The Picturesque Antiquities of Spain: Described in a series of letters, with illustrations representing Moorish palaces, cathedrals, and other monuments of art, contained in the cities of Burgos, Valladolid, Toledo, and Seville.Wells, Nathaniel Armstrong
Islamic
The Picturesque Antiquities of Spain: Described in a series of letters, with illustrations representing Moorish palaces, cathedrals, and other monuments of art, contained in the cities of Burgos, Valladolid, Toledo, and Seville.
Turning our backs to the centre piece of sculpture last described, we
enter the Capilla del Condestable through a superb bronze railing. In
these railings the Cathedral of Burgos rivals that of Seville,
compensating by number for the superior size and height of those
contained in the latter church. That of the chapel we are now entering
entirely fills the entrance arch, a height of about forty feet; the
helmet of a mounted knight in full armour, intended to represent St.
Andrew, which crowns its summit, nearly touching the keystone of the
arch. This chapel must be noticed in detail. Occupying at the extremity
of the church a position answering to that of Henry the Seventh's
Chapel at Westminster Abbey, it forms a tower of itself, which on the
outside harmonises with peculiar felicity with the three others, and
contributes to the apparent grandeur and real beauty of the exterior
view. The interior is magnificent, although its plan and style, being
entirely different from those of Henry the Seventh's Chapel, prevent the
comparison from going further. Its form is octagonal, measuring about
fifty feet in diameter, by rather more than a hundred in height. Its
style florid Gothic of the fourteenth century. The effect of its first
view is enhanced by its being filled, unlike the rest of the church,
with a blaze of light introduced through two rows of windows in the
upper part.
Two of the sides are furnished with recesses, which form lesser chapels,
and in one of which there is a fine organ. Between the centre of the
pavement and the principal altar, a large square block of mixed marble
covers the remains of the founders of the chapel, and bears on its
surface their recumbent figures executed in great perfection.[2] This
is the finest tomb in the cathedral. The embroidery of the cushions, the
ornaments on the count's armour, the gloves of the countess, are among
the details which merit particular notice amidst the beautiful execution
of the whole. The high altar of this chapel does not accord with the
general effect, being designed in the style of the _renascimiento_. In
the centre of it is nevertheless fixed a treasure that would compensate
for worse defects. A small circular medallion represents the Virgin and
Child, in an attitude very similar to that of the Madonna della
Seggiola, executed on porphyry. This delicious little work, of about
nine inches in diameter, forms the centre of attraction, and is the most
precious ornament of the chapel. On the right hand, near the altar, a
small doorway admits to the sacristy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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