Very different in character, but of equal merit, is the small statue, silver painted, of St. George in the Audiencia Chapel at Barcelona. M. Marcel Dieulafoy believes that we owe this fine work to a native artist. The figure, standing fully armed, is carved with youthful energy; the face, seen under the gilt visor, has lost none of its freshness, and the original tints of colouring remain. The armour is of oxidised silver, while the hinges, nails, belt, dragon, and pedestal are of burnished gilt. Of this statue M. Marcel Dieulafoy writes: “Had Meissonier painted the figure he could not have done it otherwise.” Again we have a triumph of polychrome. Other statues worthy of special mention are the busts, executed in enamelled silver, of S. Valerius, S. Vincent, and S. Laurent, in the Treasury of Zaragoza Cathedral; the figures of Don Gutierre de Cardenas, Duke of Magueda, and of his wife, Doña Teresa Enriquez, each offering respectively their son and daughter to the Virgin, and the finer praying figure of Juan II. of Castile, who ruled from 1406 to 1454, and was the father of Isabella the Catholic. These statues are in Burgos Cathedral. Gems among smaller works of art are the plates in silver, showing scenes in the life of the Virgin, which cover the high altar in the Cathedral of Gerona. Their date is 1348. CHAPTER V THE ALTAR-SCREENS OR RETABLOS OF THE ROMANESQUE AND GOTHIC PERIODS The altar-screens, of great size, and known in Spain as retablos, which meet us in every church may be considered as the most entirely characteristic expression of the country’s art. Nowhere has the development of the altar-screen assumed such importance. The huge retablos of Spain stand alone both in their dimensions and in their magnificence. In these works were joined the common efforts of the architect, the sculptor, and the painter. Of a size and with a wealth of decoration so great that often an examination of their detail is fatiguing, they represent the most exhaustive examples of the creative thought and power of representation of the native artists.