Las tercias pertenecientes al marquesado de Priego

En Aguilar de la Frontera y en Montilla (Córdoba) se conservan dos tercias pertenecientes al marquesado de Priego (Aguilar de la Frontera, Cañete de las Torres, Castillo Anzur, Montilla, Monturque, Puente de Don Gonzalo (Puente Genil), Priego, Montalbán, Villafranca, Lucena, Espejo y Encinas Reales), más tarde integrante del ducado de Medinaceli. Son ejemplo de la arquitectura protoindustrial destinada al almacenamiento de productos del campo –fundamentalmente grano– en tierras señoriales. La conservación de los planos originales del alhorí de Montilla, también conocido como graneros del duque, en el Archivo Ducal de Medinaceli arroja una valiosa información para comprender su estructura y funcionalidad. Están firmados por el arquitecto Juan Antonio Camacho y fechados en 1723.In Aguilar de la Frontera and Montilla (Córdoba) there are two noble granaries preserved belonging to the Marquis of Priego were Aguilar de la Frontera, Cañete de las Torres, Castillo Anzur, Montilla, Monturque, Puente de Don Gonzalo (Puente Genil), Priego, Montalbán, Villafranca, Lucena, Espejo and Encinas Reales. Both granaries of Aguilar and Montilla are an example, who was Duke of Medinaceli later. Both of them are an example of the proto-industrial architecture built for the storage of agricultural produce. The preservation of the original plans of the Alhorí of Montilla, also known as the Duke granaries in the Medinaceli Ducal Archive gives a useful information to understand its structure and function. The plans are signed by the architect Juan Antonio Camacho and dated in 1723

The Survival of Andalusi Artistic Formulas in the Time of Hernan Ruiz I

In the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era, Hernan Ruiz I worked as master builder of the Cathedral of Cordoba. His works exemplify the adoption of an artistic language resulting from the symbiosis of Gothic, Renaissance and Islamic formulas. In this paper, we demonstrate the imprint of the Andalusi aesthetic in this master’s work. Through an analysis of his building works and the evolution of his style, we show that Hernan Ruiz I’s legacy is more important than what historiography has previously suggested, which has only addressed the transition in his architectural style from Gothic to Renaissance and has overlooked the impact of Andalusi formulas in his work. Hernan Ruiz I bore witness to an important change in the mentality and aesthetic tastes of his time, and although his son, Hernan Ruiz II, gained greater recognition for his work, his father was able to adapt a church model imbued with the medieval spirit to the demands of the new patrons, namely the nobility and high clergy. These clients imposed their tastes, which were anchored in the past, but were open to new Renaissance influences due to their humanistic training and, at the same time, attracted by the exoticism and prestige of Andalusi art

Henry II of Trastámara (1366-1367, 1369-1379)

Henry II of Castile, also known as Henry of Trastámara, from the Latin “Tras Tamaris” (or beyond the Tambre River), King of Castile and León (1366–1367, 1369–1379) was the first king of the Trastámara Dynasty. In summary, it was a minor branch of the house of Burgundy (or an “Iberian extension” of it), with presence in the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and Naples. Most notably, it began playing an essential role in the kingdom of Castile, but after the Compromise of Caspe, its power extended decisively to the kingdom of Aragon (1412). Henry II was the illegitimate son of Alfonso XI and his lover Leonor de Guzmán. He waged a civil war against his stepbrother, Peter I, legitimate heir to the throne, as the son of Alfonso XI and Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile. Henry’s determination to be recognized as king led him to employ the arts in a campaign to discredit his stepbrother and tarnish his image, portraying himself as a defender of the faith with the right to rule. He built the Royal Chapel (1371) in the main church of Córdoba (today’s Mosque/Cathedral) for the burial of his father and grandfather, Ferdinand IV, in order to underscore his connection to the royal line, and refurbished the Puerta del Perdón (Gate of Forgiveness) in 1377, the main entrance to the church, for use as a dramatic stage for public events

The casket of the fifteenth century of Our Lady of the Assumption’s treasure of Priego de Córdoba

La arqueta de la primera mitad del XV custodiada en Nuestra Sra. de la Asunción de Priego de Córdoba pasó de tener un uso profano a otro religioso al servir posiblemente para contener las reliquias de San Nicasio traídas desde Masstricht en 1581. Apartada de los complejos programas iconográficos, revela a través de un lenguaje formal sencillo y directo en sus placas de hueso las ocupaciones ociosas de hombres y mujeres de una capa social por debajo de las grandes familias aristocráticas. Se relacionan estas escenas amorosas, junto a la aparición de los amorini, con un trasunto y simplificación de la corte del Dios Amor; las de caza con la importancia que adquirieron los libros especializados en el tema como el de Gastón Phoebus; y, por último, las danzas con una de las que más estuvo de moda: el carole.The casket of the first half of the fifteenth century in the Parish Church of Priego de Córdoba it passed from having a profane use to a religious one having possibly served to contain San Nicasio’s relics brought from Maastricht in 1581. Away from the complex iconographic programmes, it shows, by way of a simple and direct formal language, the occupations of men and women from a social stratum below aristocratic large families. These love scenes, beside the appearence of the amorini, are taken up with a transcript and simplification of the God of Love’s Court; the hunting with the importance that the books in the subject like that of Gaston Phoebus acquired; and, at last, the dances, with one which was most fashionable: the carole

The intervention of the bishops Mardones and Salizanes in Abd al-Rahman I’s central nave in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba

El hallazgo de dos escudos de obispos cordobeses –fray Diego de Mardones y fray Alonso de Medina y Salizanes- en la nave axial de la mezquita fundacional de Abd al-Rahman I, con motivo de las obras de reparación de la cubierta, ha puesto de manifiesto la intervención de ambos prelados, consistente, por parte de Mardones, en la elevación de una cúpula en el primer tramo de la nave, encima del actual cancel hacia 1617, en tanto que aproximadamente entre 1679 y 1682 Salizanes cubrió con bóvedas de cañizo barrocas el resto de la nave. La intencionalidad de ambos obispos no fue otra que la exaltación de su poder personal y su apoyo al misterio de la Inmaculada Concepción, enlazando esta nave con el arco de la Redención, acceso al crucero catedralicio donde había intervenido Mardones y en cuya capilla mayor estaba su enterramiento, y con la capilla de la Inmaculada, fundada por Salizanes para albergar su sepultura.The discovery of two coats of arms belonging to bishops from Córdoba –friar Diego de Mardones and friar Alonso de Medina y Salizanes- in the axial nave of the foundational Mosque of Abd al-Rahman I, with the occasion of the repair of the roof, has revealed the involvement of both prelates, which consists, by Mardones, in the elevation of a dome in the first section of the nave above the windproof door about 1617, while between 1679 and 1682 approximately Salizanes covered the rest of the nave with baroque hardle vaults. The only intention of both prelates was the exaltation of their personal power and their approval of the mistery of the Immaculate Conception, connecting this nave with the Redemption arch, the access to the transept of the cathedral where Mardones had participated and where his burial was and with the Immaculate’s Chapel, founded by Salizanes to house his tomb

La plaza del Coso y los orígenes de la arquitectura protoindustrial en Baena

En el transcurso de un siglo, desde finales del XVII a las postrimerías del XVIII, se originó en Baena la plaza mayor, rodeándose de edificios protoindustriales que tenían como finalidad mejorar la calidad de vida de sus habitantes, garantizando el almacenamiento de productos agrícolas básicos. Esta plaza del Coso nace inspirada por los ejemplos castellanos precedentes y sigue, en escala más reducida, el tipo rectangular con arcos que conectan con las principales arterias, rompiendo así el urbanismo cerrado y recoleto de la antigua medina musulmana y posterior villa medieval cristiana. Surge así, en primer lugar, el pósito (1693-1700); en 1774 se construye la casa del Monte, para acoger la junta del caudal del monte Horquera y otras funciones muy diversas. Cinco años después aproximadamente se complementaba el pósito con la construcción en sus proximidades de la casa del peso de la harina a fin de que el fiel contraste diera evidencia de las equivalencias entre el grano que se llevaba a moler y la harina que retornaba. Finalmente, la tercia de origen eclesiástico pero traspasada a la administración del poder señorial detentado por el duque de Sessa y Baena, se comenzó en 1791 y se concluyó en 1795.In the course of a century, from the late seventeenth to the late eighteenth, the main square of Baena was originated. It was surrounded by proto-industrial buildings that were intended to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, ensuring storage of agricultural commodities. This Coso’s square was inspired by the Castillian preceding examples and tried to imitate, on a smaller scale, the rectangular type with arches that connect the main streets, breaking the closed and secluded town planning of the old Muslim Medina and later Christian medieval village. Thus, the public granary arises firstly (1693-1700); the house of the Mount is built in 1774 to accommodate the council’s flow of the Mount Horquera and other diverse functions. Approximately five years after the public granary was complementaried with the construction in the vicinity of the house of the flour’s weight so that the hallmarker gave evidence of the equivalence between the grain that was taken to the flour mill and returned. Finally, the ecclesiastical granary was began in 1791 and concluded in 1795. It was transferred to the administration of the feudal power held by the Duke of Sessa and Baena

A “floral garment” for the Paradise Garden: the Mudejar plaster-works

El Jardín del Paraíso es una constante en el mundo islámico. Fruto de su pervivencia bajo dominio cristiano es su representación a través de las yeserías mudéjares, especialmente en los espacios áulicos concebidos a modo de “qubba”, donde el árbol del Paraíso y un sinfín de hojas y frutos invaden los paramentos, luciendo brillantes colores –dorado, rojo, azul y negro-The Paradise Garden is a constant feature in the Islamic world. As a result of its survival under Christian domain is its representation through the Mudejar plaster-works, especially in the court spaces nourished as a "qubba", where the tree of Paradise and an endless number of leaves and fruits invade the paraments, showing bright colours -golden, red, blue and black-

The Royal Chapel of the Córdoba Cathedral and its repercussion on the noble foundations during the Late Middle Ages

La Capilla Real, concluida bajo Enrique II de Trastámara en 1371, ejerció una poderosa influencia en la nobleza cordobesa, que en sus fundaciones, ya fueran capillas funerarias, casas-palacio o castillos, adoptó el mudéjar como vehículo de ostentación y poder. Una exaltación del linaje por parte de los nobles se ve en la representación de sus escudos en las portadas de los salones y en sus capillas privadas, decorados con yeserías inspiradas por la exuberante decoración de la Capilla Real, cuyo buen estado de conservación se debe a diferentes intervenciones llevadas a cabo entre los siglos XVI y XIX, según han revelado las inscripciones que hemos descubierto en el arranque de los arcos de la bóveda y que damos a conocer a través de este artículo.The Royal Chapel, completed under Henry II of Trastamara in 1371, exerted a powerful influence on the nobility in Cordoba, which in its monumental buildings, be they funerary chapels, palatial houses or castles, adopted the Mudejar style as an expression of ostentation and power. Such glorification of their lineage can be seen in the representation of their coats of arms above the entrances to the halls and in their private chapels, decorated with plasterwork inspired by the flamboyant decoration of the Royal Chapel, whose excellent state of conservation is due to various reforms carried out between the 16th and 19th centuries, as has been shown by the inscriptions we have discovered on the base of the arches of the vaults and which we would like to make public in this articl

Three mudejar plasterwork plaques in european museums

Estas placas inéditas procedentes de Toledo se encuentran en el Victoria & Albert Museum y el Museum für Islamische Kunst de Berlín. Dos de las planchas presentan la singularidad de combinar mocárabes con ataurique y una serie de cabezas humanas en relieveThese unpublished plaques with a Toledan provenance are in the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art of Berlin. Two of the plaques are unique in that they combine mocarabe honeycomb arches with ataurique and a series of human heads in relie