Part 6 (1/2)
_The Capilla del Bautisterio_ has one of Murillo's finest works, representing St. Anthony of Padua's Vision of the Child Jesus. Part of this picture was cut out and stolen in 1874. It was traced to New York, and restored to the Cathedral a few months later. The picture was originally painted for the Capuchin Convent in 1656, and afterwards came into the possession of the Chapter. A Baptism of Christ, also the work of Murillo, is above this painting. In this chapel is the font of holy oil, which is consecrated in Holy Week. This _pila_, or monument, was made by Antonio Florentin in 1545-1546. It is used for the exposition of the Host, and is exhibited near the Puerta Mayor in Easter Week.
Originally the _pila_ was a tall construction of three storeys on columns, with a large cross. Between the columns were coloured figures of saints. Some of the effigies were modelled in clay, and others were carved from wood. They were beautifully designed. In 1624 the building was altered and spoiled by the addition of another storey of the composite order. 'Its effect in the midnight service is superb,' writes Sir Stirling Maxwell, 'when blazing with church plate and myriads of waxen tapers it seems a mountain of light, of which the silver crest is lost in the impenetrable gloom of the vaults above.'
On the west side of the Cathedral, which we have now reached, is the Altar de la Visitacion, with pictures by Marmolejo and Jeronimo Hernandez. By the princ.i.p.al door is another altar, that of Nuestra Senora del Consuelo, with a painting by one of Murillo's pupils, Alonso Miguel de Tobar. Close to the Puerta del Nacimiento we shall find some fine works by Luis de Vargas, the celebrated fresco artist. There are three _capillas_ on this side of the building, called the Capilla de los Jacomes, the Capilla de San Leandro, and the Capilla de San Isidoro.
They may be pa.s.sed by, as they contain no important works of art.
At the Puerta del Nacimiento we reach the south aisle, and come to
_The Capilla de San Laureano_, with a tomb of Archbishop Alonso de Exea, who died in 1417.
_The Capilla de Santa Ana_ is the next chapel on the south side. Here there is an interesting old altar, with several pictures painted in the early part of the fifteenth century.
_The Capilla de San Jose_ contains a notable work by Juan Valdes Leal, the Marriage of the Virgin, and a poor picture by Antolinez.
_The Capilla de San Hermenegildo_ is noteworthy for the image of the saint by Montanez, and the tomb of Archbishop Juan de Cervantes by Lorenzo de Bretana. The marble of the tomb is much worn.
_The Capilla de la Antigua_ is a larger chapel, with fourteenth-century decorations of the altar. There is also a fine monument to Cardinal Mendoza, executed in 1509 by the Italian Miguel. The figures are very quaint. Adjoining this chapel is the Altar de la Gamba, with the Generacion by Luis de Vargas, a famous picture described in the art chapters of this book. The immense painting opposite is St. Christopher, by Mateo Perez de Alesio, painted in 1584.
For painting the San Cristobal Alesio received four thousand ducats. The saint is quaintly clad in hose, and the figure is gigantic. Sir Stirling Maxwell draws attention to the fine colouring of the parrot seen in the distance. Mateo de Alesio, who was an Italian by birth, died in the year 1600.
Pa.s.sing through the _Capilla de los Dolores_, which is unimportant, we come to the splendid _Sacristia de los Calices_, built by Riano and Gainza in the years from 1530 to 1537. Diego de Riano, sculptor and designer, was often employed by the Cathedral authorities. He delighted in lavish and fantastic embellishment, and introduced the Italian methods of ornamentation. Martin Gainza was of the same school. He was an architect and sculptor of great repute, and he a.s.sisted Riano in much of his work.
The Crucifix is the work of Montanez. It was removed from the Cartuja Convent. Murillo's _Angel de la Guarda_, or Guardian Angel, is in this sacristy. This picture was presented to the Cathedral by the Capuchins in 1814. It is one of the best of Murillo's works. Borrow much admired the _Guarda_, and Sir Stirling Maxwell describes the diaphanous drapery of the child's dress in terms of praise. The angel holds a child by the hand, and points to heaven. Notice the rich colouring of purple and yellow in the vesture of the angel.
On the same wall are the _Ecce h.o.m.o_, the Virgin, and St. John, the work of Morales; St. Dorothy by Murillo; a painting of Fernando de Contreras by Luis de Vargas; Pieta and Death of the Virgin by a German artist, and a picture by Juan Nunez of the fifteenth century.
Goya's fine painting of St. Justa and St. Rufina is here. Elsewhere in this book I have told the legend of these guardian saints of the Giralda. Goya's conception of them is unconventional, and unlike that of Murillo, who represents the two maidens with halos around their heads.
We have the figures of two charming potter-girls in Goya's picture, two creatures of earth, lovely, but not ethereal. The Holy Trinity of 'El Greco' (the Greek) is one of the interesting examples of this great Toledan artist's work. Zurbaran is represented in the Sacristia by his painting of St. John.
_The Sacristia Mayor_ is in the Renaissance style. It was built by the designers of the Sacristia de los Calices about the year 1532. Campana's admirable Descent from the Cross is here, but the picture has been indifferently restored. There is also a work of Murillo, SS. Leandro and Isidoro.
The Cathedral Treasury is in this sacristy. One of the princ.i.p.al objects of interest is the splendid _custodia_, used for carrying the Host. It is the work of Juan d'Arphe, a celebrated gold-worker, who was born in Avila in 1535. In 1564 he constructed the _custodia_ of that city, and in 1580 began a work of a similar character for Seville Cathedral. Many designs were submitted for the inspection of the Chapter, but Juan d'Arphe's was chosen as one unequalled in Spain. The _custodia_ is about twelve feet high, round in form, with four storeys, each one supported by twenty-four columns. Some of the columns are Ionic; the rest are Corinthian and composite in design. Between the columns are a number of statuettes, and the base and cornices are profusely adorned with bas-reliefs. In the first storey there was originally seated a figure of Faith, but it was changed in 1668 for one of the Virgin of the Conception, when the _custodia_ was restored by Juan Segura. The second storey is the repository of the Host, and in the third and fourth storeys are figures of the Church Triumphant and the Holy Trinity.
Crowning the edifice was a small dome and cross, which was replaced in 1668 by a statue of the Faith. The _custodia_ is of beautiful and simple design.
The _Tablas Alfonsinas_, a reliquary, given to the Church in 1274 by Alfonso el Sabio, are in the Treasury. Crosses, plate and sacerdotal vestments are among the treasures. The canonical robes date from the fourteenth century. The keys of Seville, yielded to Fernando el Santo on the day of conquest, are also shown here.
_The Capilla del Mariscal_ adjoins the Sacristia Mayor. In this chapel is the great altar-piece of Pedro Campana, restored in 1880. The work is in ten parts, representing scenes in the life of Christ, and containing portraits of Marshal Pedro Caballero and his family.
_The Sala Capitular_ was the work of Riano and Gainza. It was begun in 1530 and finished in 1582. The plateresque decorations are very beautiful. Note the fine ceiling, the marble medallions, and the pavement. Murillo's Conception is here, and the Four Virtues of Pablo de Cespedes. There is a picture of San Fernando by Pacheco, the father-in-law and instructor of Velazquez. The ovals between the windows were the work of Murillo. This _sala_ is close to the Puerta de los Campanillas, and beyond this entrance, on the east side of the Cathedral, is
_The Capilla de la Concepcion Grande_, containing a monument to Cardinal Cienfuego, a modern work. The other small chapel on this side is that known as
_The Capilla de San Pedro_. Here are nine pictures by Zurbaran, well worthy of notice, and a tomb of Archbishop Diego Deza, restored in 1893.
_The Capilla Real_ is between the two smaller chapels of the east end.
In design this chapel is Renaissance. The decorations are luxuriant and there is a high dome. Gainza began to build the chapel in 1541, and his work was carried on by Hernan Ruiz, who planned the choir of Cordova Cathedral, and afterwards by Juan de Maeda.
On the chief altar is a figure of the Virgin of the Kings, dating from the thirteenth century. It was presented to San Fernando by St. Louis of France. The fair hair is real; the crown that adorned the head was stolen in 1873. On each side of the doorway are tombs. One is that of Alfonso el Sabio, and the other is the tomb of his mother.