The Story of SevilleGallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
History
The Story of Seville
Gallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
Seville (Spain)
Cristobal Micer Aleman was the first to introduce the art of staining
glass into Seville. Until 1504 stained glass windows had not been seen
in the city, and Aleman was the designer of the first painted window of
the Cathedral. Sir Stirling Maxwell states that in 1538 the Church paid
Arnao of Flanders, Carlos of Bruges, and other artists the sum of ninety
thousand ducats for staining the windows of Seville Cathedral. The work
was not completed until twenty years later. The chief window pictures
are the Ascension, Jesus and Mary Magdalen, the Awakening of Lazarus,
and the Entry into Jerusalem. The Resurrection is the work of Carlos,
and other pictures are by the two brothers Arnao.
The isolated _Capilla Mayor_ has an altar-piece of wood, and a silver
image of the Virgin by Alfaro. The painted scenes are from the
Scriptures. Crowning the retablo are a crucifix and large statues of the
Virgin and St. John. Dancart, the designer of the retablo, was of the
Flemish school of decorative carvers. The work was begun about 1482 and
finished in 1526.
Between the _Coro_ (choir) and the Chief Chapel an enormous candelabrum
is displayed during Semana Santa, or Holy Week. It is called the
Tenebrario, and it was constructed by Bartolomé Morel, a
sixteenth-century sculptor. The structure is twenty-six feet high, and
it is ornamented with several small images. During the imposing
celebrations of Semana Santa, the candelabrum is lit by thirteen
candles. Twelve of these lights represent the apostles who deserted
their Master; the thirteenth candle stands for the Virgin, and when the
twelve have been extinguished, the thirteenth still burns as a symbol of
Mary's fealty to the Saviour.
_The Coro_ was much injured by the collapse of the dome. Two grand
organs were destroyed at this time. One of the most interesting objects
preserved in the choir is the facistol, or choristers' desk, of
Bartolomé Morel, adorned with highly-finished carvings. The choir stalls
were decorated by Nufro Sanchez, a sculptor of the fifteenth century,
whose work suggests German influence. They are beautiful examples of
carving.
_The Coro_ is entered by either of the two doors of the front or
_Trascoro_. There is a handsome marble façade; a painting of the Virgin
by an unknown hand, and a picture said to be from the brush of Francisco
Pacheco, the artist, author and inquisitor. The white marble frontage is
adorned with bas-reliefs of the Genoese school, exhibiting fine feeling.
Italian influence is manifest in the picture of the Holy Mother, which
is highly decorative in style.
Close to the _Coro_, near the chief entrance on that side of the
Cathedral, is the tomb of Fernando Colón, son of Cristobal Colón
(Columbus). The slab is engraved with pictures of the discoverer's
vessels. An inscription runs: '_Á Castilla y á León mundo nuebo dié
Colon:_' _i.e._, 'To Castile and León Columbus gave the New World.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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