunnar í hingatqvaomo sonar síns, þa haofum vér af henne þvi at hon gerðisc værð at høyra ængils orð oc boðan, sva sem í dag er, at hon scyldi bera þann í hæim, er ós løysti með sinu bloðe fra hælvitis qvaolum (Unger, 1864, p. 170). (And yet Her only prophecy is more holy and exalted than all the prophecies of the Saints; for she bore our Lord, the One who grants grace to all Saints to perform these prophecies. And all mercy that we experience through the Son of God, which we have received through Her. She made herself worthy to hear the voice of the angel. She bear him into the world, which he shall salvage from the torment of hell by his blood).13 13 Translation by author with help from Zuzana Stankovitsová. 116 stephan kuhn This quote makes a direct reference to the Incarnation of Christ through Mary and his ensuing sacrificial death as an act of salvation to humankind. According to the doctrine of Transubstantiation, Christ’s redeeming death was repeated every time the sacrament of the Eucharist was performed – not just symbolically, but in reality. The sermon explains that it was only through Mary who gave birth to the savior that humankind could receive salvation. Thus, this source attributes an outstanding position in salvation history to Mary and placed her far above all other saints. The veneration of the Virgin was always inextricably connected to the Incarnation of the Savior, an event to which the Marian type of the Throne of Wisdom (Sedes sapientiae) makes explicit reference. The narrative scenes found on the inside of the wings of tabernacle shrines embed the Mother of God into a narrative context surrounding the Birth of Christ. The extraordinary position granted to Mary, which is reflected in Old Norse and Icelandic texts, follows an overall European pattern. 6. conclusion The Norwegian tabernacle shrines from Hedalen, Reinli, and Hove, as well as a number of Norwegian painted altar frontals, make it clear that Mariological iconography must have been quite common on high altars, at least from the second half of the thirteenth century onward. The close stylistic and iconographic similarities between these Norwegian medieval art works and objects found elsewhere in Europe make it likely that the same was true for all of Western Europe. Moreover, the fact that most examples originated from remote churches in the Norwegian mountains shows that sculpted and painted depictions of the Virgin Mary did not remain restricted to the context of certain religious orders, but also spread to modest parish churches. Thus, it is no great surprise that several of the earliest preserved winged altarpieces, including for example those in Doberan (c. 1300) and Altenberg (c. 1330), both in Germany, should hold the figure of Mary prominently in the center. This feature was by no means a Cistercian invention, as has been suggested, but rather seems to carry forward an existing tradition of displaying images of saints, and particularly of the Mother of God, on the main altar. The study of early tabernacle shrines is fundamental to our understanding of these developments. Furthermore, these hitherto largely ignored art works from the North of Europe invite to rethink the precise relationship between tabernacle shrines, on one hand, and winged altarpieces, on the other. marian tabernacles on main altars 117 7. bibliography Andersen, E. & Stein, M., 2008: Krusifikset og madonnaskapet i Hedalen stavkirke. Undersøkelse 2006-2008. NIKU rapport 25, Oslo. Anker, P., 1981: “Høymiddelalderens skulptur i stein og tre”, in K. Berg (ed.), Norges kunsthistorie. Høymiddelalder og Hansa-tid, Oslo, pp. 126–251. Bandmann, G., 1962: “Früh- und hochmittelalterliche Altarandordnung als Darstellung” in V. H. Elbern (ed.), Das erste Jahrtausend. Kultur und Kunst im werdenden Abendland an Rhein und Ruhr, Düsseldorf, pp. 371–411. Bing, J., 1909: “Norges ældste kirkeinventar. Et arkivfund”, Bergens Museum Aarbog, 13, pp. 3–5. Binski, P., 1995, “The 13th-century English altarpiece” in M. Malmanger, L. Berczelly & S. Fuglesang (eds), Norwegian Medieval Altar Frontals and Related Material, Rome, pp.47–57. Bouillet, A., 1897: Liber miracolorum sancte Fidis, Paris. Braun, J., 1924: Der christliche Altar in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung, 2 vols, Munich. Budde, R., 1979: Deutsche romanische Skulptur 1050–1250, Munich. Dietrichson, L., 1888: Sammenlignende Fortegnelse over Norges Kirkebygninger i Middelaleren og Nutiden, Kristiania (Oslo). ——, 1892: De norske stavkirker, studier over deres system oprindelse og historiske udvikling. Et bidrag til Norges middelalderske bygningskunsts historie, Kristiania (Oslo). Dugdale, W., 1846: Monasticon Anglicanum. A History of the Abbies and other monasteries, hospitals, friaries and Cathedral and Collegiate churches with their dependencies in England and Wales also of all such Scotch, Irish and French monasteries, as were in manner connected with religious houses in England, London. Forsyth, I. H., 1972: The Throne of Wisdom. Wood sculptures of the Madonna in Romanesque France, Princeton. Hettling, G. von, 1852-55: Die Urkunden des Stiftes Walkenried. Urkundenbuch des Historischen Vereins für Niedersachsen, Hannover. Kjesrud, K., 2015: “Conceptions of the Virgin Mary in Medieval Western Scandinavia”, in J. Carlquist & V. Langum (eds), Words and Matter. The Virgin Mary in Late Medieval and Early Modern Parish Life, Stockholm, pp. 87–103. Klein, A., 2011: Funktion und Nutzung der Krypta im Mittelalter. Heiligsprechung und Heiligenverehrung am Beispiel Italien, Wiesbaden. Kroesen, J. E. A., 2019: “Retabel und Raum. Bedingungen und Formenvielfalt”, in U. Schütte, H. Locher, K. Niehr, J. Sander & X. Stolzenburg (eds), Mit- 118 stephan kuhn telalterliche Retabel in Hessen, vol. 2: Werke, Kontexte, Ensembles, Petersberg, pp. 196-206. Kunz, T., 2007: Skulptur um 1200. Das Kölner Atelier der Viklau-Madonna auf Gotland und der ästhetische Wandel in der 2. Hälfte des 12. Jahrhunderts,Petersberg. ——, 2014: Bildwerke nördlich der Alpen 1050 bis 1380. Kritischer Bestandskatalog. Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Petersberg. Kupferschmied, I., 2017: Die altisländischen und altnorwegischen Marienmirakel, Munich. Lange, B. C., 1957: “St. Peter fra Fåberg”, Maihaugen 1953–1956. De Sandvigske Samlinger, pp.189–196. ——, 1994: “Madonnaskap med kirkemodell som baldakinbekroning med efterskrift av Jan Svanberg”, Foreningen til norske Fortidsmindesmerkers Bevaring Årbok, 148, pp. 23–36. Le Pogam, P.-Y., 2009: “Le retable de Carrières”, in J. Kroesen & V. Schmidt (eds), The Altar and Its Environment, 1150–1400, Turnhout, pp. 169–182. Legner, A., 1982: Romanische Kunst in Deutschland, Munich. Lehmann-Brockhaus, O., 1956: Lateinische Schriftquellen zur Kunst in England, Wales und Schottland vom Jahre 901–1307, Munich. Mallet, G., 2003: Églises romanes oubliées du Rousillon, Montpellier. Marks, R., 2004: Image and Devotion in Late Medieval England, Stroud. Morgan, N. J., 2004: “Norwegian altar frontals in a European context: form and function”, in E. B. Hohler, N. J. Morgan & A. Wichstrøm (eds), Painted Altar Frontals of Norway, vol. 1: Artists, Styles and Iconography, London, pp. 3–12. Nicolai, B., 1994: “Die Entdeckung des Bildwerks. Frühe Marienbilder und Altarretabel unter dem Aspekt zisterziensischer Frömmigkeit”, in H. Beck & K. Hengevoss-Dürkop (eds), Studien zur Geschichte der europäischen Skulptur im 12./13. Jahrhundert, Frankfurt am Main, pp. 29–43. Nyborg, E., 1977: “Mikaels altre”, Hikuin, 3, pp. 157–182. Pawlik, A., 2013: Das Bildwerk als Reliquiar? Funktionen früher Großplastik im 9.–11. Jahrhundert, Petersberg. Rieden, B., 1995: Der Dreikönigsaltar in Oberpleis. Stilkritische und ikonographische Untersuchung einer romanischen Steinskulptur, Siegburg. Sheingorn, P., 1995: The Book of Sainte Foy, Philadelphia. Stein, M., 2010: “Madonnaskapene i Hedalen og Reinli stavkirker. Forslag til rekonstruksjon av skapenes opprinnelige utseende”, Collegium Medievale, 23, pp. 58–91. marian tabernacles on main altars 119 Trullén, J. M.ª, 2007: “Altar from Santa Maria in Lluçà”, in J. M.ª Trullén (ed.), Museu Episcopal de Vic. Guide to the Collections, Vic, pp. 103–104. Ullén, M., 1969: Dädesjö och Eke kyrkor. Uppvidinge Härad, Småland, Stockholm. Wallem, F. B., 1910: “De islandske kirkers udstyr i middelalderen”, in Foreningen til norske fortidsmindesmærkers bevaring Aarsberetning 1909, pp. 1–64. Wolf, N., 2002: Deutsche Schnitzretabel des 14. Jahrhunderts, Berlin. 120 stephan kuhn Fig. 1. Niche serving as a background to the former northern side altar, with a depiction of the enthroned Virgin and Child, in the church of Mästerby, Gotland, Sweden, c. 1150–1175 (photo Justin Kroesen). marian tabernacles on main altars 127 Fig. 8. Reconstruction of the canopy of the tabernacle shrine from Hove, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway, located on the main altar in the church at Hove 2016 (photo Justin Kroesen). 128 stephan kuhn Fig. 9. Main altar with a Marian altar frontal from c. 1250, Skaun, Trøndelag, Norway (photo Justin Kroesen). TABERNACLEALTARPIECES IN CENTRAL EUROPE: EXAMPLES, TYPES, ICONOGRAPHY RETABLOSTABERNÁCULO EN EUROPA CENTRAL: EJEMPLOS, TIPOS, ICONOGRAFÍA Stephan Kemperdick Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2273-8407 Received: 14/01/2020 – Accepted: 19/01/2020 Abstract A first survey of tabernacle-altarpieces in the German-speaking countries reveals that probably less than 20 specimens can be traced from the time before c. 1450; most of them are only preserved in fragments. They can be found in the north (Stralsund) as well as in middle and southern Germany and the Alpine region. Among them are large, sumptuous works like the former high altar retable of Stams monastery in Tyrol or the life-size ‘Madonna with the Stags’ in Erfurt, both from around 1370–80. The only coherent group in the corpus, however, is formed by four smaller tabernacles that probably were made for the Nuremberg convent of the Poor Clares around 1360–70. In terms of iconography, the Virgin as the Apocalyptic Woman appears remarkably often at the centre of tabernaclealtarpieces, starting with the Erfurt Madonna. A later example of this type is the large Virgin in the Sun on a pier of St Sebaldus church in Nuremberg, donated by the Imhoff-family around 1440. Originally the centre of a tabernacle with wings, it stood next to and above an altar with a painted retable; thus the two works must have formed a kind of ensemble. Most of the known tabernaclealtarpieces were designed as a kind of vertical cabinet or as a tower; in the latter case, ground-plans vary between rectangle, pentagon and T-shape. Starting around mid-14th century, there are also some retables with scenic arrangements of sculptures in broad shrines that basically follow the construction of tabernaclealtarpieces. Medievalia 23/1 (2020), 129-155 – ISSN: 2014-8410 (digital) DOI: https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/medievalia.516 130 stephan kemperdick Keywords Tabernacle-altarpieces, Germany c. 1300–1440, St Clare altarpieces of Nuremberg, Apocalyptic Woman, construction of altarpieces, placement of altarpieces, retable. Resumen Una primera valoración de los retablos-tabernáculo en los territorios de lengua alemana revela que probablemente solo se pueden rastrear menos de veinte ejemplares anteriores a 1450, la mayoría de ellos conservados de manera fragmentaria. Se pueden encontrar en el norte (Stralsund), así como en el centro y sur de Alemania y en la región alpina. Entre ellos hay obras grandes y suntuosas, como el antiguo retablo mayor del monasterio de Stams, en el Tirol, o la Virgen de los Ciervos de Erfurt, de tamaño natural (ambos se fechan hacia 1370-80). En cualquier caso, el único grupo coherente dentro de este corpus es el formado por cuatro retablos-ta- bernáculos de menor tamaño que probablemente fueron hechos para el convento de las clarisas de Núremberg hacia 1360-70. Desde el punto de vista iconográfico, resulta significativa la frecuente aparición de la Virgen como mujer apocalíptica en el centro de los retablos-tabernáculo, empezando por la mencionada Virgen de Erfurt. Un ejemplo posterior de este tipo es la gran Virgen ceñida por el sol que se encuentra en un pilar de la iglesia de San Sebaldo de Núremberg, donada por la familia Imhoff hacia 1440. En origen fue la imagen titular de un tabernáculo con alas que se situó cerca y por encima de un altar con un retablo pintado, de manera que ambas obras pudieron haber formado una especie de conjunto. La mayor parte de los retablos-tabernáculo conocidos fueron diseñados como a modo de cajón vertical o de torre (en este último caso, la forma de la planta varía entre el rectángulo, el pentágono y la forma de T). A partir de mediados del siglo XIV, también hay algunos retablos con figuras formando escenas dentro de amplios tabernáculos que siguen básicamente la estructura de los retablos-tabernáculo. Palabras clave Retablos-tabernáculo, Alemania c. 1300-1400, retablos de Santa Clara de Núremberg, mujer apocalíptica, construcción de retablos, emplazamiento de retablos, retablo. All over Europe, the number of tabernacle-altarpieces that have come down to us from the later middle ages is limited, and their distribution among different regions is extremely uneven. The majority of the material can be found in Scandi- tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 131 navia, and numerous works are known from the Iberian Peninsula. Nevertheless, there are also some specimens preserved from Central Europe. The works that will be mentioned here were created in the regions between the south coast of the Baltic Sea in the North and Tyrol in the South, between the Rhineland in the West and Franconia, Bohemia and the former Prussian territories in the East – in short, from the German-speaking or partly German-speaking countries of the Holy Roman Empire. Just a few tabernacle-altarpieces from these regions are preserved completely, while the majority only survived in fragments, sometimes small ones. In all probability, there are remains of more, maybe even many more tabernacle-altarpieces preserved, but if so, they cannot be identified: It is impossible to tell if a carved sculpture of a standing or sitting saint was originally placed in a tabernacle with foldable wings. The following essay will discuss undisputable tabernacle-altarpieces (or their fragments) from Central Europe. This is a first survey, and an attempt to list all relevant works from the regions defined above from the time before 1450. Even if some works have in all likelihood been overlooked, the modest number of only 17 specimens presented here could probably not be raised significantly. Furthermore, this essay will discuss the different types of constructions encountered as well as the possible original placements of the works. 1. rectangular shrines Besides a 13th-centruy Madonna, originally housed in a tabernacle, in Humptrup in Schleswig-Holstein which is closely related to Scandinavian works (Albrecht, ed., 2020, pp. 293–296) the arguably oldest surviving example of a tabernacle with foldable wings from Germany is a construction of c. 175 cm height, made around 1300 in Saxony (Fig. 1; Kunz, 2014, cat. 62). Shown today in the Bode-Museum in Berlin, it once stood on the main altar of St Pancras’ church in Steinkirchen (Lausitz, Brandenburg), and presents a figure of the titular saint; the wings are unfortunately lost. It consists of a cabinet-like construction above a rectangular ground plan, with a closed back side and two thin columns at the front edges. This type continued to be used for a long time; more than a century and a half later, around 1470, pretty much the same construction was used for an altarpiece in Darsberg near Heidelberg (Figs 9–10 Ralcheva, in this volume; Stange, 1970, no 459). It is smaller than the one from Steinkirchen, the shrine being 125 cm high, and there is a standing Virgin and Child at its centre, surrounded by four saints, each one painted on the inside of one of the wings; the outsides of the 132 stephan kemperdick outermost wings show an Annunciation. We do not know where the Darsberg tabernacle stood originally, yet in all probability it also was a retable, placed on an altar. The same seems to be true for a tabernacle of very similar dimensions, made around 1420/30 (Figs 7–8 Ralcheva, in this volume), that comes from Our Lady’s Church in Friedberg, Hesse (Woelk, 1999, cat. 16; Foerster, 2018, pp. 252–253). In this case, the figure of the seated Madonna is markedly older than the shrine and its wings, on whose insides scenes from the life of the Virgin are painted. The sculpture was made and polychromed around 1330/50, and it seems that it was first kept and venerated in the chapel of Friedberg Castle. Probably only after a number of relics had been inserted in the corpus of the sculpture and its veneration grew, it was transferred to the church and installed in a tabernacle. This would have served both to underline the dignity of the work, and to keep the relics save. A similar kind of tabernacle-altarpiece from around 1410–20 has survived in Stralsund, a Hanse city on the border of the Baltic Sea. It belonged to the altar of the Bergenfahrer, merchants travelling to Bergen in Norway, in the major parish church of the town, St Nicholas (Weitzel, 2011, pp. 195–196 and 204–206). The shrine of the altarpiece houses a seated figure of St Olaf, while the inner sides of the wings are adorned with painted scenes from the life of the holy Norwegian king (Fig. 2). On the exterior are standing saints, Olaf, Bridget of Sweden, and Sunniva, a saintly princess widely venerated in Norway; the iconography thus clearly reflects the patronage of the Bergenfahrer. The original shrine of the ensemble was destroyed in World War II, but it was reconstructed in a stylized modern form in 1999/2000. Unfortunately, the original placement of the tabernacle is not known, for the altar of the Bergen merchants itself has disappeared. However, the original tabernacle rested on a kind of corbel pointing downwards, and thus it could not have stood on the mensa of an altar in the way the Steinkirchen and Darsberg shrines did. Instead the St Olaf tabernacle might have been attached above the mensa to a wall or a pier. As the work did not show any image of Christ or the Virgin, which we should expect on an early 15th-century altarpiece, it might be that there was a rectangular retable with such representations placed on the altar of the Bergenfahrer, with the tabernacle hanging on the wall or pier above it. If this assumption is correct, it would have been an ensemble not unlike those that are often shown in early Netherlandish paintings, where flat altarpieces, with or without wings, are often crowned by a tabernacle with the sculpture of a saint and wings showing scenes from the life of that saint: good examples are for instance the high altar with retable and tabernacle depicted in Rogier van der Weyden’s Exhumation of St Hubert of c. 1440 – where the figure tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 133 in the tabernacle represents St Peter, the patron saint of the cathedral where the event depicted took place – or in a painting by the Brussels Master of Sopetrán of c. 1470 (Fig. 3).1If the Bergenfahrer altar in St Nicholas in Stralsund was dedicated to St Olaf, as it is likely, its tabernacle would have presented the patron saint just as in Rogier’s picture. 2. tower-like constructions A different type of tabernacle-altarpiece, with a pentagon-shaped ground plan, and resembling a tower rather than a cabinet, can be traced in the Germanic countries from the middle of the 14th century onward. An obviously tall construction of that kind once existed in the Cistercian monastery of Stams in Tyrol (Fig. 4), but is lost since a long time and only known through a drawing in the monastery’s chronicle by pater Wolfgang Lebersorg from around 1630 (Oberhammer, 1948, pp. 28–31; Egg, 1985, pp. 53 and 57; Wolf, 2002, p. 296). According to his notes, the tabernacle stood on the main altar of the monastery church. It was probably made in 1376, as indicated on the drawing,2 and although the latter is a somewhat amateurish work, it gives a fairly good idea of the structure and appearance of the lost altarpiece. Basically, it followed the same design as the one painted by the Master of Sopetrán a hundred years later, yet with one remarkable difference: The central section of the work in Stams had two storeys, united by a solid back panel. The lower storey consisted of the high, pentagonal foot, and the upper one of the likewise pentagonal shrine for the statue of the Virgin and Child. This shrine sported a canopy with gothic tracery around its four gables; two thin columns were supporting the canopy. The wings too were divided horizontally in two sections, and it seems that the upper and the lower ones could be moved separately. Thus the lower set of wings, containing images of St Peter and St Paul and a considerable number of small niches for relics, could for example stay close while the upper register, showing a standing saint on each of its panels, could be opened or vice versa. The construction thus offered the possibility to show three different stages of opening, i.e. three different levels of splendour. The 1Rogier’s work in London, National Gallery, see Campbell, 1998, pp. 407–427. The Sopetrán panels in Madrid, Prado, see Jover/Alba/Gayo, 2016. A survey in Kroesen, 2017. 2However, at the same time Lebersorg quoted an inscription that purportedly was located on the back of the work, according to which it was made by the then abbot Heinrich Grussit himself between 1386 and 1388. We are ignorant whether this inscription was reliable or not. 134 stephan kemperdick centre section, finally, was crowned by a tower, a gothic spire of the same height as the tabernacle including its foot. With respect to its structure as well as its individual forms, the lost work from Stams has been rightly compared to a retable with a rectangular central section from the chapel of Tyrol Castle (Innsbruck, Landesmuseum; Wolf, 2002, pp. 152–165) that was made slightly earlier, in or around 1370; when open, it is about 278 cm wide and 249 cm high including its central tower (Fig. 5). This work too has two storeys, and it also comprises a large compartment for relics. However, this compartment is located in the lower section of the central panel while the wings contain only flat paintings. A most unusual element in the long-lost Stams tabernacle was certainly its function as a container for a large quantity of relics – at least 92, if the 17th-centruy drawing is correct. Actually, the lower set of wings was in the first place a kind of reliquary, and this was in all probability the reason for the likewise very unusual design with two storeys. Allegedly, Emperor Charles IV had given a number of important relics to Stams after 1360, and if that is true, there can be no doubt that the tabernacle-altarpiece was made especially for them. Unfortunately, we do not know why the patrons at Stams opted for the complicated form of a tabernacle instead of a more common construction for the safekeeping of relics, namely an altarpiece like the one from Tyrol Castle with a rectangular shrine. In all probability, both altarpieces were made in the same workshop, and the craftsmen might have followed the two-storey structure of the Tyrol Castle retable when designing the tabernacle. However, the decision for such a structure and for the insertion of the relics in the lower set of wings had certainly been taken by the patrons. At any rate, the fully-opened tabernacle-altarpiece would have given a general aspect not so very different from that of the altarpiece from Tyrol Castle: A wide, golden panel with a sculpture of the Virgin in the centre, painted wings, ending in gables, and on top of it a spire as high as the shrine itself. Another high and slender tabernacle on a pentagonal base comes from the hospital church in Erfurt (Fig. 6), and is today kept in the city’s Angermuseum (Legner, ed., 1978, vol. 2, p. 565). It was made around 1370 and contains a firstclass sculpture of the Virgin and Child, carved in lime wood and c. 1.5 m high. Other than in the Stams or Sopetrán specimens, the shrine is closed at the top by a heavy, protruding canopy instead of a spire. The wings are lost without a trace, but it is obvious that their inner sides would have shown the golden rays emanating from the sun behind the Virgin, and little else – at most some flying angels at the outer edges. The Erfurt Virgin is wearing a precious white cloak, ornamented with golden stags – hence its common name ‘Madonna with the Stags’. She is standing on the Moon and clad with the Sun, and she might have tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 135 had a crown with twelve stars originally: We are dealing with one of the earliest known examples of a sculpture of the Apocalyptic Woman. This iconography, based on chapter 12 of the Revelation of St John, became popular in northern Europe from the second half of the 14th century on; with its cosmic associations, it underlined the role of the Virgin Mary as the Queen of Heaven. At the same time, the Erfurt Virgin was at the front of a remarkable series of tabernacle-altarpieces of similar iconography. Indeed, the Apocalyptic Woman seems to have been a preferred iconography for such constructions, at least in the German-speaking regions. Besides the ‘Madonna with the Stags’ there is a Virgin and Child from around 1410 in Danzig (Gdańsk) that might or might not be the work of a Netherlandish sculptor (Geelen, 2017, pp. 69–71); around 1500 it was placed in a tabernacle whose inner side is covered with the sun rays of the Apocalyptic Woman – it is again unclear if this iconography repeats an earlier one. In a tabernacle-altarpiece from Raron (Valais, Switzerland) that was probably made around 1420 in Swabia, the Virgin in the central shrine is encircled by the rays of the sun and standing on the moon, while the wings are occupied by flat reliefs of the Three Magi in adoration and St Romanus, the patron saint of the church it was destined for.3 The well-known Virgin in the Sun of c. 1440 in St Sebaldus in Nuremberg, to which we will come back below, was also at the centre of a large folding tabernacle (Fig. 13). In the already mentioned altarpiece at Darsberg, the central Virgin is likewise conceived as the Apocalyptic Woman as the rays emanating from behind her reveal, and the same applies to some comparatively late tabernacle-altarpieces like the high altar retable of Velden near Nuremberg of c. 1470 (Strieder, 1993, cat. 29) where the insides of the wings are again completely filled with rays and some angels, or a tabernacle of 302 cm high and 287 cm wide when open that was made around 1477 for Weissenburg church in Franconia (today Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum).4 Thus it becomes obvious that tabernacles were considered to be perfect surroundings for images of the Virgin as Apocalyptic Woman. The reasons for this predilection are obvious: Tabernacles offered the best possibility to show a single sculpture in an architectural setting – and Apocalyptic Women are frequently conceived as single figures, both in sculpture and painting; furthermore, the interior of the wings provided plenty of space for a large, impressive halo of rays around a Virgin in the Sun. 3Height 185 cm; Zurich, Schweizerisches Landesmuseum; Lapaire, 1969, pp. 171–172. 4http://www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de/webgos/bnm_online.php?seite=5&fld_ 0=00212341. 136 stephan kemperdick 3. a group of nuremberg tabernacles for the convent of st clare While all the works discussed so far are more or less isolated objects from different places, an outstanding group of four tabernacle-altarpieces was created around 1360 in Nuremberg, all of which were obviously destined for the local convent of the Poor Clares. All of them were dismantled 200 or more years ago, and nothing but fragments of their wings survived. Therefore, they have only recently been recognized as remnants of tabernacle-altarpieces. Of the most elaborate work among them, five fragments of the wings have come down to us, dispersed between different collections.5One of those fragments, today in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, was in the collection of Edward Solly already before 1819 and thus gives a terminus ante quem for the destruction of the original ensemble. In 2002, four of the fragments could be re-united in an exhibition at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt (Kemperdick, 2002). They once formed the wider, inner set of wings that was attached to the central shrine. The original construction must have been based on a rectangular ground plan not unlike, for instance, the Steinkirchen shrine, but it was of slender proportions, and in all probability its wings ended in gables at the top (Fig. 7); there might also have been a spire above the central shrine. Its height would have been about 1–1.2 m (without a possible spire), and its width when open around 1 m. On the inside of the inner pair of wings, two scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary are combined with two scenes from the lives of St Francis and St Clare (Fig. 8), and it is of course the parallel between the major Franciscan saints on the one hand, and the Virgin and Christ on the other that is intended. From this we can conclude that a carved statue of the standing Virgin with Child was at the centre of the tabernacle. Of the smaller outer set of wings, only one fragment survives; it shows two standing saints, the two SS Johns, on the inside, and a partially cropped Crucifixion on the outside. On the former outsides of the larger wings there are images of the Man of Sorrows and Christ Carrying the Cross, each accompanied by the small kneeling figure of a Poor Clare nun in prayer (Fig. 9). Stylistically, the work can be closely linked to Nuremberg paintings of around 1360, and thus the place for which this altarpiece was destined was in all probability the church of the St Clare’s convent 5The individual scenes of the inner sides of the wings had been cut out; one is in the Städel Museum, Frankfurt, one in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, one in a British private collection, one in the Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin, and one, showing the two SS Johns, was in the Harry Fuld collection in Berlin before World War II; it recently surfaced on the art market. See Brinkmann/ Kemperdick, 2002, pp. 33–54; Kemperdick, 2010, pp. 88–97. tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 143 Fig. 1. Tabernacle from St Pancras, Steinkirchen, c. 1300; Berlin, Bodemuseum, Skulpturensammlung SMB. 144 stephan kemperdick Fig. 2. St Olaf tabernacle, c. 1420 (pre-war photo of original shrine, and reconstruction made in 1999-2000); Stralsund, St Nicholas. tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 145 Fig. 3. Details from Rogier van der Weyden, Exhumation of St Hubert,c. 1440, London, National Gallery, and Master of Sopetrán, Donor before an Altar,c. 1470, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. 146 stephan kemperdick Fig. 4. The lost tabernacle-altarpiece at Stams, c. 1376; drawing by Wolfgang Lebersorg, c. 1630; Stams (Tyrol), Stiftsarchiv. tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 147 Fig. 5. Altarpiece from Tyrol Castle, c. 1370; Innsbruck, Tiroler Landesmuseum. 148 stephan kemperdick Fig. 6. ‘Madonna with the Stags’, c. 1370; Erfurt, Angermuseum. tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 149 Fig. 7. Reconstruction of a Nuremberg tabernacle-altarpiece of c. 1360. 150 stephan kemperdick Fig. 8. Reconstructed set of wings of a Nuremberg tabernacle-altarpiece, c. 1360, inside; left: a) Berlin, Gemäldegalerie SMB, b) Berlin, Deutsches Historisches Museum; right: c) Frankfurt, Städel Museum, d) private collection UK. tabernacle-altarpieces in central europe: examples, types, iconography 151 Fig. 9. Reconstructed set of wings of a Nuremberg tabernacle-altarpiece, c. 1360, outside; left: a) Berlin, Gemäldegalerie SMB, b) Berlin, Deutsches Historisches Museum; right: c) Frankfurt, Städel Museum, d) private collection UK. 152 stephan kemperdick Fig. 10. Reconstructed inside of a St Clare’s tabernacle, c. 1360; Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Fig. 11. Reconstructed wing, inside and outside, of a Mary Magdalene tabernacle, c. 1360; Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum. minor or major? castilian tabernacle-altarpieces and the monumental arts 255 23.- Seville, cathedral, royal chapel: titular image and exterior baldachin, incomplete (canopy, altered). DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child (Virgen de los Reyes). OBVERSE: no panels preserved, but known through records and representations in different media; interior panels, pattern of actual precious stones (silverwork); exterior panels, heraldry of Castile and León (silverwork). REVERSE: idem; interior panels, heraldry of Castile and León (silverwork); exterior panels, heraldry of Castile and León. DATE: thirteenth century. 24.- Villamanca (Álava/Araba), church of Santiago: titular image and baldachin. DEDICATEE: St James the Greater. OBVERSE: no panels preserved. REVERSE: idem. DATE: fourteenth century. 25.- Yurre/Ihurre (Álava/Araba), church of Santiago: titular image? (it is unlikely that the one presiding over the ensemble at present is the original one) and all four panels. DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes of the infancy of Christ and of the death and glorification of the Virgin (reliefs). REVERSE: pattern of flowers (overpainted). DATE: fourteenth century. 26.- Zuazo de Cuartango/Zuhatzu Kuartango (Álava/Araba), church of San Pedro (whereabouts unknown): baldachin, incomplete (back panel, altered), and four incomplete panels. DEDICATEE: St Peter. OBVERSE: scenes of the life of St Peter (painting). REVERSE: St Fabian, St Sebastian and pattern of stars. DATE: fifteenth century. 5.2. Tabernacle-altarpiece of unknown provenance, but known whereabouts 27.- ‘Marès I altarpiece’ (Barcelona, Museu Frederic Marès, inv. no 2225 – one panel –, and whereabouts unknown – one panel –): two panels, the one in the Museu Frederic Marès altered. DEDICATEE: presumably Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes lost, presumably at least scenes of the infancy of Christ (reliefs). REVERSE: jasper imitation. DATE: thirteenth century. N.B.: the reliefs displayed on the panel in the Museu Frederic Marès do not belong to this altarpiece. 28.- ‘Marès II altarpiece’ (Barcelona, Museu Frederic Marès, inv. no 711): one incomplete panel. DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes of the infancy of Christ (reliefs). REVERSE: plain blue-gray. DATE: fourteenth century. 29.- ‘Suma I altarpiece’ (Madrid, Museo Cerralbo, inv. no 31051): two incomplete panels. DEDICATEE: St Clare. OBVERSE: scenes of the life os St Clare (painting). REVERSE: Jeremiah, an unidentified prophet and jasper imitation. DATE: fourteenth century. 256 fernando gutiérrez baños 30.- ‘Suma II altarpiece’ (Madrid, Museo Cerralbo, inv. no 31051): two incomplete panels. DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes of the infancy of Christ (painting). REVERSE: Annunciation. DATE: fourteenth century. 31.- ‘Wildenstein altarpiece’ (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection, inv. nos 55.62a, 55.62b and 1977.94): three panels, two of them incomplete. DEDICATEE: presumably Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes lost, presumably at least scenes of the infancy of Christ (reliefs). REVERSE: scenes of the passion and resurrection of Christ. DATE: thirteenth century. 32.- ‘Haupt I altarpiece’ (Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv. no Śr. 218): three incomplete panels. DEDICATEE: St John the Baptist. OBVERSE: scenes of the life of St John the Baptist. REVERSE: St Paul and pattern of stars. DATE: fourteenth century. 33.- ‘Haupt II altarpiece’ (Warsaw, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, inv. Śr. 219): one panel. DEDICATEE: an unidentified saint. OBVERSE: scenes of the life of an unidentified saint. REVERSE: St Paul. DATE: fourteenth century. 34.- ‘Chiale altarpiece’ (private collection): all four panels. DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes of the infancy of Christ and of the glorification of the Virgin (reliefs). REVERSE: St Peter, St Paul and jasper imitation. DATE: fourteenth century. 35.- ‘Alcalá altarpiece’ (private collection): two panels. DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes of the infancy of Christ (painting). REVERSE: destroyed by modern cradling. DATE: fifteenth century. 5.3. Tabernacle-altarpiece of unknown provenance and whereabouts 36.- ‘Gudiol altarpiece’ (whereabouts unknown): one incomplete panel. DEDICATEE: uncertain, St Giles? OBVERSE: scenes of the life of St Giles (painting). REVERSE: without information. DATE: thirteenth century. 37.- ‘Mas 47406 altarpiece’ (whereabouts unknown): two incomplete panels. DEDICATEE: Virgin and Child. OBVERSE: scenes of the infancy of Christ (painting). REVERSE: without information. DATE: fifteenth century. 38.- ‘Mas C-93779 altarpiece’ (whereabouts unknown): two panels. DEDICATEE: uncertain, Virgin and Child? OBVERSE: scenes of the death and glorification of the Virgin? (reliefs). REVERSE: without information. DATE: fourteenth century. minor or major? castilian tabernacle-altarpieces and the monumental arts 257 6. bibliography Alfonso X el Sabio, 1986–89: Cantigas de Santa María, ed. W. Mettmann, 3 vols, Madrid. Andrés Ordax, S., 1993: Villalcázar de Sirga. La iglesia de Santa María, Palencia. Ara Gil, C. 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La Crónica Troyana de Alfonso XI (Escorial, h.I.6) y los libros iluminados de la monarquía castellana (1284-1369), Ph. D. diss., 2 ts, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Rubio Salán, A., 1952: “Breve noticia de Villalcázar de Sirga y su templo”, Publicaciones de la Institución “Tello Téllez de Meneses”, 8, pp. 25–45. Sáenz Pascual, R., 1997: La pintura gótica en Álava. Una contribución a su estudio, Vitoria. ——, 2007: “Los retablos pictóricos góticos y renacentistas en la actual diócesis de Vitoria: pasado, presente y futuro”, in M.ª D. Ruiz de la Canal & M. García Pazos (eds), La conservación de retablos: catalogación, restauración y difusión. VIII Encuentros de Primavera en El Puerto, El Puerto de Santa María, pp. 343–368. ——, 2012: “Nuevas aportaciones al estudio de la pintura gótica en el norte de España: los retablos colaterales de Arana (Condado de Treviño)”, Boletín del Museo e Instituto Camón Aznar de Ibercaja, 109, pp. 245–265. Sánchez Ameijeiras, R., 2004: “Mui de coraçon rogava a Santa María: culpas irredentas y reivindicación política en Villasirga”, in Á. Franco Mata (dir. and minor or major? castilian tabernacle-altarpieces and the monumental arts 261 coord.), Patrimonio artístico de Galicia y otros estudios. Homenaje al Prof. Dr. Serafín Moralejo Álvarez, Santiago de Compostela, t. 3, pp. 241–252. ——, 2011: “Rosa das rosas, flor das flores: la imagen de la Virgen en la Galicia de hacia 1400”, in O retablo de Belvís e a arte e a cultura do seu tempo en Galicia, Pontevedra, pp. 69–90. Sicart, Á., 1981: Pintura medieval: la miniatura, Santiago de Compostela. Yarza Luaces, J., 1991: “384.- Tabernacle”, in Catàleg d’escultura i pintura medievals (Fons del Museu Frederic Marès, 1), Barcelona, pp. 393–394. 262 fernando gutiérrez baños Fig. 1. Royal privilege issued by King Sancho IV in 1285. Archivo Histórico Nacional, Madrid. minor or major? castilian tabernacle-altarpieces and the monumental arts 263 Fig. 2. Obverse and reverse of the panel of Olano (photos: Servicio de Restauración de la Diputación Foral de Álava). Church of San Bartolomé, Olano (Álava). Baldachin of Mondragón (photo: Jesús Muñiz Petralanda). Museo Diocesano de San Sebastián, San Sebastián. 264 fernando gutiérrez baños Fig. 3. Reconstruction of the Logroño altarpiece (graphics: Francisco M. Morillo). Church of Santiago el Real (high altarpiece – image – and nave – panels –), Logroño. minor or major? castilian tabernacle-altarpieces and the monumental arts 271 Fig. 10. St Andrew. Cistercian abbey, San Andrés de Arroyo (Palencia). Virgin and Child. Church of Santa María la Blanca (chapel of Santiago), Villalcázar de Sirga (Palencia). Virgin and Child, called ‘Nossa Senhora da Consolação’. Museu da Guarda, Guarda. 272 fernando gutiérrez baños Fig. 11. Reconstruction of the Castildelgado altarpiece (graphics: Francisco M. Morillo). Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona (altarpiece), and church of San Pedro y San Esteban, Castildelgado (Burgos) (Virgin and Child, called ‘Nuestra Señora la Real del Campo’). minor or major? castilian tabernacle-altarpieces and the monumental arts 273 Fig. 12. Reconstruction of the Marès I altarpiece (graphics: Francisco M. Morillo). Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona (right panel of the left wing: nowadays altered), and whereabouts unknown (right panel of the right wing). 274 fernando gutiérrez baños Fig. 13. South portal. Church of Santa María la Blanca, Villalcázar de Sirga (Palencia). EL TABERNÁCULO DE LA VIRGEN DE LOS REYES Y LA MEMORIA DOCUMENTAL DE OTROS TABERNÁCULOS GÓTICOS DE LA CATEDRAL DE SEVILLA* THE TABERNACLE OF THE ‘VIRGEN DE LOS REYES’ AND THE DOCUMENTARY MEMORY OF OTHER GOTHIC TABERNACLES OF THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE Teresa Laguna Paúl Universidad de Sevilla [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3266-5552 Received: 11/11/2019 – Accepted: 13/01/2020 Resumen Estudio del tabernáculo de la Virgen de los Reyes (h. 1278) y su instalación en la capilla Real renacentista (1579). Revisión y noticias documentales del tabernáculo encargado al orfebre Sancho Martínez (1366), aportaciones al conocimiento del tabernáculo de la Virgen de la Sede y al tardogótico de la Virgen de la Antigua (1497-1499) de la catedral de Sevilla. Palabras clave Catedral de Sevilla, tabernáculo gótico, tabernáculo de plata, pintura gótica, escultura gótica, orfebrería gótica, microarquitectura. Medievalia 23/1 (2020), 275-329 – ISSN: 2014-8410 (digital) DOI: https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/medievalia.511 * Grupo PAI Laboratorio de Arte (HUM-210). Investigación del proyecto El patronazgo artístico en el Reino de Castilla y León (1230-1500). Obispos y catedrales II (HAR2017-88045-P) del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y cofinanciado con fondos FEDER. Agradezco a la catedral de Sevilla acceder al retablo de la Virgen de los Reyes; a Is. Aguirre Landa, Is. González Ferrín, Fdo. Gutiérrez Baños, A. Jiménez Martín, A. J. Morales, J. A. Ollero Pina, Fco. Ortiz Gómez, R. Pérez de Castro, A. J. Santos Márquez y L. Vasallo las consultas en la redacción de este trabajo. 276 teresa laguna paúl Abstract Study of the tabernacle of the ‘Virgen de los Reyes’ (Virgin of the Monarchs, c. 1278) and its installation in the Renaissance royal chapel (1579). Review and documentary information of the tabernacle entrusted to the silversmith Sancho Martínez (1366), and contributions to the knowledge of the tabernacle of the ‘Virgen de la Sede’ (Virgin of the See) and to the Late Gothic one of the ‘Virgen de la Antigua’ (Virgin of the Old One [Cathedral], 1497-1499) of the cathedral of Seville. Keywords Seville cathedral, Gothic tabernacle, silver tabernacle, Gothic painting, Gothic sculpture, Gothic silverwork, microarchitecture. La veneración y culto debido a las imágenes requiere de un espacio y de un mobiliario litúrgico que sacralice su disposición en el altar, y conforma en la topografía de los templos medievales escenografías litúrgicas bajo ciborios, tabernáculos, retablos o, incluso, doseletes de piedra, madera o metal. El doselete o el chapitel acoge la imagen y le da un espacio propio, un lugar donde realzarla para sensibilizar, preparar y evocar en el fiel la memoria de aquellos valores eternos que le impulsaban, desde una mentalidad medieval, a apoyarse en María como su intercesora y en los santos como sus protectores. La conquista e incorporación de Sevilla al reino de Castilla determinaron la consagración de su mezquita aljama como catedral de santa María en 1248, y un proceso continuo de adaptación de su espacio a las necesidades del culto cristiano y de la corona, a la devoción de los fieles y a los compromisos funerarios adquiridos. La recuperación gráfica de aquel recinto monumental en continua transformación nos permite contextualizar el espacio de sus capillas y la disposición de sus altares antes de su derribo y de la construcción del templo gótico actual, igualmente modificado por las actuaciones renacentistas y barrocas, las renovaciones académicas, las restauraciones y las campañas de conservación posteriores.1 En ese recinto medieval recibieron culto tres de las imágenes marianas más arraigadas en la religiosidad medieval sevillana: la Virgen de los Reyes, la Virgen de la Antigua y la Virgen de la Sede. 1Jiménez Martín/Pérez Peñaranda, 1997, pp. 22-31, fig. 3. Laguna Paúl, 1998, pp. 43-66, fig. 11; 2019, pp. 204-209, fig. 2. Almagro Gorbea, 2007, pp. 14-42, fig. 14 (esta reconstrucción, actualizada en 2009, fue publicada en Laguna Paúl, 2019, fig. 2). el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 277 La revisión de las fuentes documentales junto con la arqueología, entendida como un método de recuperación de obras perdidas o transformadas, nos guió en una investigación interdisciplinaria de la topografía y las escenografías litúrgicas de la capilla Real y del presbiterio de la capilla mayor de la catedral de Sevilla, cuyos altares presiden desde mediados del siglo xiii la Virgen de los Reyes y la Virgen de la Sede. La disposición de estos altares produjo cambios significativos en la catedral mudéjar, en las sucesivas etapas de la construcción del edificio gótico actual y de la capilla Real renacentista. La configuración espacial de la catedral mudéjar y las pautas artísticas de mediados del siglo xiii facilitaron la instalación en estos altares de tabernáculos con las alas de sus puertas abatibles cobijando ambas esculturas, y sus batientes permitían hacer visible u ocultar la imagen de culto sin recurrir a cortinas ni otras complejas instalaciones. El ritual de descubrimiento y ocultamiento de las imágenes marianas en la catedral hispalense está constatado, igualmente, en el altar de la Virgen de la Antigua, cuya arraigada devoción lo mantuvo exento después del derribo de la capilla mudéjar de san Pedro, y en otras imágenes encargadas para los nuevos altares góticos (Fig. 1). La mayoría de estos tabernáculos góticos no alcanzaron las últimas décadas del siglo xvi, pero su rastro permanece en el archivo de la catedral de Sevilla y podemos conocer sus características artísticas o adentrarnos en sus programas figurativos. Recuperar o reconstruir la información de la materialidad de estos tabernáculos constituye una investigación constante que revaloriza y actualiza el trabajo de cuantos nos precedieron o comparten todavía nuestras tareas académicas e historiadoras desde que el cabildo de la catedral de Sevilla organizó la gestión administrativa y económica anual del templo, elaboró el curso de los aniversarios, de sus libros blancos y documentación que custodian sus archiveros y consultan incansablemente los investigadores desde el siglo xvii. 1. la virgen de los reyes “en un tabernáculo que está más alto que el de los reyes, muy grande, cubierto todo de plata” En la capilla Real de la primitiva catedral de Sevilla, Alfonso X llevó a cabo una empresa artística innovadora que aunó su ideario de exaltación mariana y su ideología del poder real desarrollada en las Partidas (1252-1288) y en el Espéculo (1255-1260), materializada en este recinto en la veneración a la Virgen de los Reyes y en el constante recuerdo a la figura de su progenitor Fernando III el Santo. La magnitud del proyecto, de las obras encargadas y terminadas antes de 1279 cuan- 278 teresa laguna paúl do consta el traslado de los restos de la reina Beatriz de Suabia desde el monasterio y panteón de las Huelgas de Burgos, quedaron justificadas en la redacción de la cantiga CCXCII donde en una aparición post mortem Fernando III expone al orfebre Jorge de Toledo que comunique a su hijo cierta disconformidad en la topografía sacra preestablecida y, además, le indique la necesidad de trasladar y colocar su escultura arrodillada a los pies de la Virgen y de su Hijo, a quienes debía su reino.2 El carácter y singularidad de esta capilla fueron señalados en una Memoria descriptiva del año 1345 conocida a partir de algunas copias manuscritas existentes en las bibliotecas sevillanas del siglo xvii, como la que perteneció a Hernán Pérez de Guzmán († 1460) que transcribió Diego Ortiz de Zúñiga en la librería del conde de Villaumbrosa y publicó en 1677.3Este texto, reeditado en varias ocasiones, constituye una información capital para comprender la configuración del recinto antes de que, en el mes de febrero de 1433, el rey Juan II cediera su emplazamiento al cabildo para que este pudiera alojar provisionalmente en ella el presbiterio de la capilla mayor, derribar la mitad occidental del templo mudéjar e iniciar las obras del templo gótico actual.4La cantiga CCXCII señala al orfebre Jorge de Toledo como el autor de las piezas y del mobiliario de plata encargado por Alfonso X, mencionados en la descripción publicada por Ortiz de Zúñiga, que situó a la “imagen de Santa María, que semeja que esta viva con su Fijo en el braço, en un tabernáculo que está más alto que los Reyes, muy grande, cubierto todo de plata”, vestida con las mismas ropas regias que los simulacros mayestáticos de los reyes, los cuales estaban sentados en una sedilia triple a la izquierda de la Virgen y frente a sus sepulturas. La Virgen llevaba una corona “de oro en que están muchas piedras granadas” y “un anillo en el dedo, de oro en que está una piedra rubí, tamaño como de una nuez e dizen que hay de plata en el tabernáculo y en la Imagen de Santa María y de el su Fijo, más de diez mil marcos de plata, en que están engastadas dos mil piedras zafiros e rubíes e esmeraldas e topacios e de todas piedras preciosas, menudas muchas de ellas”. En el chapitel del tabernáculo, sobre la cabeza de la Señora, había “quatro piedras esmeraldas en los cuartos que son tamañas cada una como una castaña. E estaua somo de el chapitel un rubí tamaño como de una nuez e 2 Florencia, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, ms. B.R. 20, ff. 10v-11v. 3 Ortiz de Zúñiga, 1795-96 [ed. original 1677], t. 2, pp. 143-145. 4Jiménez Martín/Pérez Peñaranda, 1997, pp. 35-42. Laguna Paúl, 2001, pp. 235-251. Jiménez Martín, 2013, pp. 120-124. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 279 quando abren aquel tabernáculo de noche oscuro relumbran aquellas piedras como candelas”.5 La descripción expone la suntuosidad de los elementos más emblemáticos de este recinto, representados en dos sellos de placa góticos de la capilla Real que insertó Alonso Muñiz en su Insinuación apologética de 1686 y perpetuó el cabildo de capellanes reales posteriormente (Fig. 2). Estos sellos sintetizan, además, otras partes fundamentales del espacio arquitectónico, como fueron las rejas perimetrales que acotaron el espacio de siete naves de profundidad y ocho arcadas de anchura de la aljama almohade (440 m2) y los escalones de acceso a la parte alta de la capilla que, implícitos en la Crónica de Juan II, confirman la existencia de la doble altura del recinto omitida en esta descripción y capital para la organización de la topografía cultual, para la percepción de los ceremoniales litúrgicos y de los aniversarios regios.6La arquitectura de la aljama almohade, cuyos aliceres y tablas del artesonado se situaban a unos 12,10 m de altura, facilitó la doble altura de esta capilla con la construcción de una plataforma abovedada que configuró el espacio cultual superior, presidido por la Virgen de los Reyes con unos 6,5 o 7 m de alto hasta el límite del artesonado.7La monumentalidad de su doble altura y su topografía sacra marcaban unos planos jerárquicos ascendentes que, percibidos desde las naves exteriores, impactaban y sobrecogían a los fieles no solo por el tamaño natural de los simulacros reales y las características de la imagen mariana, sino también por la disposición y envergadura del mobiliario (Fig. 1). Las cotas establecidas permiten suponer que la mesa del altar, dispuesta sobre tres escalones, tendría 1 m de altura y bastante profundidad para instalar detrás y por encima de ella el tabernáculo con la escultura de la Virgen de los Reyes sedente y de tamaño natural, que pudo superar con sus chapiteles los dos metros de altura; una obra calificada de “muy grande” en la Memoria descriptiva de 1345. La concesión de Juan II dio viabilidad a la construcción de la catedral gótica y determinó en el transcurso de 1433 el traslado de la Virgen, de los ataúdes de los cuerpos reales y sus simulacros, del mobiliario y de todo el ajuar litúrgico a un espacio cultual provisional habilitado en el ángulo noreste del patio de los Naranjos, en una estancia alta de la nave del Lagarto. Las condiciones de con- 5 Ortiz de Zúñiga, 1795-96 [ed. original 1677], t. 2, pp. 143-145. Memoria…, 1345, f. 6r-v. Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, p. 329. Laguna Paúl, 2013a, pp. 53-77. 6 Muñiz, 1686, ff. 60r-61v. Laguna Paúl, 1998, pp. 58-61; 2001, pp. 235-251; 2009b, pp. 116-133; 2012, pp. 175-231; 2013a, pp. 53-77; 2013b, p. 8; 2018b, pp. 230-240; 2019, pp. 218-225. Sanz Serrano, 1998, figs. 1-4. 7 Laguna Paúl, 2009, fig. p. 121; 2018b, pp. 232-236; 2019, pp. 209-214 y 220-225. Jiménez Sancho/Jiménez Martín, 2019, p. 6. 280 teresa laguna paúl servación de este lugar obligaron a otra mudanza en 1543 a la parte baja en la nave de los Caballeros, junto a la capilla del Sagrario viejo, hasta que concluyó la dilatada construcción de la nueva capilla Real. En junio de 1579 trasladaron e instalaron solemnemente en el altar mayor del nuevo recinto renacentista a la Virgen de los Reyes con su tabernáculo, depositaron el relicario del cuerpo de san Leandro en la alacena interior de la mesa del altar y los ataúdes con los cuerpos del Fernando III, su mujer Beatriz de Suabia y su hijo Alfonso X en un lugar preferente, sobre un amplio basamento de piedra decorado con los epitafios del monumento funerario erigido por el rey Sabio a su padre. Este basamento muestra en el frente las inscripciones conmemorativas de la terminación de la capilla en época de Felipe II, separadas por cuatro relieves de virtudes.8 En el transcurso de estos ciento cuarenta y seis años, los monarcas encargaron varias inspecciones y visitas a su capilla que generaron una información concreta del estado de sus enseres, alhajas y cuerpos reales, con independencia de los inventarios puntuales que desde 1393 tenía obligación de realizar anualmente y conservar por escrito el Tesorero de la capilla. La documentación de las ocho visitas realizadas entre los años 1500 y 1567 estaba encuadernada en dos libros del archivo de esta capilla Real que no han sido localizados todavía, pero consultaron en su día Joaquín J. Rodríguez de Quesada para redactar su Fundación de la capilla Real (1756-75) y Alonso Muñiz, quien transcribió parcialmente las informaciones de 1535 y 1563 en su Insinuación apologética (1686), cuyo extracto publicó José Gestoso.9La localización de unas transcripciones completas de la visita de 1500, que publiqué hace una década junto con su estudio,10 permitieron investigar y dar a conocer la riqueza de la llamada corona de las águilas, que perteneció a la reina Beatriz de Suabia y conservó la Virgen de los Reyes hasta primeros de abril de 1873, y las características materiales del mobiliario encargado por Alfonso X a Jorge de Toledo antes de 1279, sus modelos de inspiración en la arquitectura francesa de la primera mitad del siglo xiii y sus relaciones con otras microarquitecturas en plata y marfil contemporáneas, que ampliaré en esta investigación con nuevas informaciones relativas a las transformaciones documentadas al instalarlo en la capilla renacentista en 1579.11 8 Sigüenza, 1996 [1579]. Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, pp. 316-320. García Bernal, 2008, pp. 186-193. Morales, 2012, pp. 237-242. 9 González Ferrín, 2012, pp. 62-64 y 73. Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, pp. 331-332. 10 Laguna Paúl, 2009a, pp. 219 y 231-237. Existe un original conservado en AGS, RGS, 15001,25. 11 Laguna Paúl, 2009a, pp. 217-237; 2013a, pp. 53-77; 2015, pp. 345-361. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 287 teriales de la “capa”32 comenzaron la primera semana de mayo de 1578 y desde entonces hasta mediados de octubre el batihoja Montedoy proporcionó 11.950 panes de oro y 600 de plata, cuyo número indica que los emplearían en cubrir la hornacina de 6,70 m de altura y 4,11 m de anchura con una estructura de madera dorada, en el “caxón del altar mayor” y en la “caxa de madera” de la Virgen, ya que los panes de oro habitualmente eran cuadrados y medían 20 cm de lado.33 Las sucesivas entregas de este material fueron simultáneas con los trabajos de dorado y pintura desarrollados ininterrumpidamente por Antón Pérez con tres o seis de sus colaboradores durante catorce semanas.34 A primeros del mes de agosto, el cabildo relevó al pintor de la catedral de este encargo y se comprometió con los pintores Luis Hernández y Vasco de Pereira para llevar a cabo por un importe 260 ducados “lo que falta del tabernáculo y pintar ciento y quatro cuadros del mesmo tabernáculo las diez historias y los otros de otras cosas” que estaban concluidos a finales de octubre del mismo año.35 Un mes antes, el 12 de septiembre, abonaron 56.003 maravedís al platero Hernando de Ballesteros el Viejo por “la plata y hechura de cosas del tabernáculo de Nra. Sra. de los Reyes”, cuyo importe hace pensar en una intervención en profundidad, ya que, además, en junio del año siguiente su hijo recibió los “pedaços de plata que sobraron del tabernáculo […] con cuatro engastitos de plata” y una “patena dorada con unas armas esmaltadas con dos castillos y un león”, entre otras piezas a enajenar.36 La sucinta descripción de estos asientos contables sugiere que el fondo del renacentista quedaría cubierto por una estructura reticular de madera dorada con pinturas decorativas y los casetones con las placas de plata heráldicas de las alas de las puertas abatibles del tabernáculo interior del conjunto alfonsí retirado entonces y otras realizadas por Hernando de Ballesteros el Viejo. Algunos marcos cobijarían las “historias” y “las otras cosas” encargadas a Luis Hernández y a Vasco Pereira, y la dimensión de los de menor tamaño estuvo condicionada por el tamaño de las placas de plata, de 9,5 x 9,5 cm, ya que parte de estas las incorporó Luis Ortiz de Vargas al retablo-tabernáculo barroco. La hornacina del primer retablo-tabernáculo renacentista de la Virgen de los Reyes debió de quedar cerrada, por tanto, con unas puertas o “caxón del altar mayor”, el cual ocultó el altar don- 32 ACS, FC, 9625(285), f. 42r. 33 ACS, FC, 9625(285), ff. 41v, 42r, 43r, 44v, 48v, 50v, 51r, 52r, 55r, 56r, 57r, 59v, 61r y 63r. Echeverría Goñi, 1988, p. 183. 34 ACS, FC, 9625(285), ff. 41v, 42r, 43r, 44v, 48v, 50v, 51r, 52r, 55r, 56r, 57r, 59v, 61r y 63r. 35 ACS, FC, 9625(285), ff. 65r, 66v, 68r, 69r, 72v, 74v, 76r, 77r y 81v. 36 ACS, FC, 9625(285), ff. 138v. ACS, FC, 90627(287), ff. 136v y 138v. Santos Márquez, 2007, pp. 87 y 127. 288 teresa laguna paúl de instalaron la nueva “caxa” de madera pintada protegiendo el tabernáculo de plata gótico, pero las únicas referencias conocidas de estas puertas son posteriores a la terminación del retablo-tabernáculo barroco. Estas noticias confirman que Luis Ortiz de Vargas desmontó los batientes renacentistas que cerraban el altar mayor y la “caxa de la virgen” con las pinturas de Antón Pérez cuando instaló las nuevas puertas en 1649. Las hojas renacentistas debieron alojar algunas de las diez “historias” abonadas a Luis Hernández y a Vasco de Pereira, ya que en junio de 1652 los pintores Francisco López y Bartolomé E. Murillo declararon haber visto en enero de 1649, en una de las tribunas altas de la capilla Real, un retrato pintado de Fernando III arrodillado en “una de las puertas del tauernaculo antiguo” que ellos habían conocido.37 En las semanas inmediatas al traslado e inauguración de la capilla en 1579 constan reparaciones o incorporaciones de elementos perdidos en el tabernáculo de plata, donde Antón Pérez doró cinco remates “de la caxa de plata” de la Virgen, algunas de las piezas de madera torneadas y entregadas por Bañares meses antes y terminó el dorado del relieve y columnas del nicho arquitectónico de este altar.38 Con anterioridad y para la organización de este acto la catedral encargó la confección de numerosos enseres, solicitó préstamos de andas procesionales al cabildo de la ciudad y, entre otros, reparó varios de los ataúdes reales que se encontraban en mal estado. Felipe II comisionó la organización al Asistente de Sevilla, Don Fernando de Torres y Portugal, al arzobispo Don Cristóbal de Rojas y Sandoval y al presidente de la Real Audiencia Don Juan Fernández Cogollos.39 Existen varias descripciones de esta ceremonia, las actuaciones previas e informes elaborados para el monarca, como el redactado por Joseph Maldonado de Saavedra que da cumplida cuenta de las instrucciones recibidas y de cómo llevaron a cabo todos los preparativos necesarios en la capilla vieja de la nave de los Caballeros, del traslado, de la celebración en la capilla mayor de la catedral y de la instalación de la Virgen, las reliquias de san Leandro y cuerpos reales en la nueva renacentista. La Virgen de los Reyes fue trasladada solemnemente en su tabernáculo de plata, instalado en unas “andas grandes con sus doseles de brocado de tresados y aguas carmesí labrados” a modo de palio cubierto de terciopelo carmesí bordado con las armas del cabildo y montado sobre los varales realizados 37 ACS, FC, libro 10733(31) nº 1, ff. 481v-482r. Quiles, 1999, p. 228. 38 ACS, FC, 9627(287), f. 54r. 39 Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, p. 312. Morales, 1979, pp. 37-50 y 88-91; 2012, pp. 237-242. García Bernal, 2008, pp. 171-197. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 289 por Hernando de Ballesteros en 1560. Al llegar a la catedral, la Virgen presidió los actos y pontifical oficiado en el altar mayor y el gran túmulo para los cuerpos reales quedó instalado en el crucero. Concluidas las ceremonias y actos, organizaron otra procesión por el interior de la catedral para llevar los cuerpos reales, las reliquias y las imágenes a la nueva capilla Real, donde la Virgen y el cuerpo de san Leandro fueron colocados en su altar mayor el 15 de junio de 1579.40 Esta relación confirma el traslado de la imagen bajo el chapitel de uno de sus tabernáculos medievales, sostenido por las cuatro columnas y desprovisto de los batientes de cierre. El recuerdo de este traslado y andas procesionales quedó en la memoria del cabildo y de los historiadores sevillanos del siglo xvii y xviii, quienes, en muchas ocasiones, identificaron el tabernáculo de plata conservado como perteneciente a Fernando III, no a Alfonso X, y por esta razón lo mencionan como la “tienda” delante de la que oraba el santo rey durante el asedio de Sevilla y bajo la cual la Virgen de los Reyes formó parte de la entrada victoriosa de los castellanos en la ciudad de Sevilla en 1248, y asi lo representó con algunas licencias Lucas Valdés en una de las pinturas al fresco de la iglesia de la Magdalena (1709-1715).41 La devoción a los santos, a la Virgen y a su Hijo estimuló desde la Baja Edad Media numerosas reproducciones de las imágenes de mayor veneración para cubrir las necesidades espirituales de los fieles, quienes demandaron reproducciones esculpidas de las advocaciones de gran devoción, copias pintadas, estampas o incluso medallas seriadas que no solo colgaban de su cuello sino que podían coser entre sus ropas o insertar en las encuadernaciones de sus libros de oración. Muestras artísticas de este profundo sentimiento mariano en la catedral de Sevilla son numerosos cuadros de caballete que reproducen los rasgos y características de la Virgen de los Reyes y de la Virgen de la Antigua, realizados para recibir culto en otros templos o para la piedad privada tanto en España como en América. Las copias de la Virgen de la Antigua constan desde el reinado de los Reyes Católicos42 y las primeras pinturas sobre cobre, tabla o lienzo conservadas de la Virgen de los Reyes están fechadas en el primer tercio del siglo xvii, después del traslado y apertura de la capilla renacentista. Estas pinturas reproducen el altar de la Virgen de los Reyes antes y después de la terminación del retablo-tabernáculo de Luis Ortiz de Vargas y pueden in- 40 Maldonado de Saavedra, 1579, f. 16r-v. ACS, FC, 6380(488), f. 42v. Santos Márquez, 2007, p. 79. 41 Muñiz, 1686, nº 29. Fernández López, 2003, pp. 79-80. 42 Medianero Hernández, 2008, pp. 57-60 y 92-103. Pereda, 2007, pp. 177-190. 290 teresa laguna paúl cluir retratos de los particulares que encargaron la obra o de san Fernando. Estas pinturas sobre cobre, tabla o lienzo tienden a recrear la ilusión del altar con sus elementos accesorios, con mayor o menor realismo, constituyen testimonios de la religiosidad y manifestaciones artísticas posteriores al concilio de Trento incardinadas en el género pictórico denominado “trampantojos a lo divino”, que, definido por Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, sugiere en el espectador una tercera dimensión inexistente, para que el fiel pueda contemplar la imagen representada en su espacio de culto, aunque las estampas también sustituyeron devocionalmente a las obras de este género.43 Dos de estos trampantojos del altar de la Virgen de los Reyes pueden fecharse con precisión antes de la terminación del retablo-tabernáculo de Luis Ortiz de Vargas en 1649 y documentan algunas de las transformaciones del tabernáculo medieval: un pequeño cobre con donantes firmado por el sevillano Francisco de Varela en 1644, hoy en el Museo Pedro de Osma de Lima (Fig. 5),44 y un lienzo de gran formato donado al convento de san José del Carmen de Sevilla por su capellán Juan Francisco de Prada en 1649.45 El primero obedece, seguramente, al encargo de unos devotos que solicitaron incluir su retrato orante y el segundo, por sus dimensiones, pudo estar en el oratorio de este sacerdote. En ambas obras la Virgen preside el altar dentro del tabernáculo exterior alfonsí con su rosetón gótico en el frente, sus columnas de plata y las alas abatibles de sus puertas medievales completamente desplegadas, con su agudo perfil adaptado a la geometría del mueble medieval. Estos dos cuadros omiten la terminación de los gabletes, los torreones medievales o, incluso, alguna actuación o reparación de las realizadas en 1578 ya señaladas en los trabajos de terminación de la nueva capilla Real, previos al traslado de 1579. Los paneles de sus alas con sus casetones de castillos y leones descansan directamente sobre el fondo de la hornacina de la mesa del altar. Cerrados ocultarían la repisa con roleos y la peana de gallones cuya decoración difiere de la inventariada en la visita de 1563, ya que estas pinturas podrían reproducir algún cambio realizado después del traslado a la capilla renacentista en 1579, de la citada actuación de 1614 o de alguna otra no documentada cuando ya estaba retirado el tabernáculo de plata interior cuya dimensión era, evidentemente, menor que la del exterior que lo alojaba. 43 Pérez Sánchez, 1992. Stoichita, 1996, pp. 56-57 y 65-74. Rodríguez G. de Ceballos, 2010. Peña Velasco, 2014. Vicent-Cassy, 2018. 44 O/L, 25,4 x 16,4 cm. Ramos Sosa, 1998, pp. 32-33. López Guzmán/Montes González, 2017, p. 521. 45 O/L, 225 x 135 cm. Cano Navas, 1984, p. 145. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 291 El tabernáculo interior tampoco fue representado en otros trampantojos anónimos anteriores a 1649: un lienzo de gran formato donado por la marquesa de la Mota al monasterio de la Concepción del Carmen de Valladolid (Fig. 6),46 otro adaptado al remate de un retablo de mediados del siglo xx en la capilla de san Francisco de la catedral de Baeza,47 los lienzos de las hermandades sevillanas de la Sacramental del Sagrario48 y de la Santa Caridad,49 el del monasterio de santa María del Valle de Zafra, restaurado en 2012,50 el de la sacristía de la ermita de la Vera Cruz de Nava del Rey (Valladolid), cuya peana presenta un anagrama mariano,51 y el de la parroquia de la Inmaculada Concepción de Castilleja de la Cuesta (Sevilla).52 Estos trampantojos reproducen las alas de las puertas medievales del tabernáculo y diferencian con un tamaño mayor sus planchas de plata de las planchas pequeñas del chapitel, que todavía permanecen en la bóveda y cubren los frentes exteriores (6 x 6 cm), donde son evidentes las reparaciones y readaptaciones. Los daños ocasionados por el transcurso del tiempo también se detectan en las dos planchas sueltas de mayor dimensión (9,5 x 9,5 cm) que encontró José Gestoso en 1888 y que tradicionalmente se asocian con elementos perdidos del tabernáculo medieval (Fig. 7).53 Estas pinturas de caballete testimonian además otras actuaciones en el presbiterio de la capilla Real, documentadas a partir de 1634, cuando el arquitecto Pedro Sánchez Falconete y el carpintero Alonso de Cuéllar plantearon unos diseños para la renovación de la capilla y el escultor Luis Ortiz de Vargas elaboró el primer boceto o “rasguño” del proyecto del nuevo retablo de la Virgen, sufragado con la fortuna personal del canónigo y arcediano de Carmona Mateo Vázquez de Leca (Sevilla, 1573-1649).54 Para esta obra contratada a mediados del mes de diciembre de 1644, se estableció un periodo de ejecución de seis meses y cambios iconográficos significativos con respecto a un primer “rasguño” entregado en 1637, motivados fundamentalmente por las devociones del promotor, quien sus- 46 O/L, 248 x 166 cm. Martín González/Plaza Santiago, 1987, p. 224, fig. 881. 47 O/L, 95 x 80 cm. Sánchez Concha, 2003, pp. 135-136, lo fecha en el siglo XVIII. 48 O/L, 168 x 96 cm. Cintas del Bot, 1991, p. 64. La Virgen de los Reyes…, 2004, p. 152. 49 La Virgen de los Reyes…, 2004, p. 151. 50 O/L, 106 x 89,5 cm. http://museosantaclara.blogspot.com/2014/01/ (marzo 2019). 51 Castán Lanaspa, 2006, p. 113, fig. 663. 52 O/L, 71 x 50 cm. https://guiadigital.iaph.es/bien/mueble/214741/sevilla/castilleja-de-la-cuesta/ virgen-de-los-reyes (mayo 2018). 53 Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, pp. 334-339. Hernández Núñez, 1998, p. 276. Laguna Paúl, 2009a, p. 132; 2013a, pp. 69-70. 54 Cruz Isidoro, 1991, p. 41. Quiles, 1999, pp. 217-218 y 226. Gámez Martín, 2010, pp. 659- 660. 292 teresa laguna paúl tituyó, entre otras, las imágenes de san Leandro, san Isidoro y la figura y escenas de la vida del santo rey por las de san Joaquín, santa Ana y san José. Al parecer, las modificaciones continuaron y ocasionaron el incumplimiento de los plazos establecidos al escultor, quien en marzo de 1647 alegó que había sido presionado para reformar el proyecto contratado, acometiendo una considerable ampliación consensuada verbalmente con el mismo arcediano y con el canónigo Cristóbal Muñoz de Escobar. El nuevo acuerdo, formalizado en esta fecha, pormenoriza los elementos pendientes de realizar y los acrecentamientos e incorporaciones acordadas, puntualiza las características de las bisagras y piezas de hierro de los batientes de cierre con su decoración, establece el incremento crematístico por estos cambios y los plazos de entrega e instalación en el presbiterio de la capilla Real en 1649.55 Estos documentos, publicados por Celestino López Martínez, reflejan las características del retablo-tabernáculo actual, pero omiten cualquier mención al fondo reticular del cuerpo inferior que cobija en el centro el camaríntabernáculo, limitado por unos ángeles atlantes de talla que sostienen la “repisa” alta o entablamento superior y separan las calles laterales con las hornacinas de los padres de la Virgen y los medallones de las santas patronas con otras parejas de niños con frutas, cabezas de ángeles y tarjas con símbolos de la letanía lauretana pintados. Luis de Ortiz de Vargas acopló en el reducido espacio de la hornacina renacentista la mayor parte del tabernáculo exterior alfonsí y de la trama reticular del fondo de madera dorada con las planchas de plata de las alas reestructuradas en la actuación de 1578-1579. Las dimensiones del chapitel gótico adoptaron la planta rectangular actual de 109 cm de ancho por 78 cm de fondo, forrado completamente con las chapas de plata pequeñas e incorporó en la bóveda gótica una gran piedra verde, reutilizando tres dragones de un engarce medieval; en el hastial frontal del chapitel clavó un rosetón gótico bajo unos listeles de plata en su color, que evocan las líneas de un inexistente gablete, y mantuvo las cuatro columnas según los trampantojos y representaciones pintadas de este altar anteriores a 1649, indicadas anteriormente. En el fondo del retablo-tabernáculo incluyó la mayor parte de retícula de madera dorada con las planchas de plata de 9,5 cm de lado que, prácticamente, llenó toda la superficie libre detrás de las hornacinas laterales y de la espalda de la Virgen, cuyas uniones todavía son perfectamente detectables y proceden de las puertas del tabernáculo según el inventario de 1655.56 Estas 55 López Martínez, 1932, pp. 108-112. Quiles, 1999, p. 226. Halcón, 2009, p. 200. 56 ACS, FCR, caja 3, exp. 3, f. 1r. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 293 chapas de plata dorada estaban clavadas con cuatro puntillas y rosas a la malla de casetones con entrepaños de madera que, fijados a unos tableros de 6 cm de espesor, permanecieron con ciertas transformaciones en la actuación renacentista y están representadas en los trampantojos de la segunda mitad del siglo xvii y xviii (Fig. 8). El retablo tabernáculo de Luis Ortiz de Vargas salvaguardó materialmente la mayor parte del chapitel exterior medieval con uno de sus rosetones, sus cuatro columnas de apoyo y alguna sección de la estructura reticular y alas abatibles con sus chapas de plata heráldicas, cuyo número inventariaron en 1670 cuando el platero Luis de Acosta se comprometió a sufragar, desclavar y “limpiar dicha plata y darle color y bruñirlas y blanquecer la plata blanca de las molduras y volverlo a clavar y forrar”. Los canónigos Gabriel de Fontaner y Lorenzo de la Puente, encargados de supervisar el desmontaje, contabilizaron 75 “chapas de plata de castillos y leones dorados con sus interpaños y rosas” situadas en el lado izquierdo del tabernáculo desde la cabeza de san Joaquín hasta el cierre, 71 del lado izquierdo y 76 clavadas a las espaldas de la Virgen, que suponen, aproximadamente, una tercera parte de las reflejadas en los inventarios anteriores al traslado a la capilla renacentista en 1579. En la parte interior y exterior de la tumbilla o chapitel contabilizaron 350 chapas pequeñas, “clavadas con tachuelas de plata”, “con molduras de plata blanca y bruñida”, una “celosía” o rosetón de plata dorada y calada en el frente y en la parte interna “un engaste de plata dorada con una piedra grande a modo de esmeralda”, mas cuatro columnas o “baras” de plata “con sus cañones, capiteles y pedestales dorados y cincelados.57 Este recuento excluye la existencia de otras piezas deterioradas o desprendidas y confirma la pérdida o eliminación de los rosetones laterales del chapitel reflejados en el inventario de 1563 y, sin duda, eliminados en la actuación de Luis Ortiz de Vargas.58 Se desconoce el alcance exacto de la intervención de 1670, pero la información reflejada en los inventarios de la década siguiente contabiliza menos planchas y constan, asimismo, reposiciones de otras con una lámina de hojalata.59 El desclavado y eliminación posterior de las planchas del respaldar de la Virgen y cuerpos laterales permite conocer el montaje de estas planchas de 9,5 x 9,5 cm en el fondo de cada casetón, el carácter de la red o trama reguladora de 2,5 cm de madera dorada y que sus paneles responden a la dimensión de las alas abatibles góticas sin los remates originales y parte de las hojas frontales de cierre. 57 ACS, FCR, Autos 5, f. 292r. ACS, FCR, Autos 6, f. 1r. García Baeza, 2016, p. 154, nota 11. 58 Muñiz, 1686, f. 60r-v. Laguna, 2009a, pp. 67-68. 59 Laguna Paúl, en prensa. 294 teresa laguna paúl Las huellas de estas fijaciones son perceptibles aún en las fotografías anteriores a la polémica restauración impulsada en 1926 por el capellán real José Sebastián y Bandarán (Sevilla, 1885-1972) y detrás del nuevo fondo o respaldar de la Virgen realizado por el orfebre Manuel Seco Velasco en 1935, quien reprodujo esta trama compositiva con las mismas dimensiones y, seguramente, utilizó para sus réplicas las dos planchas que encontró José Gestoso en 1888. Estas piezas testimonian el desclavado de los cuerpos laterales quizás en el siglo xix, las huellas de su fijación al soporte y, en el león conservado, las reparaciones con láminas de hojalata (Fig. 7).60 2. el altar de la virgen de la sede y las noticias de un tabernáculo contratado con el orfebre sancho martínez en 1366 El día 15 de septiembre de 1366 el cabildo de la catedral de Sevilla concertó y firmó con el orfebre Sancho Martínez ante Martín González, notario público de esta ciudad, la realización de “una ymagen de santa maria con su fijo en braços et el tabernaculo de la dha imagen todo esto de labor de plata e dorado e esmaltado cada cosa segunt conuiene a la obra que se fisiese”. José Gestoso vinculó este contrato con la factura de la Virgen de la Sede y su revestimiento de plata. La ignota documentación consultada por el mismo investigador en el archivo de la catedral de Sevilla ha generado en la historiografía dudas relativas al origen del revestimiento argénteo de la imagen de la Virgen de la Sede, que es de época alfonsí, así como la hipótesis de un tabernáculo de plata y esmaltes encargado para el altar mayor de la primitiva catedral de Sevilla y una duda respecto al nombre exacto del orfebre, al que llamó en sus publicaciones “Sancho Muñoz” mientras que en el contenido del documento lo transcribió como “Sancho Martínez”.61 La conquista de Sevilla y la consagración de su aljama en catedral en 1248 requirieron después de su dotación en 1258 reorganizar el espacio cultual de la capilla mayor, por lo que Alfonso X acordó con el arzobispo Don Raimundo de Losaña y el cabildo reservar una amplia superficie en la mitad oriental del templo mudéjar para la capilla de los Reyes y destinar el resto del edificio a las necesidades de la catedral, de sus capillas y altares dotados. A partir de este momento, hacia 1268, la capilla mayor quedó organizada en las naves centrales de la mitad 60 Laguna Paúl, 2013a, pp. 69-70. Fototeca Laboratorio de Arte, Universidad Sevilla, nº 4-1043 y 4-1042. 61 Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, pp. 190-192. Gestoso y Pérez, 1899-1908, t. 2, p. 264. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 295 occidental de aquella catedral mudéjar, ocupando una superficie aproximada de 162 m2 que, prácticamente, equivale al espacio actual de la parroquia del Sagrario. Esta capilla mayor, con su altar y coro catedralicio, estuvo cerrada con un tabique o muro bajo y rejas que aislaron seis naves de profundidad y tres arcadas de anchura de la primitiva aljama. Sus accesos se situaron en los lados norte y sur, cerca de las pilas del agua bendita instaladas en la “nave de los órganos” y en la nave del “Corpus Christi”. Los sitiales del coro ocupaban aproximadamente la longitud de dos arcadas de las naves almohades en el lado occidental y en el cierre oriental estaba el altar mayor presidido por la Virgen de la Sede, imagen de la capilla privada de Alfonso X donada por este monarca a la catedral después de su vuelta a Sevilla en 1279, según testimonia la cantiga CCCXXIV.62 La Virgen es una talla sedente con el Niño sobre su rodilla izquierda, con rostros y manos policromados y sus vestiduras cubiertas por finas láminas de plata con motivos de losanges con flores cuadrifolias y florenzadas alternantes, las cuales corresponden al revestimiento originario, como señaló Cayetano Sánchez y Pineda, quien supervisó la restauración realizada en 1924 y adscribió su cronología al tercer cuarto del siglo xiii.63 Las características de esta imagen de tamaño académico llevan a pensar en una factura próxima al grupo denominado “vasconavarro-riojano”, cuyo modelo, que tuvo amplia difusión en el período alfonsí, parte de los talleres burgaleses y leoneses de mediados del siglo xiii.64 Las láminas de plata, dispuestas sobre una preparación de estuco y cola orgánica, han tenido intervenciones documentadas desde el siglo xiv y en el xvi Hernando de Ballesteros forró con nuevas láminas de plata el banco de la Virgen e hizo la poma del Niño. En 1370 la catedral abonó varios pagos para la “renovación” de esta imagen, que tuvo aportaciones crematísticas de varias personas y realizaría alguno de los orfebres que trabajaron aquel año en el soporte del arca del Corpus Christi y en el pie de una cruz: Juan García y Manuel Pérez.65 La topografía cultual del presbiterio del altar mayor tenía una amplia plataforma escalonada, con la mesa dispuesta en la arcada central y presidida por la Virgen de la Sede, cobijada, seguramente, en el interior de un tabernáculo que solemnizaba y sacralizaba su imagen. La falta de noticias relacionadas con 62 Hernández Díaz, 1948, pp. 13-18. Laguna Paúl, 1998, pp. 53-56; 2001, p. 436, nº 180; 2018b, fig. 1; 2019, pp. 214-218. Martínez de Aguirre, 1998, pp. 129-130. Cómez Ramos, 2016-17, p. 126. 63 Sánchez y Pineda, 1935, pp. 39-42. 64 Hernández Díaz, 1971, pp.16-17.Fernández-Ladreda, 1989, pp. 146. Martínez de Aguirre, 1998, pp. 129-130. Laguna Paúl, 2001, p. 436, nº 180. Sánchez Ameijeiras, 2009, pp. 357-365. Cómez Ramos, 2016-17, pp. 127-129. 65 ACS, FC, libro 9333(1-A), fol. 7r y 12r-v. Sánchez y Pineda, 1935, p. 44. 296 teresa laguna paúl este mueble hace pensar en una obra menos suntuosa que la de la Virgen de los Reyes: acaso un sencillo tabernáculo de madera con la alas abatibles pintadas, como el que aparece representado en el privilegio rodado de Sancho IV cuando dispuso ser enterrado en la catedral de Toledo en 1285,66 en las cantigas XXXIV y XLVI del Códice Rico de la Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, en otras obras pintadas de los siglos xiv y xv o como el realizado por el carpintero Bartolomé Sánchez y el pintor Alonso López para la Virgen del Madroño de la capilla de san Hermenegildo de la catedral de Sevilla en 1454.67 Las dimensiones de este tabernáculo, de líneas sencillas, provisto de chapitel, columnas y puertas con paneles articulados, estarían adaptadas a esta escultura de 122 cm de altura y 59 cm de anchura y su volumen lo considero equiparable al del tabernáculo de Castildelgado (Museu Frederic Marés, núm. inv. 814), cuya medida máxima abierta es de 221,1 cm de largo y el baldaquino tiene 204,6 cm de la altura según el último estudio de Fernando Gutiérrez Baños, quien pormenoriza también las de cada papel, de izquierda a derecha, en 28,6 x 142,3 cm, 50,2 x 138,4 cm, 51,6 x 140 cm y 28,9 x 143,5 cm.68 La silueta del tabernáculo de la Virgen de la Sede podría ser la representada en un sello de placa del cabildo de la catedral de Sevilla que pende todavía de una bula de indulgencias conservada en el archivo de la catedral de León (Fig. 9), cuya matriz de latón realizó en 1440 maestre Martín Guillemin, orfebre de la catedral.69 El sello, de forma biojival, rodeado por la leyenda “+ Sigilum indulgencie ecclesie ispalensis”, reproduce el escudo del cabildo sevillano a mediados del siglo xv. En el registro inferior la torre campanario de la catedral, el alminar de la aljama coronado por una espadaña que aloja la llamada campana del reloj fundida por Alonso Domínguez en 1400 durante el episcopado de Don Gonzalo de Mena,70 y en el superior la silueta de la imagen que preside su capilla mayor, sedente en un banco con respaldo de arquerías góticas y situada en el interior de un sumario tabernáculo cuyos batientes o paneles interiores tienen arcos del mismo carácter; por encima de la imagen un remate triangular evoca el chapitel. La esquemática representación de este mueble podría interpretarse, incluso, en sus líneas básicas como un gran trono gótico en perspectiva coronado por un 66 Archivo Histórico Nacional, Clero, carp. 3022/5bis. 67 Gutiérrez Baños, 1997, pp. 209-214; 2011b, pp. 398-399. Laguna Paúl, 2018a, pp. 99-102. 68 Yarza Luaces, 1991, pp. 393-394. Muñoz Párraga, 2009, p. 354. Gutiérrez Baños, 2018, pp. 50- 53. Debo y agradezco a Fdo. Gutiérrez Baños estas medidas. 69 Camino Martínez, 2007, pp. 382-383. 70 Para esta espadaña y campana véanse: Ortiz de Zúñiga, 1795-96 [ed. original 1677], t. 2, pp. 473-475, y Jiménez Martín/Cabeza Méndez, 1988, pp. 116 y 205. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 303 trica realizada al fresco, semejante a la descubierta en el altar de Nuestra Señora de Rocamador en la parroquia de San Lorenzo en 2011, a los representados en los altares miniados en las Cantigas y al del Bautismo de Cristo en la mezquitacatedral de Córdoba.90 Los derribos góticos salvaron esta imagen, su culto no tuvo interrupciones durante la obra de la nueva capilla (h. 1440-1454) y su devoción aumentó en el transcurso de esta centuria, pues concentró importantes dotaciones y en 1449 ya contaba con una cofradía cuyos actos se solemnizaban con música de órgano. A mediados del siglo xv, el canónigo Ruy González de Bolante († 1450) dotó la misa cantada en este altar el día de santa María de las Nieves y después el racionero Pedro Martínez de la Caridad el ritual de la Salve, que tenía una primera dotación del Tesorero Ruy Gutiérrez de Villapadierna en 1362 y obtuvo el impulso definitivo con las del deán Pedro Díaz de Palacios en 1480. El modelo de este ritual, ampliado a todos los miércoles y a nueve festividades de la Virgen, generó la necesidad de un repertorio musical específico, concretado en cinco volúmenes de polifonía en uso en 1517.91 El pilar de ladrillo permaneció inamovible y el incremento de donaciones y misas votivas hizo necesario derivar muchas de estas al altar de la Virgen de los Remedios, que es sufragáneo a cargo directo de los capellanes de la Antigua y lo preside una pintura sobre tabla de principios del siglo xv, anterior también a la construcción gótica.92 La terminación de la capilla gótica incentivó otras actuaciones en el altar de la Antigua cuyo pilar almohade quedó exento en el lado derecho de ésta, inmediato a la entrada y a un pilar gótico, y salvaguardado por un cancel documentado, al menos, desde 1458. Este resguardaba el altar y su imagen rodeada de numerosas lámparas y exvotos de plata, cuya limpieza competía puntualmente al platero de la catedral y a los sacristanes.93 Para realzar los cultos los órganos pequeños ya estaban reinstalados en 1454 en la tribuna de la capilla y entre algunas adquisiciones de bienes muebles destaca la compra de una alfombra turca para utilizar en los salmos penitenciales de cuaresma en 1468.94 El progresivo aumento de su devoción se incrementó durante el reinado de los Reyes Católicos, cuando, además, las predicaciones de Fray Hernando de 90 Laguna Paúl, 2013b, pp. 135-136. 91 Ruiz Jiménez, 2014, pp. 69-71. 92 Laguna Paúl, 2019, pp. 226-228. 93 ACS, FC, libro 9339(5), ff. 13v. ACS, FC, libro 9342(8), ff. 13r. ACS, FC, libro 9343(9), ff. 33v, 29v y 41r. ACS, FC, 9345(11), ff. 28r y 36r. 94 ACS, FC, libro 9339(5), f. 13v. ACS, FC, libro 9347(13), f. 32v. 304 teresa laguna paúl Talavera y las medidas impuestas por las autoridades religiosas en Sevilla para controlar la religiosidad de su población conversa en 1478 hicieron de la Virgen de la Antigua un referente de las devociones de los cristianos viejos y de su factura unas leyendas equiparables a las de algunos iconos bizantinos o al milagro de las imágenes aparentes e incisas en las columnas de la basílica de la Getsemaní, recogida e ilustrada en la cantiga XXIX del códice Rico de la Real Biblioteca del monasterio del Escorial (ms. T.I.1, fol. 44v), que retoma una tradición anterior del siglo xii presente en diversas obras del siglo xiii.95 Los monarcas de la dinastía Trastámara demostraron gran fervor mariano y la reina Isabel durante sus estancias en Sevilla rezaba todos los sábados ante su efigie, a la que donó en 1478 una lámpara grande de plata en agradecimiento por el alumbramiento del príncipe heredero. Después dio otras limosnas en metálico, envió un exvoto de cera plateada del príncipe Don Juan por la sanación de este en 1490 y concedió otras mercedes para promover y dignificar su culto, regulado conjuntamente con el cabildo en sus misas votivas en 1486 y a cuyo altar otorgó ciertas exenciones en 1495.96 Durante este reinado están documentadas varias actuaciones importantes en la capilla y el altar de la Antigua, iniciadas durante el episcopado de Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1486-1502). El maestro mayor dirigió las obras de apertura de la “puerta del jubileo de la Antigua” en la pared oriental de la capilla y de otro acceso menor en el lado opuesto que comunicaba con un “canuto” o pasillo cubierto de conexión directo terminado en 1496 que facilitó el acceso de los sacerdotes desde la sacristía hasta el altar de la Virgen, por debajo del altar de la capilla de san Hermenegildo.97 En el mes de abril del año siguiente, después de cerrar la ventana de la capilla con telas encoladas, el pintor Gonzalo Rodríguez terminó ciertos encargos en la puerta, en las paredes laterales de la capilla y en su bóveda alta98 y a primeros de mayo el cabildo comisionó a los canónigos Diego de Santillán y Pedro Sánchez de Santo Domingo para supervisar y pagar la terminación del “tabernáculo de la Antigua” por lo que abonaron al mismo pintor sus trabajos en éste y en el “pabellón” con parte de los 30.000 mrs. que recibieron.99 95 Sánchez Ameijeiras, 2002, pp. 522-525. Pereda, 2007, pp. 29-31 y 145-248. Gutiérrez Baños, 2011a, pp. 391-393; 2011b, pp. 391-395. 96 Ortiz de Zúñiga, 1795-96 [ed. original 1677], t. 3, p. 102. Pereda, 2007, pp. 179-180 y 182. Laguna Paúl 2009a, pp. 225 y 233-235. 97 ACS, FC, libro 9350(16), f. 43r. Recio Mir, 2000, pp. 183-184. Jiménez Martín, 2013, pp. 291- 293. Mora Vicente/Guerrero Vega, 2016, pp. 601-605. Laguna Paúl, 2018a, p. 93. 98 ACS, FC, libro 9349(15), ff. 49r y 66v. ACS, FC, libro 9350(16), f. 67r-v. 99 ACS, FC, libro 9350(16), f. 43v. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 305 Este pabellón era un recinto acotado con rejas de hierro que rodeaba el pilar de la Antigua y de san Cristóbal y, semejante al que todavía acota el altar barroco del Cristo del Perdón en el zaguán del mismo nombre en la catedral de Sevilla, sustituyó a la mencionada reja o cancel documentado desde 1458, que quedo evidentemente obsoleta por la apertura de la puerta de comunicación con la sacristía y la realización del tabernáculo. El herrero Antón de Cuenca realizó las setenta y ocho barras de hierro de este pabellón, que estañó el campanero Luis Caldera y doró y policromó el mismo Pedro Rodríguez.100 Los trabajos del tabernáculo estaban completamente concluidos en octubre de 1497 y a mediados de 1499 el limosnero de la capilla, micer Pedro Sánchez de Santo Domingo, gastó 7.000 mrs. en la “peana” de Nuestra Señora de la Antigua o mesa del altar de poca profundidad (Fig. 10).101 Desconocemos el diseño y carácter formal de este tabernáculo, del que José María Medianero propuso una reconstrucción, omitiendo este chapitel y la escala proporcional del altar en el pilar.102 Las dimensiones de este tabernáculo tardogótico estuvieron predeterminadas por el propio pilar de la Antigua, tanto en la anchura como en la altura de sus puertas, y lo describió Luis de Peraza (h. 1535) “de maravilloso artificio y muy alta altura y devota imaginería”.103 El chapitel de madera dorada se acomodaría a los 116 cm de anchura de la pintura mural y sus batientes o paneles laterales, ensamblados en los extremos, tendrían unos 65 cm de ancho. El tabernáculo abierto conformaría un tríptico con las escenas del Nacimiento y la Epifanía pintadas en el anverso de los paneles laterales, y desplegado sobre la mesa del altar alcanzaría aproximadamente entre 350 y 380 cm de altura máxima hasta la cima del chapitel y unos 140 o 160 cm de anchura; ocuparía prácticamente el frente de la mesa y apenas dejaría espacio libre entre este y la reja del pabellón, que protegía el restringido espacio del altar. Las Instrucciones de esta capilla, elaboradas durante el episcopado de Fray Diego de Deza (1504-1523), prohíben expresamente a los seglares permanecer dentro del recinto acotado durante la misa porque “la peana del altar de nuestra señora del Antigua de dentro de la rexa tiene estrecho lugar y aquel es necesario para los ministros del altar”. Estos estatutos de 1513 regulan su culto, las funciones del personal adscrito a él y señalan, entre las competencias del sacristán, limpiar no solo las lámparas y exvotos colgados delante de la imagen, sino también desho- 100 ACS, FC, libro 9350(16), ff. 43r y 69v. ACS, FC, caja 10978(89), nº8/14, f. 3r. 101 ACS, FC, libro 9352(18), f. 29r. 102 Medianero Hernández, 2008, lám. 7. 103 Peraza, 1997 [h. 1535], vol. 2, p. 323. 306 teresa laguna paúl llinar el chapitel del tabernáculo y las imágenes “de las paredes del nascimiento y de los reyes”, cuya noticia rebate las atribuciones de estas puertas a los trabajos posteriores de Antón Pérez (1547-1458).104 Los trabajos anuales de mantenimien- to de los sacristanes se completaban con otras intervenciones encargadas a un pintor, habitualmente el de este cargo en la catedral. El clérigo y pintor Andrés Mexía llevó a cabo una actuación documentada en agosto de 1518 cuando recibió 500 mrs. por “pintar y dorar la historia de los reyes con la puerta de dentro de la capilla” y cuatro años después doró la mitad de una de las rejas laterales del altar mayor.105 Las tareas anuales de limpieza, realizadas antes de la víspera del día de la Asunción, comprendían también la reja dorada del pabellón, la reja de plata y las numerosas lámparas y exvotos que colgaban de una barra de hierro plateada delante de la imagen. La segunda reja a la que acabamos de referirnos era una reja de hierro plateado donada por Juan Alonso de Guzmán, “duque de Medina Sidonia y padre del muy excelente señor Don Juan Alonso de Guzmán, que en el nombre le sucedió y en el estado”, en palabras de Luis de Peraza, cuya nuera Ana de Aragón regaló una lámpara de plata en 1519.106 Esta reja interior formaba una celosía de protección de la imagen que tenía “quarenta y seis barras con florones encima” con las armas de su promotor.107 Su profundidad condicionaría la disposición de los paneles laterales del tabernáculo y el ensamblaje, toda la arquitectura y molduras lígneas concluidas en 1497, que debían permitir el cierre de las alas abatibles, pues cuando la imagen permanecía oculta a los ojos de los fieles las puertas del tabernáculo mostraban un cielo azul estrellado en oro (Fig. 10). Las noticias de este tabernáculo continúan a raíz de la restauración integral realizada por Antón Pérez entre julio de 1547 y marzo de 1548, que fue tasada en 28.125 mrs. y dio a conocer Juan Miguel Serrera. En esta intervención el pintor de la catedral actuó en profundidad en las escenas del nacimiento y epifanía del anverso de los paneles laterales “con sus molduras y letreros dorados”, y en las estrellas doradas sobre fondo azul del reverso de estos, que conformaban la indicada decoración de los batientes exteriores cerrados. Igualmente “aderezó” la 104 ACS, FC, caja 10978(89) nº 8/1, ff. 9r y 14r. Atribución de Medianero Hernández, 2008, pp. 58-59. 105 ACS, FC, libro 9372(38), ff. 12r, 3v, y 9v. Gestoso y Pérez, 1890, p. 500. Gestoso y Pérez, 1899-1908, t. 2, p. 63. 106 ACS, FC, caja 10978(89), nº 8/1, f. 19v. Peraza, 1997 [h. 1535], vol. 2, pp. 323-324. 107 ACS, FC, caja 10978(89), nº 8/14, f. 3r. Pereda, 2007, p. 184, omite esta celosía y adscribe la reja a Rodrigo Ponce de León e Isabel Pacheco. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 307 imagen de san Cristóbal y, entre otras cosas, añadió un tercer ángel y corona a la Virgen.108 La realización de estos elementos modificó su iconografía, ya que las copias más antiguas únicamente presentan dos ángeles, como atestiguan la donada por el obispo Juan Rodríguez Fonseca a la catedral de Badajoz, la de la sacristía del monasterio de San Isidoro del Campo y la tabla pintada a finales del siglo xv por Francisco de Burgos;109 la atribuida a Pablo de Céspedes de la catedral de Córdoba110 debe estar inspirada directamente en una obra anterior a la indicada actuación de Antón Pérez. La posición de este tabernáculo está perfectamente señalada en un contrato firmado el 16 de junio de 1565 con el rejero granadino Juan López para realizar la nueva reja de la capilla “a las espaldas del tabernáculo de la ymagen de nuestra señora donde está pintado el bienaventurado san christoval de la manera que la reja esté entera proporcionada cubriendo todo lo hueco de todo el arco como si el dicho tabernáculo no estuuiera en el dicho arco”.111 Este contrato evidencia que, inicialmente, el cabildo pensaría mantener el altar de la Antigua en su emplazamiento original durante algunos años, con su pabellón de hierro, separado a una distancia prudencial de la nueva reja, hasta que una década más tarde decidió acometer la reforma completa de esta capilla encargada al arquitecto Asencio de Maeda en 1576. Este nuevo proyecto obligaba a ubicar la imagen y altar de la Antigua en el muro meridional de la capilla, donde reorganizaron completamente la disposición de su altar y realizaron un nuevo acceso a la sacristía, entre otros trabajos estudiados por Álvaro Recio.112 La importancia y complejidad del traslado del pilar quedó recogida en el Discurso historial de la Antigüedad y Milagros de N. Sra. De la Antigua de Francisco Ortiz (1687) y representadas por Domingo Martínez en un lienzo de la serie encargada por el arzobispo Delgado Venegas cuando acometió más tarde la reforma barroca de la capilla. A mediados de noviembre de 1578, el pilar quedó centrado y empotrado en el centro de la pared del nuevo presbiterio y la Virgen colocada con un giro de 180º respecto a su posición originaria, pero la documentación omite cualquier referencia a la reinstalación o reutilización de su tabernáculo tardogótico en otro lugar. La pérdida del san Cristóbal del frente posterior del mismo pilar determinó que el cabildo acordara pintar nuevamente “su historia” 108 Serrera Contreras, 1977, pp. 361, 363 y 399; 1990, pp. 171-176. 109 Poleró, 1896, pp. 56-58. Medianero Hernández, 2008, p. 59. 110 Martínez Lara, 2015, pp. 15-31. 111 Hernández Díaz, 1937, p. 86. Morales, 1984, pp. 563-564. Mata Torres, 2001, pp. 267-268. 112 Recio Mir, 1998, pp. 51-61. 308 teresa laguna paúl en la capilla de igual titulación localizada entonces junto a la puerta del Lagarto, en el espacio actual de la capilla de la Granada. Esta pintura abonada a los pintores Luis Hernández y Vasco de Pereira a finales del año siguiente canalizó esta devoción en la catedral de Sevilla hasta la realización del mural monumental de Mateo Pérez de Alesio (1583-1584) frente al acceso oriental o puerta del jubileo de la capilla de la Antigua.113 Antes del traslado, la imagen de la Antigua fue protegida con lienzos y al concluir la instalación tendría alguna intervención previa a la colocación de un marco o bastidor de madera y lienzos dorados que, realizado por el pintor Luis Hernández, colocaron “alrededor del tabernáculo” de la Virgen, que ocultaban con unas cortinas de lienzo azul. Estas últimas corresponden a un montaje litúrgico previo a la terminación del retablo manierista trazado por Asencio de Maeda que se demoró hasta la tercera década del siglo xvii cuando retomaron sus trabajos y fue representado en la estampa grabada por Pedro Rodríguez (h. 1640), que muestra en el ático un busto del Salvador atribuido a Pablo de Céspedes (h. 1580), donde permaneció hasta la realización del retablo actual de Pedro Duque Cornejo y Lorenzo Fernández Iglesias (1734-1738).114 El mismo arquitecto diseñó un pasamanos de hierro para separar el presbiterio del espacio de los fieles y los nuevos soportes de varios lampadarios destinados a colgar las numerosas lámparas y exvotos de la Virgen, realizados por el herrero Juan Barba durante dos años. 4. conclusión El estudio de estos tabernáculos medievales de la catedral de Sevilla ha permitido adentrarnos por vez primera en la realidad e historia material de dos obras prácticamente desconocidas hasta la fecha que solemnizaron el culto de la Virgen de la Sede en el altar mayor y el altar de la Virgen de la Antigua, que acaparó la mayor parte de las devociones sevillanas en la Baja Edad Media. La riqueza, singularidad y escala monumental de los tabernáculos de la Virgen de los Reyes quedó manifiesta en las descripciones medievales, permaneció sin apenas cambios hasta la inauguración de la capilla Real renacentista en 1579 que hemos dado a conocer junto con algunas transformaciones inéditas de 113 ACS, FC, libro 9432(98), f. 14r. ACS, FC, libro 7083(33), f. 142r. 114 Espinosa de los Monteros, 1635, p. 67. Recio Mir, 1998, pp. 55-58. Reyes de la Carrera, 2013, pp. 887-900. Martínez Lara, 2015, pp. 16-23. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 309 época barroca. Estas últimas salvaguardaron la mayor parte de uno de sus chapiteles medievales de plata que desde entonces permanece, indisolublemente, incorporado al retablo-tabernáculo de Luis Ortiz de Vargas (1644-1649) y al largo proceso de canonización del santo rey Fernando III, cuyo nuevo culto fue aprobado en 1671. 5. fuentes documentales ACS, FC, caja 10908(20), nº 4: Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fondo Histórico General, Donación de una sepultura cerca de la capilla de la Santa Cruz al platero Sancho Martínez. ACS, FC, caja 10978(89), nº 8/1 y 14: Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fondo Histórico General, Inventario de la capilla de la Antigua (1495-1690) y otros documentos. ACS, FC, libro 10733(31): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Sec. Varios, Proceso y autos que se hacen […] para la beatificación del siervo de Dios D. Fernando el Santo, 1642-1652. ACS, FC, libro 6380(488): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Contaduría, Libro de gastos 1562-1573. ACS, FC, libro 7083(33): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Secretaría, Autos Capitulares 1578-1579. ACS, FC, libro 9138(4): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Mesa Capitular, Libro de las heredades e mezquitas e bannos e carneçerias e dineros de la aduana que dieron los muy nobles […]. Libro Blanco vol. I. ACS, FC, libro 9333(1-A): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de todos los dineros y dotes pasadas […] era de cuatrocientos e un años (año 1363). ACS, FC, libro 9339(5): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de la obra nueva 1449. ACS, FC, libro 9342(8): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, libro de la fábrica 1454. ACS, FC, libro 9343(9): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de las cuentas de la fábrica 1462. ACS, FC, libro 9345(11): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de indulgencias de la obra 1465. ACS, FC, libro 9347(131): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica,, Libro de recibo y gasto 1467. 310 teresa laguna paúl ACS, FC, libro 9349(15): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de las posesiones y heredades de la fábrica 1496. ACS, FC, libro 9350(16): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de cargo y descargo 1497. ACS, FC, libro 9352(18): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Libro de las cuentas de todas las rentas de fábrica 1499. ACS, FC, libro 9372(38): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, libro de cargo y descargo de 1518. ACS, FC, libro 9431(97): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, libro de mayordomía de fábrica 1578. ACS, FC, libro 9432(98): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, libro de mayordomía de fábrica 1579. ACS, FC, libro 9624(284): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Adventicios de fábrica año 1577. ACS, FC, libro 9625(285): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. Fábrica, Adventicios de fábrica año 1578. ACS, FC, libro 10733(31): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capitular, Secc. varios, Proceso y autos […] para la beatificación del siervo de Dios D. Fernando, llamado el Santo. ACS, FCR, caja 3, exp. 3: Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capilla Real, Secc. Fábrica, Inventario de los bienes año 1655. ACS, FCR, caja 3, exp. 9: Archivo catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capilla Real, Secc. Fábrica, Inventario antiguo sf. ACS, FCR, libro 5(77): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capilla Real, Secc. Secretaría, Autos capitulares 1651-1667. ACS, FCR, libro 6(78): Archivo Catedral de Sevilla, Fondo Capilla Real, Secc. Secretaría, Autos capitulares 1670-1682. 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Valdivieso González, E. 1990: “Pinturas de Domingo Martínez en la capilla de la Virgen de la Antigua en la catedral de Sevilla”, Laboratorio de Arte, 3, pp. 109-121. Vicent-Cassy, C., 2018: “María en trampantojo. A propósito de las imágenes marianas en la España del siglo xvii”, Versants, 65/3, pp. 15-31. La Virgen de los Reyes…, 2004: La Virgen de los Reyes. Cien años de su coronación, catálogo de exposición, Sevilla: Ayuntamiento de Sevilla – ICAS. Yarza Luaces, J., 1991: “384.- Tabernacle”, in Catàleg d’escultura i pintura medievals (= catálogo Museu Frederic Marès), Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona, pp. 393-394. 320 teresa laguna paúl Fig. 1. Restitución de la primitiva catedral de Sevilla hacia 1430 con la localización de los altares de la Virgen de los Reyes (A), de la Sede (B) y de la Antigua (C). Reconstrucción de la doble altura de la capilla de los Reyes. © Antonio Almagro Gorbea, 2009. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 321 Fig. 2. Sellos de placa de la capilla Real de Sevilla insertos en la Insinuación apologética de Alonso Muñiz (1686). © Catedral de Sevilla, Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina, ms. 57-3-40, f. 63r. 322 teresa laguna paúl Fig. 3. Antón Sánchez de Segovia, 1262: tabernáculos pintados de la capilla de san Martín de la catedral vieja de Salamanca. © Fernando Gutiérrez Baños. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 323 Fig. 4. Jorge de Toledo, h. 1278: bóveda y rosetón del tabernáculo de la Virgen de los Reyes incorporado al retablo de Luis Ortiz de Vargas (1644-1649). © Fotografía TLP. 324 teresa laguna paúl Fig. 5. Francisco de Varela, 1644: Virgen de los Reyes. © Museo Pedro de Osma (Lima). el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 325 Fig. 6. Anónimo, h. 1630: Virgen de los Reyes. Monasterio de la Concepción del Carmen (Valladolid). © Ramón Pérez de Castro. 326 teresa laguna paúl Fig. 7. Jorge de Toledo, h. 1278: anverso de dos placas sueltas de 9,5 x 9,5 cm de los batientes del tabernáculo de la Virgen de los Reyes. © Fotografías TLP. el tabernáculo de la virgen de los reyes y la memoria documental 327 Fig. 8. Chapitel exterior del tabernáculo de la Virgen de los Reyes incorporado al retablo de Luis Ortiz de Vargas (1644-1649). © Fotografías TLP. 328 teresa laguna paúl Fig. 9. Sello de placa del cabildo catedral de Sevilla inserto en una bula de indulgencia conservada en la catedral de León. Virgen de la Sede de la catedral de Sevilla. © Fotografías Archivo Catedral de León y TLP. movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 335 mented, the movement of the wings or doors facilitated a change in the physical appearance of these furnishings (Braun, 1924, II, pp. 355–357). In Catalonia this was an innovation with regard to the Romanesque period, as the few examples of known altar furnishings tended to have fixed wings, as seen in the aedicule of Sant Martí d’Envalls (Angostrina, Western Pyrenees, France), preserved today at the Centre d’Art Sacré d’Île-sur-Tet (Folch, 1925; Delcor, 1995; Le Pogam, 2009; Sureda, 2012, pp. 76–78; Kroesen, 2014a, pp. 161–162, fig. 3). This furnishing including two fixed, painted side compartments as wings. What we have here, then, is clearly a forerunner of the Gothic tabernacle-altarpiece with movable panels. Judging by surviving pieces, one might conclude that the use of movable wings in the Crown of Aragon was a feature introduced on works linked with the Gothic style,3 given that its advent united different types of altar furnishings. All the same, one must bear in mind the fact that in certain European regions movement was already present in works from the Romanesque period.4 From a given moment onwards, the novelty of including doors or wings that allowed for performative movement and dynamic actions altering the perception of the work, concealing and then revealing its interior, must have constituted a boost to the conception and design of furnishing elements associated with altars. It is as such that the emergence, in the Crown of Aragon, of tabernacle-altar- pieces, Eucharistic tabernacles and cabinets, or the inclusion of a shrine into the lower part of altarpieces may be considered part of a phenomenon whose goal was to inject dynamism into the actions of the celebrant, to go beyond the static furnishing of Romanesque period altars and present the sancta sanctorum of the presbytery as a place of liturgical and devotional experiences based on movement. All of these innovations took place within a timespan starting in the late 13th century and going into the 14th century, coinciding with the popularisation of tabernacle-altarpieces in regions such as Catalonia and Aragon. 3With regards to the two wings of the tabernacle-altarpiece with depictions of the Virgin and Saint Joseph from the old Alexandre Soler i March collection (Barrachina, 1997), as well as the four from the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (inv. 66051–66054) with the Epiphany Magi and the Virgin, from the Bosch i Catarineu collection (Llarás/Carabasa, 1994, pp. 444–445), both being of the movable type, these have been dated to between the 12th and 13th centuries, but we have serious doubts concerning their authenticity. We would argue the need for a technical study to certify their degree of originality. With regard to the two wings from Sant Martí Sarroca preserved at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, these have also been dated to the Romanesque period (13th century) (Alcoy, 1994, pp. 308–310), but in our opinion they are later works and should be considered Gothic, as we will see shortly. 4For more on this matter, see Justin Kroesen’s article in this volume. 336 alberto velasco gonzàlez In the case of the tabernacle-altarpiece, what we are dealing with are devices that allowed for visual interaction with the image in the central tabernacle through the process of opening and closing movable panels, encouraging revelations linked to the exaltation, veneration and unveiling of what was contained within. This anthropically-generated performative movement stood, therefore, as a trigger leading to meanings linked to divinity.5One can even argue that the opening of the wings of a tabernacle-altarpiece generated the activation of the main image in the eyes of the faithful or the celebrant. And all of this thanks to movement acting like a light switch. As we have already mentioned, the opening of the side wings is an action, a gesture, that tabernacle-altarpieces shared with furnishings of relatively similar structure, but given over to different worship-oriented purposes, such as Eucharistic cabinets. Be that as it may, the interior decoration presented by the cabinets still surviving today from Catalan parishes places us before a type of furnishing that goes beyond the mere function of receptacle or Eucharistic chamber. As such, the narrative provided by the interior scenes, with episodes linked to the Passion in some cases, was complemented with the presence of full-length saints on the doors.6It would appear that, on occasions, decorative canopies may be included similar to those we find at the top of the central tabernacle of tabernacle-altarpieces, or those topped by spires from the tabernacles presiding over certain altarpieces.7One contrasting variation on this sort of cabinet is the one we find in the impressive reliquary-cabinet from the monastery of Piedra (Zaragoza), preserved today in the Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid), which in its dimensions, doors and format is reminiscent of the altarpieces and, even more so, triptychs, of the time. This is a Eucharistic container dating from 1390, containing a truly exceptional inscription on its panels, identifying the furnishing as ‘Tabernaculo hoc vocabitur aula Deo […]’ (González Zymla, 2013). 5There is more on this subject in the works included in Zchomelidse/Freni, eds, 2011. Cfr. Kessler, 2014. 6The known and documented exemplars show that they were especially common in Northern Catalonia, as we can observe in the piece preserved at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, which originated from Perpignan; in the work from Elna Cathedral, in the one purchased by Meadows Museum in Dallas, or in the remains preserve in Illa (Alcoy 2003; Domenge 2005; Favà, 2017, p. 130, figs 12–15). 7We can observe this in the inventory of the assets of the painter Pere Baró (1388), from Perpignan, which mentions ‘Un armari del corpus que’s stat d’Eune ab una lanterna en sus’ (Gudiol Cunill, [n. d.], p. 117). movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 337 Much the same can be said for the shrine Madonnas which, on being opened, revealed holy stories and broadened the very image’s panoply of meanings, with an interplay on what could, and could not, be seen (Katz, 2011). It is doubtless significant that this sort of Marian image originated in the region of Castile towards the end of the 13th century and that, from there, it spread to the other side of the Pyrenees, as Melissa Katz observed (2010). With regards to the Crown of Aragon, there are no surviving works from said area,8 but we do know that in 1325 the painter and sculptor Ramón Torrent, who was residing in Zaragoza, had in his workshop ‘Una ymagen de Santa Maria con la historia de figuras y la ymagen abierta’ (Serrano Sanz, 1918, p. 107).9 The document mentioning this sculpture is an inventory referring to multiple images that the artist was working on or had concluded, from which we can only conclude that his workshop was producing shrine Madonnas. The advent of this sort of sculpture with movable panels revealing its interior may therefore be dated to the same period we are discussing, when a process of interaction and exchange was taking place between different types of liturgical altar furnishings. The context of the late 13th and start of the next century is core to the panorama we are attempting to describe, and as such the leading role taken on by folding doors in different elements from liturgical furnishing should be conceived of as part of a more or less generalised phenomenon. The opening methods differed in each case, due to nuances conditioned by the nature of the work, but in essence the nature of the process was the same. The idea was to make a revelation and to interact visually, intimately and, even, physically with the work.10 It is therefore significant that some of the changes introduced into altar furnishing in the Crown of Aragon at that time saw folding doors or panels take centre stage, with movement being core to their raison d’être. 8 On the other hand, the so-called ‘Vírgenes-sagrario’ are preserved in Mallorca, sculptures normally made of wood presenting a closed cavity with a door containing consecrated forms. See Llompart, 1963, and Llompart, 2006. 9‘An image of the Virgin Mary with the story of figures and the image open’. 10 With regard to shrine Madonnas, Melissa Katz, claimed that these images have parallels with a range of containers of the holy which ‘[…] similarly enclose and disclose hallowed subject matter. A series of analogous objects, when compared to triptych Virgins, enhances our understanding of the theological and theoretical implications of a sculpted body of the Virgin fashioned with a set of doors. This in turn illuminates the dialectic established between the sculpture’s exterior and interior, two spaces mediated by the gesture of opening and closing the image, a paraliturgical movement that approximates, for the person effecting the transformation, the passage between the mundane realm and the divine, crossing thresholds of augmented sanctity’ (Katz, 2011, p. 70). 338 alberto velasco gonzàlez 2. documentation and terminology In contrast to what we mentioned earlier with regard to Valencia and Mallorca, exemplars have survived from Aragon and Catalonia, and there are documentary references explicitly mentioning the execution of tabernacle-altarpieces with movable wings. All the same, drawing on the sources, and with the exception of a contract from 1298 which we will be coming to later, the main problem we encounter is that certain documents that might refer to works of this type are not sufficiently explicit or descriptive. This is the case for a pastoral visit to Girona Cathedral in 1417, where there is reference, with regard to the altar of the Holy Cross, which reads ‘quedam postis fustea coram dicto altari posita et in qua sedet quedam imago virginis Marie lapidea’ (Sureda, 2013, p. 44). It would appear that it is referring to something akin to a tabernacle-altarpiece, but the document just isn’t specific enough. To this we should also add the complex polysemy of the term ‘tabernacle’ in the Hispanic context, which comes into particularly sharp focus in Crown of Aragon documentary testimonies. It is as such that the word appears rather too rich in meanings that might allude to different sorts of altar furnishings (Español, 2002, p. 103; Español, 2009b, pp. 87–89).11 Be that as it may, on many occasions we encounter sparing and generic references to ‘tabernacles’, where it is not clear whether the works being alluded to had moving panels or not. On other occasions, the documents mention sculptures with their respective tabernacles, but we cannot tell if these were just images with a simple canopy above them, like a coronation, a more complex tabernacle-altarpiece with mobile wings, or a structure with a base and four columns supporting a canopy, but without folding wings.12 11 The term may also allude to different elements associated with the silver and goldsmithing world, such as the Eucharistic monstrances where the host was kept, or the niches presented by some processional crosses, as the documentation makes abundantly clear (Dalmases, 1992). The varying meanings of the term are rooted in a fairly clear and widespread basic semantic sparsity in the middles ages, with the assimilation of the Virgin as Christ’s tabernacle. In other words, the Virgin as vessel. The Christ-centric literature produced under the Crown of Aragon allows us to reach this conclusion, with authors such as Romeu Llull or Sor Isabel de Villena (Torró, 1992, p. 95, n. 71). 12 This type of furnishing bears parallels with the central part of a tabernacle-altarpiece, but few exemplars have survived other than the aforementioned Sant Martí d’Envalls one or the one from Sant Climent de Taüll, dating from the first half of the 13th century (Folch, 1925; Llarás, 1996). All the same, doubts have recently been raised as to whether the latter might not be the result of intervention subsequent to the date at which the image it contains was executed (Camps, 2008, p. 136). movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 339 The above-mentioned polysemy, along with the inaccuracy of the descriptions provided in the documentation, are important handicaps when it comes to interpreting the nature of some of the many works mentioned in the major inventory drafted in Zaragoza in 1325 on the death of the painter and sculptor Ramón Torrent. Some were half-completed. An example of those that raise doubts would be, for instance, ‘Una ymagen de Santa Maria, enjesada, de tres palmos, con su tabernaculo’;13 ‘Un tabernaculo chico enjessado’,14 or ‘Dos ymagines de Santa Maria con sus tabernaculos, enjessadas, y la una començada d’argentar’.15 On another occasion there is mention of ‘Una taula d’alçar [altar?], plegariça, enjessada’16 (Serrano Sanz, 1918, pp. 108 and 110). Torrent’s widow, María Ximénez de Ribas, is an interesting figure who continued to run her deceased husband’s workshop. As such, in 1327 she accepted a commission for Bartolomea Ximénez for ‘dos ymagines, la una de Sant Bicent y la otra de Sant Martín, que ayan cada una dos palmos y dos dedos […] con sus tabernáculos, y un otro tabernáculo que sia la historia de Sant Climent’.17 The dimensions (two hand spans and two fingers) and the price for the batch of images, 50 sueldos, relate no doubt to images intended for private worship, to the intimate piety of the home of the client. The one of most interest to us is the image of the story of Saint Clement, which could be interpreted as a tabernacle-altarpiece with movable wings, either painted or with sculptured relief work. According to known models going back years, these elements with four columns and a canopy could take on greater dimensions, transforming into structures standing over the entire altar, with the mission of lending it dignity and protection. These are so-called ciboria, which, furthermore, sometimes crop up in the documentation as synonymous with ‘tabernacle’.18 As such, we have re- 13 ‘An image of the Virgin Mary, in plaster, measuring three hand spans, with its tabernacle’. 14 ‘A little plaster tabernacle’. 15 ‘Two images of the Virgin Mary with their plaster tabernacles and one whose silver gilding has been started’. 16 ‘A folding, plaster altar [?] panel’. 17 ‘two images, one of Saint Vincent and the other of Saint Martin, each measuring two hand spans and two fingers […] with their tabernacles, and another tabernacle depicting the story of Saint Clement’. See Serrano Sanz, 1918, p. 115. The series of images had to be delivered ‘daquia Pascua florida’ (Easter Sunday), which shows that they had to be executed in the workshop and it was not a case of selling her dead husband’s workshop stock. 18 Regarding ciboria, see Kroesen, 2014b, pp. 19–22. There are, however, cases, where the document mentions ‘cimbori’ and where it proves absolutely obvious that the reference is to what is known today as a ceiling baldachin (baldaquino-plafón, in Spanish). This is the case for a 1370 reference to a painter from Perpignan, Pere Baró, who was commissioned to paint a ‘cobertz os cimbori 340 alberto velasco gonzàlez corded proof that in 1398 the painter Gaucelm Paulet agreed to paint ‘quoddam cimbori sive tabernacle’ for the chapel of Corpus Christi at the church of Santa Maria del Pont in Perpignan (Gudiol Cunill, [n. d.], p. 173).19 Exactly the same is the case for the term ‘altarpiece’ (retablo,retaule), which on numerous occasions would be replaced by ‘tabernacle’ (tabernacle), especially during the second half of the 14th century.20 By the descriptions provided in the documentation, we see these were altar furnishings normally presided over by a large tabernacle housing a sculpture, accompanied by painted side compartments. The great pre-eminence of the central element over the rest of the ensemble led on many occasions to it lending its name to said ensemble – a part standing for the whole. We observe this, for example, in a document from 1406 concerning dealings between Jaume Brot, a painter and sculptor, and the parish council of the Corpus Christi chapel of the church of Sant Jaume in Perpignan, who were involved in legal proceedings due to ‘quoddam tabernaculum, et omnes picturas et ymaginem in ipso tabernáculo, factas et depictas […]’ (Madurell, 1949–52, 10, pp. 179–183, doc. 617). Equally, some documents appear to show that the term ‘tabernacle’ might also refer to both little wooden triptychs with reliefs sculptured in ivory, and to que es sobre l’artar de blau ab steles e ab la luna e solel’ (‘canopy or cimbori over the altar in blue with stars and the moon and sun’) for the church of Santa Eugenia de Ortafà (Roussillon, France) (Gudiol Cunill, [n. d.], p. 116). It would appear that there is another reference to this sort of furnishing in the mention of a ciborium that existed at the high altar of the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses (Girona). According to said monastery’s necrology, it was paid for by the sacristan, Bernat de Castelló. Proceedings from 1458 reveal it had a dome with seraphs, held up by four columns sheltering the altar, which included images of Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist (Parasols, 1859, p. 141). 19 It may be that this identification between ciborium and tabernacle (as synonymous with altarpiece) was common in Northern Catalonia, given in 1308 Joan, a master painter from Perpignan, signed a contract with Dalmau de Fornells, chaplain of the parish church of San Juan y San Pablo de Sant Joan de les Abadesses, for the execution of three ‘cimboris’ for said church. One of these was for the high altar, dedicated to the patron saints of the temple, another for the altar of Saint Mary and another for that of Saint Gabriel. Each was to include three sculpted or inlaid images, two thurifer angels, one on each side of the ‘sede majestatis’. These reliefs were to measure four hand spans high on the high altar ensemble, and three hand spans on the other two. The document also comments that silver leaf with mecca varnish (corladura) should be used where appropriate (Gudiol Cunill, 1929, p. 361). 20 We see this in a contract from 1358 concerning the painter Jaume Serra, which mentions a ‘tabernaculi sive reetaula’ for the altar of San Miguel in Girona Cathedral (Madurell, 1949–52, 10, pp. 28–30, doc. 404). In a document from two years later, the painter Francesc Serra, brother of the former, admits having received a sum of money from Romeu Ferrer, beneficiary of Barcelona Cathedral, in payment for a ‘tabernaculi sive reetaule’ (Madurell, 1949–52, 10, pp. 39–40, doc. 416). movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 341 those we find in a royal inventory from the period of Jaume II;21 triptychs or little altarpieces worked in metal, such as the one that existed in the personal chapel of King Pere III in 1344;22 or polyptychs with folding wings, such as the one Jaume II donated to Valencia Cathedral in 1319.23 Furthermore, when accompanied by the term ‘retablo’ (tabernacle-retables), the word has taken on a historiographic significance when it comes to designating a type of altar furnishing that was extremely characteristic of the Crown of Aragon (especially Catalonia), which has been studied by Francesca Español, where it is worth highlighting its use as a display cabinet for the Eucharist or holy relics. These were aniconic structures that embellished the altar without painted compartments, with varying levels and normally executed with lavish fretwork or gilt decoration. We know of pieces executed for the cathedrals of Barcelona, Mallorca, or Santa Maria de Manresa, among others (Español, 2009b; cfr. Pons/ Molina, 2012, and Favà, 2017, pp. 132–134). It would seem that we can trace the origin of these furnishings to the second half of the 14th century, coinciding with a series of contemporary movements and changes that led to enriching the diversity of altar furnishings. Their historiographic labelling as ‘tabernacle-reta- bles’ may give rise to confusion with the altar furnishings we are studying here, especially as the term for the latter is earlier, and well established, so perhaps 21 The document is dated 1315 and relates to a series of gifts made by the monarch to individuals in his immediate surroundings. Of the works mentioned we find: ‘unum tabernaculum de ligno cum imaginibus eburneis’; ‘aliud tabernaculum ligni cum imaginibus eburneis’, and ‘item posuistis in altari sancti Nicholay, quod est in Palacio nostro Barchinone, aliud tabernaculum de ligno cum ymaginibus eburneis’ (Martínez Ferrando, 1962, p. 99, doc. 68). 22 The 1344 ordinances of the Royal Residence in Barcelona that said monarch ordered to be issued, speak of the need for his private chapel to include, among other things ‘reretaula dargent daurat ab la imatge de la incorrupte verge Maria en lo mig loch daquel posada mostrantse dins tabernacle per tal que en les festes e en les altres covinents dies memoria d’ella no sia relaxada’ (Gudiol Cunill, 1929, p. 401). In 1354 we know that the same monarch had commissioned the goldsmith Pere Berneç to make a ‘retrotabulum’ dedicated to the Virgin ‘cum tabernaculo argenteo esmaltato’ (Gudiol Cunill, 1929, p. 399). 23 ‘Item altari predicto sancti Iacobi Sedis Valencie quasdam tabulas que clauduntur et intus est crucifixus cum cohopertis rubeis’ (Martínez Ferrando, 1962, p. 144, doc. 105). It would seem that this is the same work that appears mentioned in an inventory of items from the Templar castle of Peñíscola (Castellón), from the same year: ‘Item quasdam tabulas que clauduntur et intus est crucifixus cum cohopertis rubeis’ (Martínez Ferrando, 1962, p. 146, doc. 106). A 1315 inventory commissioned by Jaume II includes a range of silver objects from the royal chambers which had to be cast in order to execute an image of the Virgin the king intended to offer to Monserrat monastery. These objects included a ‘tabernaculum argenti cum imagine argenti beate Marie, ponderis viginti marcarum et duarum unciarum argenti’ (Vilar, 2000, pp. 185–186, doc. 68; this is also included in Sanjosé, 2017, p. 149, doc. 317). 342 alberto velasco gonzàlez it would be appropriate to define the former as ‘monstrance-retables’ or ‘monstrance-tabernacles’. Finally, the term ‘tabernacle’ may refer to the type of cabinet used to hold the Eucharist. This is what we have come to know today as a Eucharistic tabernacle, which in the Crown of Aragon took on a range of formats in the medieval period.24 One such was the tower-shaped variety, which gave rise to free-stand- ing works that could be placed above the altar (or towards the rear), and have folding doors.25 This is the case of the one preserved in the church of Codalet, in Northern Catalonia (Reynal, 2005, pp. 102–103; Favà, 2017, pp. 129–130, figs 7–9). The introduction of this type of furnishing would appear to be a response, in Catalonia at least, to the varying ecclesiastical guidelines that started to be issued in the 13th century, becoming consolidated in the second half of the 14th century. As such, a synod ruling from the Vic bishopric in 1348, speaks of ‘Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi in aliquo armario juxta altare mundo et vicino ad id tantummodo diputato, sub clave devote et fideliter servetur’ (Gudiol Cunill, 1916, p. 72). Ten years later, Ramon de Bellera, bishop of Vic, banned the storage of the sacramental bread in the boxes normally used for keeping the silver, asking for it to be kept ‘in aliquo eminenti et decenti loco juxta altare, adhibitis tamen clavibus’ (Gudiol Cunill, 1916, p. 72; Español, 2009b, p. 87).26 In 1372 Pere de Clasquerí, archbishop of Tarragona, ordered the jurats of Alforja to build a tabernacle behind the high altar which should be located under the main image, as existed in L’Aleixar. From that moment, and for the next few decades, we know of similar cases in a range of locations throughout said archbishopric, such as Albi, Belianes, Montbrió del Camp, Montagut, Conesa, Les Piles or Pon- 24 Regarding the emergence of the Eucharistic tabernacle as an element of altar furnishing, its different types and the episcopal dispositions encouraging its popularisation, see Favà, 2017, pp. 127–134. 25 Another well-known type of tabernacle, though less widespread in the Crown of Aragon, and also tower-shaped, might present its base on the ground and rise upwards, as is the case with the piece from the chapel of Mas Roig (Miramar, Mallorca) (Español, 2009b, p. 89, fig. 2). 26 An earlier ruling by the archbishop of Tarragona set the tone, where in 1242 he requested ‘in media parte altaris cum summa diligentia et honestate, sub clave si fiere potest, corpus domini custodiantur’, although his request was clearly ignored in subsequent years (Español, 2009b, p. 87). These sorts of regulations were included in treatises that were disseminated internationally, such as the Rationale Divinorum Officiorum by Guillaume Durand, drafted in Italy prior to 1286, including the stipulation for the altar to include a ‘capsa in qua hostiae consecratae servantur’. Elsewhere in the same treatise he claimed that it should be arranged ‘super altare’ and, also that ‘in quibusdam ecclesiis super altare collocatur arca seu tabernaculum’ (Gudiol Cunill, 1916, p. 69). movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 343 tils (Capdevila, 1925; Duran i Sanpere, 1932–34, vol. 1, pp. 105–106).27 We also know of works commissioned from the sculptor Jordi de Déu for El Vilosell and Vinaixa (Beseran, 2009). Certain works showing this fervour have survived from the archbishopric, as can be seen in the undocumented free-standing stone tabernacle from El Vilet (Lleida) (Duran i Sanpere, 1932–34, vol. 1, figs 118–119).28 3. tabernacle-altarpieces and altar furnishings: a context of transferrals and deviations This phenomenon that was widespread throughout Tarragona coincided with the rise of the construction of stone altarpieces in the neighbouring area of Lleida,29 giving rise to a series of works that are grouped together under the title ‘Lleida School of 14th-century sculpture’, and which give an indication of the strides made in including the Eucharistic tabernacle within the altarpiece structure (Español, 1995, p. 53 and 112).30 From its free-standing arrangement at the back of the altar, serving as a base for the sculpture standing over it, as we saw in the 27 There are records of tabernacles fashioned in metal commissioned at a prior date for the monasteries of Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona) (1314) and Poblet (Tarragona) (1332). See Español, 2009b, p. 88, n. 8. 28 Also originating from a church in the Tarragona archbishopric, one surviving work is the one from Maldà (Lleida) (Museu Diocesà of Tarragona), although in this case it does not follow the free-standing tabernacle model, being a part of the altarpiece predella. See Duran i Sanpere, 1932–34, vol. 1, fig. 118. 29 As with our earlier comments regarding the archbishopric of Tarragona, we know of an episcopal ruling by the bishop of Lleida, Ramon de Ciscar (1238–1247), stipulating that ‘in pulchriori parte altaris cum summa reverentia et diligentia et honestate, si fieri potest, Corpus Domini custodiatur’ (Gudiol Cunill, 1916, p. 70). A prior reference exists in the canonical corpus from the Lleida provincial in 1229, which has clear echoes of the Fourth Lateran Council (Favà, 2017, p. 77). 30 For more on the Lleida School, see Velasco/Yeguas, 2010. One noteworthy example of Lleida stone altarpieces with an integrated Eucharistic tabernacle is found on the high altar of the church of Sant Llorenç de Lleida, or the one currently presiding over the church of Sant Miquel de Castelló de Farfanya (Lleida). The phenomenon may be extrapolated to stone altarpieces executed for other regions of Catalonia. This is the case of the Passion altarpiece originating from the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses (Girona), undertaken by the sculptor Bernat Saulet in 1341 (Museu Episcopal de Vic). Having undergone considerable transformation over the years, it has been suggested that it might have been one of the first examples where the Eucharistic tabernacle was included as a central part of the predella (Español, 2002, p. 103). Something similar occurs with the silver altarpiece from Girona Cathedral, also affected by varying transformations, but which in around 1349–58, to coincide with its expansion, may have been fitted with a Eucharistic tabernacle (Español, 2005, pp. 221–227). For more on the inclusion of such tabernacles in altarpieces, also see Favà, 2017, pp. 130–132. 344 alberto velasco gonzàlez Vilet example, it started to be placed at the centre of the altarpiece, continuing to serve its purpose in supporting the main sculpture. These works are indicative of a model of receptacle without doors in the frontal area, but with a cavity to the rear allowing access. According to Kroesen (2009, p. 75), it was at this rear area that a sort of opening could be arranged, sculpted with angel or saint figures, and which could indeed be closed using a simple hinged wooden door, as is the case in Bellver de Cinca (Huesca) (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya).31 The series of retaules from the Lleida School are characterised by the monumentalisation of the altarpiece, with few precedents in contemporary Catalonia. In this context of the second half of the 14th century, the incorporation of the Eucharistic tabernacle with folding doors towards the bottom of the altarpiece may have been part of a phenomenon whose core mission was to focus worshippers’ attention on the furnishing presiding over the altar (Español, 2009b, p. 90). One might say much the same for the painted panel altarpieces which, among others, the Serra brothers did much to help popularise at the time. This is the sort of commission that would normally be associated with that of a tabernacle (and the documentation clearly bears this out) which would have to stand over it, and which provided shelter for the sculpture inside.32 When these ensembles took on greater dimensions they tended to be crowned by towering spires (agulles), which could stand more than 10 metres tall, making it easier to capture worshippers’ attention and focussing the spotlight on the church’s main altarpiece.33 On 31 The origin traditionally posited for this work was Albalat de Cinca (Huesca), but documentation come to light in recent years has demonstrated that its real origin was the neighbouring town of Bellver de Cinca (Berlabé, 2009, vol. 1, p. 116 and 148–150, II, pp. 418–426, III, pp. 330–366 and pp. 367–405, and Velasco/Yeguas, 2010, pp. 186–187). According to Kroesen, there is a second work that might belong to the same model, although in this case not from the Lleida School. This is the frontal of the tabernacle from Vilafortuny (Tarragona), preserved today in the Museu Frederic Marès (Barcelona). Español, on the other hand, argues the possibility that these square-shaped framings might be used as the frontal of Eucharistic tabernacles sunk into the presbytery wall (Español, 2009b, p. 89, n. 11). 32 One might mention the case of the altarpiece commissioned from the painter Joan de Tarragona on 8 April 1359, who had to complete the miraculous image of the venerated Virgin for the sanctuary of Paretdelgada (Tarragona). The altarpiece was to be a triptych with the image in the middle, which the painter promised to take home in order to repaint it. The subjects of the paintings, two to each side, were to be the Annunciation, Nativity, Epiphany and Purification. He also undertook to paint a predella dedicated to the Passion. See Pié, 1930 [1896], pp. 32–36. Two sections from the altarpiece are preserved in Tarragona’s Museu Diocesà, which for many years were thought lost (Martí, 2008, pp. 22–25). 33 This is the case of the lost altarpieces that presided over the churches of Santa Maria del Pi (Barcelona) and the monastery of Santa Maria in Pedralbes (Barcelona). In the case of the former, movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 351 countless examples of this,45 but we will highlight just the one. Guillem Timor, who had settled in the Tarragona town of Montblanc, was recorded in January 1345 as a painter commissioned to execute an alabaster sculpture of Saint Andrew for the parish of Selva del Camp (Tarragona) (Pié, 1897, pp. 157–158, doc. 1). The document makes no mention of whether the image should be accompanied by a tabernacle. All the same, a little later, in February the next year, Timor accepted a commission for the execution of a series of painted panels to accompany the sculpture (Liaño, 1991, p. 287, doc. 2). What we have there, then, is something of a mixed altarpiece, but we do not know how the central image and the painted compartments came together, or whether the latter were movable, like wings. The versatility of these artists leads us to the case of a tabernacle-altarpiece that was discovered not long ago in the Val d’Aran in the Pyrenees. This is a partially-preserved work that presided over one of the altars in the church of Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran (Lleida) (Velasco/Ros/Gràcia, 2013–14; Velasco/Ros, 2019) (Fig. 1). Its side wings presented sculptured relief work which has sadly not survived. Executed in around 1300, its morphology and sculpture draw parallels with numerous known European exemplars, such as the Dädesjö tabernacle-altarpiece (Smäland, Sweden) (Tångeberg, 2009, p. 224, fig. 1), or the one in Fröskogs church (Dalsland, Sweden), housed today in Stockholm’s Statens Historika Museet (Lapaire, 1969, p. 177, fig. 12), to mention just two. Among Castilian pieces, we should mention the one from Castildelgado (Burgos), preserved today in the Museu Frederic Marès in Barcelona (inv. 814) (Frinta, 1967, p. 106, fig. 4; Lapaire, 1969, p. 175, fig. 9; Yarza, 1991, pp. 393–394; Gutiérrez Baños, 2018, pp. 58–60, fig. 4). 45 Without attempting to provide a complete list, we ought once again to mention Ramón Torrent, from Zaragoza, given both the documentation regarding his work, as well as the inventory drafted after his death in 1325, mention images ‘de bulto’ (‘with volume’), tabernacles and painted panels (Serrano Sanz, 1918, pp. 103–113). Previously, in 1260, the painter Bernat, his wife and Master Pere Martí de Burgos, with regard to a sculptural commission for a Descent from the Cross for the church of Santa Maria del Mar (Barcelona), promised not only to carve the wood, but also to polychrome it (‘operabimus atque pingemus’) (Gudiol Cunill, 1929, p. 453). In 1378 Bernat Pintor was living in Manresa, an expert in stone and wooden images, as those ‘de pinzell’ (done by brush) (Gudiol Cunill, [n. d.], p. 186), while in around 1400, the assets inventory of the Perpignan painter Pere Baró, tells us that the artist worked as both a painter and a sculptor (Gudiol Cunill, [n. d.], p. 118). One of the paradigms of multi-skilled 14th- century Crown of Aragon artists is Guillem Seguer, who is recorded as an architect, a sculptor specialising in stonework, a master of stained glass windows and a painter (Español, 1994; Español 2007). We leave him to the end of our list because, as we shall see shortly, Seguer has been associated with what remains of a tabernacle-altarpiece housed today at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. 352 alberto velasco gonzàlez Although in Catalonia and Aragon other examples of tabernacle-altarpieces are still preserved that enable us to talk about this sort of liturgical furnishing taking root in the churches of said regions, none of these bears such close parallels as the Nordic ones. That may be due to the fact that in the first quarter of the 13th century the area of the Pyrenees became an important hub for pictorial experimentation and for the production of liturgical furnishing, including ciboria or the so-called ‘baldaquinos-plafón’ (ceiling baldachins) (Castiñeiras, 2008; Castiñeiras, 2011; Kroesen, 2013). With regard to the latter, workshops linked to La Seu d’Urgell, the episcopal seat, produced the oldest surviving ones in Europe, which may be explained by the dynamism of the region’s artists and workshops. The output of these sorts of works in this area in around 1220–30 meant that, years later, the adjacent region of La Cerdanya became particularly receptive to the Linear Gothic innovations arriving from France, including such major works as the Soriguerola or Toses altarpieces (Melero, 2005). All this helped to mean that, in around 1300, the northern part of the Urgell bishopric as well as the neighbouring French bishopric of Comminges, to which the Aran Valley belonged, became entry channels for types of liturgical furnishings not so well known in Catalan regions, such as the tabernacle-altarpiece. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that the tabernacle-altarpiece of Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran was presided over by a deacon saint carved in wood housed today at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (inv. 3925) (Fig. 2). Research carried out as a consequence of the discovery of the remains of this tabernacle-altarpiece has demonstrated as much (Velasco/Ros/Gràcia, 2013–14, pp. 156–159). This sculpture had been known of for a long time (it became part of the museum collection in 1932), and had been associated with an active sculpture workshop from the old bishopric of Comminges, possibly linked to the important religious hub formed around the cathedral of Saint-Bertrand (Batlle, 1965; pp. 509–510, fig. 2; Manote, 2007, pp. 45–46; Valle/Ros, 2018, pp. 35–38, fig. 2). The workshop’s link to the episcopal seat was made based on the inscription found on the base of one of the sculptures making up the group, an image of a saint preserved in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (inv. 64015), reading ‘Hoc opus fuit factum apud sanctum Bertrandum Convenarum magistrum ubus [?] Doramaimus’. The inscription refers to where it was made, given the carving was from the church of Santa Eulàlia d’Unha, also in the Val d’Aran, along with a second saint belonging to the same workshop (inv. 64013) (Barrachina, 2013, pp. 20–21). Other works surviving today confirm that the Comminges workshops worked for other parishes in the Aran region (Valle/Ros 2018). Meanwhile, it has been possible to calibrate the enormous repercussions their output had movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 353 throughout the entire Comminges bishopric, of which the Aran Vale was a part in the early 14th century. As such, the widespread dissemination of these images is reflected in the large number of works it has been possible to identify in numerous museums and, in particular, churches from the area of the old diocese, not just in the Val d’Aran but also in the modern French départements of Haute- Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées (Velasco/Ros/Gràcia, 2013–14, p. 152; Valle/Ros 2018). What we have here, then, is an extremely numerous group of sculptures produced by workshops that may have played a prominent role in introducing Gothic sculpture into Catalonia from France, between the 13th and 14th centuries (Manote, 2007, pp. 45–46). The fact that the Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran tabernacle-altarpiece was presided over by a sculpture from said stylistic environment led us at the time to wonder whether the piece of furnishing housing said image was also produced by these workshops. The answer is it was, given the polychrome decorative motifs found on the remains of the tabernacle-altarpiece are a perfect match for those on numerous works from the same workshop (Velasco/Ros/Gràcia, 2013–14, pp. 152–154). From all of the above we can conclude that the sculptural workshops in the Comminges area were not only given over to producing wooden carvings, but also examples of liturgical furnishings such as the one we are examining here. The obvious link between the Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran tabernacle-altarpiece and the Nordic and Castilian models also shows that said artisans were perfectly familiar with the nature and type of this altar furnishing, and one may suppose they specialised in their execution. Another aspect to be considered is that the advent of this sort of furnishing in the Catalonian region took place within the context of the stylistic Gallic influence characteristic of early Gothic sculpture. Numerous French sculptors settled in Catalonia during that period, so perhaps the arrival of these sorts of works should be considered in terms of innovations brought by artists. It is probable artists arriving from beyond the Pyrenees imported models of liturgical furnishing in the same way they also contributed specific visual artistic features. One might therefore almost speak in terms of a phenomenon of artistic colonialism specific to the reign of Jaume II (1291–1327) and for which there is documentary evidence in other spheres, such as miniatures and goldsmithing, where we also observe the arrival of numerous foreign artists, many of whom were French (Español, 2002, pp. 76 et seq.; Español, 2009a). The type of tabernacle-altarpiece we find in Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran belongs to a very specific type, with panels decorated in sculptural bas-relief (inlaid or carved directly onto the thickness of the wings), of which no others are 354 alberto velasco gonzàlez known in the Crown of Aragon. It is clear that in areas such as Catalonia there was a certain tradition for executing similar works, as demonstrated by pieces such as the aforementioned Sant Martí d’Envalls ensemble and others from the Romanesque period,46 but we do not know to what degree the type represented by Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran and comparable works from Castile such as the one from Castildelgado were successful models of altar decoration. One similar example, although it presents contrasting visual features and structural aspects, may be seen in the remains of the tabernacle-altarpiece once located in the church of Sant Martí Sarroca (Barcelona) (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, inv. 15924–15925) (Fig. 3). All that survives are two panels depicting Our Lady of the Annunciation and one Magus from the Epiphany on the inside, while the outsides depict painted figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Fig. 4). When the tabernacle was closed, these latter two acted as guardians and protectors of the Virgin inside, who disappeared during the Spanish Civil War and is only known by old photographs (Fig. 4 Camps i Sòria, in this volume). It is quite possible that we are missing two further panels with other depictions, one with the other two Magi and the other with the Angel of the Annunciation, according to the reconstruction proposal put forward by Folch i Torres (1956, p. 46, fig. XXI). The ensemble is of interest because it is a clear indication of sculpture’s importance in this kind of piece, although now with far more prominent relief work than in Castilian and Nordic examples. From a chronological point of view, both panels have been dated to around 1200 (Alcoy, 1994; Camps, 2008, pp. 134–135), although in our opinion they should probably be placed at a slightly later date, towards the end of the 13th century, in the same context as the outside paintings, which may be clearly ascribed to the Linear Gothic.47 The presence of large-scale and full-length sculpted figures is reminiscent of European models, as we can see from a tabernacle-altarpiece originating from Vojňany (Slovakia) preserved today in the National Gallery of Bratislava (Frinta, 1967, p. 108, fig. 8; Cidlinská, 1989, p. 97). Although they are slightly later works, much the same can be said for the four wings of the tabernacle-altarpiece housed at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (inv. 9780–9783), dated to around 1335–45 (Favà, 2009, pp. 69 et seq.) (Fig. 5). In this case, each panel presents a scene painted in the upper section and inlaid high-relief figures in the lower section. As such, the gablet-shaped 46 See the article by Jordi Camps in this volume. 47 We suggested as such in Velasco/Ros/Gràcia, 2013–14, p. 139. movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 355 upper parts include painted depictions of the Visitation, Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, whereas in the lower parts we find sculpted figures representing the Epiphany (split across two wings), the Annunciation and a Saint Joseph. The mixed nature of the execution lends the work added interest, and forces us to ask whether the entire ensemble was carried out at the same workshop, as seen in the case of Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran. As such, the painting of the wings has been associated with the same painting workshop that completed the frontal and altarpiece from Vallbona de les Monges (Lleida) (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, inv. 9919 and 9920), along with the altarpiece of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Margaret originally from Alcover (Museu Diocesà of Tarragona, inv. 2970) (Favà, 2009, p. 71). The grouping together of these works has interesting implications, given the aforementioned frontal and altarpiece had been attributed to Guillem Seguer (Español, 1994, pp. 18, 99 et seq.), a multi-talented artist living in Montblanc (Tarragona), who is recorded as being an architect, painter and sculptor. His versatility in wide-ranging artistic disciplines might justify his being the author of this tabernacle-altarpiece combining varying techniques. That would mean we are dealing with another multi-disciplinary artist as observed earlier when we referred to the sculptor Nicolau and his 1298 tabernacle-altarpiece commission for Santa Maria de Castelló de Empúries, which also combined painting and sculpture. 5. tabernacle-altarpieces with painted panels The painted scenes on these four tabernacle-altarpiece panels housed at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya serve to introduce a second and different type of piece to those we have seen thus far. We are referring to works completely lacking in sculpture on their wings, these being completely painted. The surviving ones we know of are all incomplete other than one, with only the wings having survived in the majority of cases. We should first mention one side wing from a tabernacle-altarpiece preserved at the church of Sant Andreu in València d’Àneu (Lleida), in the Pyrenees (Velasco, 2011, pp. 37–44) (Fig. 6). The existence of this work in the north of Catalonia reinforces the presence of this type of furnishing in the Pyrenean region, which is complemented by the case of Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran, and which we will be seeing again shortly when we deal with the panels from Santa Llúcia de Mur (Lleida). The panel from València d’Àneu (89.5 x 15.5 cm) corresponds to one of the two that closed off the front of the ensem- 356 alberto velasco gonzàlez ble’s central tabernacle. This is confirmed by the fact that the wing is shaped like a quarter circle at the top. In terms of what is represented, we see three images of female saints in vertical-shaped compartments on top of each other. The figures stand out against a neutral-toned gilt background which is reminiscent of the one we can see in the backgrounds of the compartments of the Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran tabernacle-altarpiece. The spaces housing the figures are bordered by red polychromy from which a motif of six points surrounding a central one stands out. Of the three female saints we can only identify the lower one, Saint Catherine, remains of whose martyrdom attribute, spiked wheels, may still be made out, as well as the two executioners who lie vanquished at her feet.48 Just above the saint one can still identify a trace of the incised drawing of the angel about to break the wheels asunder with a sort of axe. The three saints look to the left, which no doubt indicates that in the second wing closing off the tabernacle the figures would be looking in the opposite direction in order to maintain symmetry. This arrangement matches what we observe on the back of the panel (Fig. 7), where we find the marks of two cross-pieces or hinges; a sloping one at the top and a second horizontal one towards the bottom. We also observe that the back was covered in a plaster-based preparation, undoubtedly decorated with blue or red polychromy to judge by the preserved remains. Reddish tones tend to appear on the back of the wings of tabernacle-altarpieces from Hispanic regions and other areas of Europe, as Andersen demonstrated in a recent study (Andersen, 2015, pp. 172 and 181–182). At one time, the València d’Àneu panel was dated to the second half of the 13th century due to its stylistic similarity with a range of works from the period (Velasco, 2011, pp. 42–43), although that date could certainly be pushed forward to the end of the century. Also linked to the Linear Gothic, though somewhat later, are two panels from the Pyrenean church of Santa Llúcia de Mur (Lleida), which depict varying scenes from the hagiography of Saint Lucy (68.3 x 25.3 x 1 cm / 66 x 25.8 x 2 cm, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, inv. 35073) (Fig. 8). This ensemble of works has a considerable historiographic background,49 although it is only today that they have been identified as wings forming part of a tabernacle-altarpiece. There are a number of elements backing up this theory, such as the hinge marks 48 The church in València d’Àneu belongs to the Urgell bishopric, whose cathedral (La Seu d’Urgell) was given over to the worship of the saint from the mid-13th century on (Castiñeiras, 2010). 49 See the bibliography included in Melero, 2005, pp. 80–83. Cfr. Buttà, 2005a, p. 71. movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 357 on the edges,50 or the red polychromy on the back (Fig. 9), which link up with what we have just seen with the València d’Àneu exemplar. Apart from what we have mentioned, the vertical format, with one scene pictured above the other in each panel, and the arrangement of the narrative, also lead us to the same conclusion. With regard to said narrative, the sequence starts with the episode of the saint brought before Paschasius, Governor of Syracuse, while just underneath we see the attempt by two soldiers to drag the saint away with ropes. The story continues on the other wing with a rather odd martyrdom scene in which two executioners try to cut off her breasts, an episode taken from the hagiographic legend of Saint Agatha.51 Underneath that, the cycle concludes with the saint’s decapitation. Judging by the sequence, it seems fairly clear that this was part of a tabernacle-altarpiece presiding over the high altar of its church of origin, dedicated to Saint Lucy, and that the central element standing over it must have been a tabernacle with a sculpture of said patron saint. The surviving wings must have been those closing off the central aedicule at the two sides, whereas two smaller panels would have done the same at the front. This explains the hinge marks we mentioned visible on both edges of the panels, both the inner edge, which linked up to the central tabernacle, and the outer one, which was where they were joined to the smaller wings that have not survived. We do not know what scenes would have been depicted on the inside of these outer panels, but they may well not have been from the life of the patron saint, given the cycle on the surviving wings is fairly complete. Stylistically, Melero linked the panels to Barcelona workshops active in the execution of varying known mural ensembles, although she also detected parallels with the frontal from Santa Perpètua de Mogoda (Barcelona). She dated them to the second quarter of the 14th century (Melero, 2005, p. 82), whereas Buttà preferred to date them as being from the late 13th century or start of the following century (Buttà, 2005a, p. 71). Also housed in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, and still to be published as being what they are, we find two wings from a tabernacle-altarpiece dedicated to the infancy of Christ (95.5 x 24.7 cm / 88.3 x 24.3 cm, inv. 35705) (Fig. 10). They were loaned to the museum by Ròmul Bosch i Catarineu and were subsequently (1950) donated to it by Julio Muñoz Ramonet when he acquired 50 We are grateful for the physical inspection carried out by Núria Prat, conservator at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, who confirmed the existence of the marks left by the hinges. 51 As Melero already commented, we should take into account that St Lucy made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St Agatha along with her mother (Melero, 2005, p. 81), which might explain the confusion. 358 alberto velasco gonzàlez the Bosch collection. A 1979 photo preserved at the Institut Amatller d’Art Hispànic in Barcelona (ref. number E-3720) confirms that a third wing from the same ensemble existed in a private collection in Barcelona,52 with scenes from the Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Flight into Egypt (Fig. 11). They had, to date, been identified as fragments of a hypothetical altarpiece (Gudiol-Alcolea, 1986, p. 35, cat. 59; Melero, 2005, pp. 191–194), but it is obvious that they are the folding wings of a tabernacle-altarpiece.53 This appears to be borne out by their format with two scenes, one on top of the other, as well as the red polychromy we find on the back (Fig. 12), which we have become used to seeing in this sort of altar furnishing. A substantial margin on the upper part of the back seems to have been decorated in blue polychromy, along with another narrower strip towards the bottom. At the back we also observe clear marks of cross-pieces arranged at top and bottom, as was seen in the wing from Sant Andreu in València d’Àneu. All of the above leads us to conclude that these are two of an original four wings from a tabernacle-altarpiece dedicated to the Infancy of Christ, in all probability presided over by a sculpture of the Virgin with Child in the central tabernacle. With regard to said ensemble’s iconographic reading and scene arrangement, we would agree with Melero’s suggestion, in spite of the fact that she thought of it in terms of a landscape-format altarpiece akin to the Marinyans one.54 She thereby posited a depiction of the Virgin with child in the central position. The iconographic narrative, from the viewer’s left to right, would start with the Annunciation in the upper section of the wing that has not survived, continuing in the second (surviving) wing, with the Visitation, and would continue on the other side of the tabernacle with the third wing (also surviving), with the Nativity. The second wing on the right-hand side of the tabernacle-altarpiece would be the one preserved in a private collection, the upper section of which showed the Annunciation to the Shepherds. The reading would continue in the lower sections, meaning we have to go back to the outside wing of the left-hand side (not surviving), where we would find one of the Magi. This can be confirmed by the second wing, one of those preserved at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, 52 The information associated with the photograph includes the measurements of said wing: 84.5 x 22.5 cm. The image confirms that it was trimmed slightly on the upper and right-hand edges. 53 According to Melero, in the museum’s internal documentation the two wings preserved there are identified as ‘movable panels, showing that the altarpiece ensemble of which they were part was made up of four folding wings accompanied by a central image of the Virgin’ (Melero, 2005, p. 192).54 See the sketch published by said author (Melero, 2005, p. 192). movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 359 the lower section of which depicts two of the Magi offering gifts in the central image, looking to the right (that is to say towards the central tabernacle). The cycle continues in the third wing with the Massacre of the Innocents and concludes in the outside wing on the right-hand side with the Flight into Egypt. The origin of this ensemble is unknown, although the presence of gilt stucco relief led some to speculate that it may have been from Lleida (Gudiol-Alcolea, 1986, p. 35, cat. 59, fig. 157). Said decoration also appears in the four wings from the museum that we have already analysed, combining painting and sculpture (Fig. 5), and which were linked to the author of the frontal and altarpiece from Vallbona de les Monges. The fact that the name of Guillem Seguer has been put forward as the author of said works allows one to speculate on its origin in Lleida, as it is well-known that Seguer preferred to work in the areas of Tarragona and Lleida (Español, 1994). Be that as it may, in both cases the decorative motifs are extremely similar, based on a lattice made up of rhomboid shapes. Nor do the pictorial styles vary greatly from one ensemble to the other, although they were clearly by different painters. The Catalan origin of the wings we are dealing with here does, as such, seem quite clear. Gudiol and Alcolea dated both ensembles to the second quarter of the 14th century (Gudiol-Alcolea, 1986, p. 34). Melero, meanwhile, put them as being from the middle of the century (Melero, 2005, p. 193), whereas Favà dated the second works to the second third of the 14th century (Favà, 2009, p. 79). One particularly significant and little-known tabernacle-altarpiece was in the Mateu collection in Barcelona in the first half of the 20th century (Fig. 13). It was published by Manuel Trens in 1947, and it is known through a decent photo-re- portage with numerous details preserved in the Institut Amatller d’Art Hispànic in Barcelona (ref. number G B-1123/B-1137). The information associated with said images catalogues the work as being 14th-century Italian. At the time of publication, Trens did not venture to say much about it, other than publishing the photo and commenting on the movable wings (Trens, 1947, pp. 684–685, fig. 398). It was unusual structurally in that it had a polygonal tabernacle in the shape of a half-hexagon whose three sides were crowned by quatrefoil roundels and gablets, which meant its format was unheard of in a Hispanic context. Said painted roundels included depictions of Christus Patiens (the middle one) (Fig. 14), and the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist (to the sides). Furthermore, the tabernacle was supported on four free-standing helix-shaped columns with extremely prominent capitals, also reflecting a style unknown in the Iberian Peninsula. In terms of the wings, the outer ones were narrower than the inner ones, and had painted decoration both on the inside and outside. All of the wings had a 360 alberto velasco gonzàlez gablet at the top with a painted roundel in the middle. The two inner ones presented full roundels, both with angels depicted inside, while the outer ones, being narrower, had half roundels each with a symbol inside that we have not been able to identify. With regard to what is represented on the wings, here we find individual male and female saints, as well as the occasional hagiographic episode not part of any specific cycle. If we start our description with the inside (what was on show when the panels were open), on the wings closer to the central tabernacle we find the Baptism of Christ (Fig. 15), and the Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine, Saint Martin cutting his cloak in two with the beggar, and the Stigmata of Saint Francis. As for the narrower wings, the upper section of the one at the far left has a friar in Franciscan habits with a three-knotted belt associated with the Order and holding a book. We must surely identify him as Anthony of Padua. In the lower section we find a female saint with a palm frond of martyrdom, crown and book. The fact that she appears just next to the scene depicting the Mystic Marriage of Catherine leads us to identify her with said saint. On the upper section of the outer wing of the opposite side we find Saint Louis of Toulouse, another of the Order’s saints par excellence. In the lower section there is a female saint we have not been able to identify, dressed in Franciscan habit, the corded rope with three knots, a book and a rosary. If we move on to the external decoration (what was visible when the wings were closed), the panel to the immediate right of the central tabernacle presents a full-length depiction of Saint Francis of Assisi with stigmata on his hands and side. He is also holding a book, from which we can read a fragment from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, emphasizing the statement ‘I bear the marks of Jesus on my body’ (Galatians 6:17). With regard to the narrow wing on the righthand side, the old photos show that not much remained of the depiction of the figure from the upper section, although we will come back to that later. In the lower section we find another Franciscan saint, with habit and knotted corded rope, who is difficult to identify. If we move on to the other side of the tabernacle-altarpiece, the wing next to the central tabernacle shows a depiction of Saint Clare of Assisi that is in quite bad condition, although it is perfectly identifiable because the saint is seen bearing her crosier. Finally, the lower section of the wing to the far left presents a female saint whose identification is difficult due to the state of preservation and the lack of clarity of the images at our disposal. In the upper section meanwhile, we can clearly make out an angel, despite its poor condition when the photo was taken, because we can definitely identify the presence of a pair of wings. This figure is the pendant of the corresponding image in the upper section of the outer right-hand wing, of which very little remained movement on the altar: gothic tabernacle-altarpieces 367 of identifying the Belchite ensemble with those who had commissioned it, an aspect that reinforces the work’s unique and exceptional nature. 6. conclusions and final questions In this article we have attempted to illustrate how the phenomenon of the emergence of the tabernacle-altarpiece in the Crown of Aragon came about within the context of change and transformation affecting altar furnishing as the Romanesque gave way to the Gothic. Although during the Romanesque period we have found evidence of altar furnishing models structured around a central tabernacle, and some such ensembles might have even had side wings, as was the case with the Sant Martí d’Envalls aedicule, it would appear that the mobility of these wings was an aspect introduced at a later date, coinciding with the advent of the Gothic. Although the documentation is sparing in its illustrative references, and in spite of few exemplars having survived, what we know about triptychs, Eucharistic tabernacles and other similar works characterised primarily by this moving aspect would appear to support the above hypothesis. It is harder, however, to resolve the issue of what motivations led specific patrons or customers to choose a tabernacle-altarpiece or polyptych over a traditional altarpiece. There is no doubt that the movement of their wings and the ritualistic possibilities of the opening and closing process were incentives, in certain contexts, for their being commissioned and executed rather than either frontals or traditional altarpieces. The theatricality of the act of opening and closing doors, the ability to reveal the image contained inside the central tabernacle, and then conceal it once more, was something not provided by the two-dimensional screens of frontals and traditional altarpieces. These movable elements acted like light switches, activating the sculpture presiding over the central tabernacle, and their inclusion in furnishings of this kind could be compared to what it meant to include Eucharistic tabernacles with doors as a central part of altarpiece predellas. This needs to be understood within the framework of a phenomenon where movement takes hold of the altar in different ways, also including the proliferation of liturgical cabinets in specific parts of Catalonia, the occasional advent of altarpiece models with moving panels such as the one presiding over the Cathedral of Tortosa, or the execution of reliquary-cabinets with doors such as in the monastery of Piedra (Real Academia de la Historia). It is as such that, in the context of the Crown of Aragon, the tabernacle-altarpiece was part of a progressive 368 alberto velasco gonzàlez process whereby altar furnishings became increasingly monumental, where altar frontals, free-standing Eucharistic tabernacles, ciboria and altarpieces interacted with each other. There were structural and morphological transferrals from one type to the other, and that explains the existence, for example, of altarpieces that look like altar frontals or, even, altarpieces where we cannot be sure that they weren’t altar frontals.66 In any case, some of these works present aesthetic features, in terms of internal arrangement or structural configuration, reminiscent of the tabernacle-altarpieces with which they co-existed. This is something we have seen, for example, in the case of certain primitive altarpieces from Mallorca, such as the two painted by Joan Loert, which in spite of being made up of twodimensional horizontal screens, include a flat image in the central tabernacle on a polygonal pedestal base, which clearly evokes the third dimension of sculpture. Here we should also add the four side sections crowned by gablets we find in both works, which are also highly reminiscent of the four movable wings that open and close tabernacle-altarpieces. The case of these two altarpieces from Mallorca leads us to raise the question of why there are no tabernacle-altarpieces in Mallorca or in Valencian regions. This could either be due to the twists of fate or simply because there never were any. Other questions that we might raise include the reason behind the leading role of the Pyrenees in the dissemination of this sort of altar furnishing, which might be a reflection of the fact that said region continued to be a hub for pictorial experimentation into the early 14th century, a legacy going back to the 13th century when the workshops around La Seu d’Urgell started making major contributions to the consolidation of certain types of altar furnishing, such as the ceiling baldachin. The adjoining region of Cerdanya also played a key role in the introduction of the Linear Gothic, so that the arrival of new artistic models from France may have come hand in hand with innovations including the introduction of types of tabernacle-altarpieces with close similarities to Nordic models. We see this in Santa Maria de Cap d’Aran, where we find an ensemble with appliqué sculptural relief on its wings almost identical to works to be found in lands as remote as Sweden, Germany or Switzerland. Those without sculpture on their wings were also similar to models that were widespread in the Europe of the day. We can identify close parallels between works that were divided by many miles and yet may even share in aspects such as red polychromy on the back of the panels, or rhomboid latticework decorating the front or back of the wings. 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