Inventio泭and泭Imitatio: The Appropriation of Valois Style by a泭Converso泭Contador Mayor[1]
The magnificent funerary chapel of Contador Salda簽a in the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara de Tordesillasbuilt between 1430 and 1435, according to the painted frieze on its wallsis without local precedent (Figs. 6.1 & 6.2).[2]泭In contrast to the classic Gothic and Mud矇jar styles characteristic of most contemporaneous buildings, its flamboyant tracery, gabled niches, figured corbels, and shield-bearing angels recall those from Charles VIs programme at the Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes; its carved and gilded retable with folding wings is of the same type as those installed by Duke Philip the Bold at the charterhouse of Champmol; its naturalistic alabaster effigies are in the style of those commissioned by members of the late fourteenth- and early fifteenth-century Valois courts; and its limestone apostlesdescribed by Clementina Julia Ara Gil as one of the purest manifestations of Burgundian influence in Castileare comparable with those in the Duke of Berrys Saint-Chapelle in Bourges.[3]泭
Although historians have been fascinated by this chapel since the middle of the nineteenth century, little is known about its commissioning and construction, and many questions relating to its original appearance remain outstanding. This essay seeks to answer some of them by focusing on the physical evidence, interpreting it in relation to the rise and fall of the chapels patron, an ambitious泭converso泭at the court of John II of Castile.泭 Reassessing what the chapels interior originally looked like, the essay considers what the mix of imitation and invention tell us about Contador Salda簽as efforts to make his mark during one of the most turbulent periods of Castilian history.
Fern獺n L籀pez de Salda簽a (c. 14001456) was one of several converts from middle-class Jewish backgrounds who, under lvaro de Lunas patronage, became the backbone of John IIs new court apparatus.[4]泭Named secretary to the king in 1422, Salda簽a soon married the daughter of a member of the Royal Council, Elvira de Acevedo, and by 1429 he was Contador Mayor (chief comptroller) and on the Royal Council himself.[5]泭By this time he had also amassed a great deal of land and income, and he soon secured permission to construct a funerary chapel at Santa Clara de Tordesillas. Elvira died in 1433as we know from the painted friezeleaving Salda簽a with four surviving children; within a decade he had not only fathered two more children by his second wife, Isabel V矇lez de Guevara, but also defected to the cause of the Infantes (John IIs cousins) who were determined to wrest power from the king.[6]泭When King Johns forces won a resounding victory at the Battle of Olmedo in 1445, Salda簽a was forced to flee to Aragon where he died eleven years later.[7]泭P矇rez de Guzm獺n, the well-known泭converso泭chronicler and loyalist, described him soon afterwards as a small and base man (un peque簽o e raez hombre) to whom too many people had shamefully bowed down.[8]
Funerary chapels like Salda簽as enabled wealthy Castilians to seek salvation at the same time as making extravagant displays of material wealth and heraldry.[9]泭Perhaps the most ostentatious was the chapel of Santiago in Toledo Cathedral, commissioned by Salda簽as mentor, lvaro de Luna. Salda簽as selection of a site at Santa Clara was inspired: not only was this one of the most important royal foundations, but the new chapels river-frontage enabled the young泭contador泭to show off his newly-acquired status in a highly visible location. The contract between the nuns and Salda簽as nominees refers to well-polished and expensively-worked stone, which emphatically contrasts with the brick from which the rest of the monastery was built and confirms the importance to the ambitious courtier of material display.[10]泭As in early Renaissance Italy, such display was associated by fifteenth-century Castilians with magnificence and nobility.[11]泭Salda簽as fellow courtier and泭converso, Alonso de Cartagena, had in 1422 discussed the concept of magnificence in a compendium of Aristotles泭Nichomachean Ethics, asserting that expenditure on objects was both pleasing to God and beneficial to society.[12]
Commissioning a tall northern European structure, Salda簽a was clearly looking to fashion himself as a new kind of noble, deserving of status thanks his service to the king, just as Burgundian figures such as Nicolas Rolin were honoured for serving John IIs contemporary, Philip the Good.[13]泭Despite the import of increasing quantities of Flemish tapestries and other luxury goods, many chapels commissioned by wealthy Castilians in the first half of the fifteenth century were built in the Mud矇jar style, out of inexpensive brick and stucco.[14]泭Salda簽as chapel was built out of limestone, with slender buttresses, large windows and a pitched roof, and its gabled interior niches (Fig. 6.3) and shield-bearing angels (Fig. 6.4)a motif directly associated with the Valois monarchyimitated those at the Sainte-Chapelle at Vincennes and the Palais des Comtes at Poitiers.[15]泭It is likely to have influenced the choices made by lvaro de Luna, who was granted permission to demolish three existing chapels in Toledo Cathedral for his own project just as work started in Tordesillas.[16]泭Although construction must have been advancing under the direction of cathedrals泭 Castilian泭maestro mayor泭Alvar Mart穩nez when Luna is visited in 1435, 泭the chapels spectacular flamboyant decorative programme is thought to have taken shape only after 1437 when the French mason Pierre Gelopa (known locally as Pedro Jalopa) took over.[17]泭Gelopa came from La Fert矇-Milon in northern France and no doubt trained in the shadow of Louis dOrl矇anss nearby ch璽teux of Pierrefonds, completed c. 1407.[18]
The only craftsmans name to be documented in relation to the Salda簽a Chapel is that of maestre泭guillem de roam (probably a hispanised version of Guillaume of Rouen), who, according to an epitaph carved in Gothic script on one of the exterior walls, was the chapels泭aparejador泭or clerk of works.[19]泭A second name which has been associated with the chapel in recent years is that of Isambart, who is documented as working at Pierrefonds (under the name of Jehan Ysambart) in 1399.[20]泭They were both part of a network of northern European masons and sculptors who arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in the early fifteenth century, working in a number of sites that includes the cathedral of Pamplona, then being rebuilt by Charles the Noble, grandson of the Valois king, Jean II.[21]
Scholars have long been intrigued by several questions relating to disruptions, breakages, and apparent lack of finish in some areas of the Salda簽a Chapel, and by the combination of diverse materials and styles. What are the identities of the four effigies, and why is one of them made from limestone while the other three are alabaster, smaller, and carved by a different workshop? Were the four tomb-niches, with their blank armorial shields, originally polychromed? What was the function of three seated limestone saints, now free-standing but clearly designed to be attached to a stone surface (Fig. 6.5)? Bego簽a Alonso Ruiz has hypothesised that a break in the building line visible on the external wall and a diagram on the corresponding wall inside may relate to the death of Guillem de Rouen.[22]泭Ara Gil has speculated that Guillems death might also explain the change in style between the shield-bearing angels and apostles, and that the incompleteness of the set of apostles might indicate this aspect of the original project was left unfinished.[23]泭A carved relief on the outside wall, which displays the heraldry of the king, Salda簽a, and his wives, includes an intriguing depiction of the arms of lvaro de Luna at the centre of the relief with Salda簽as hanging from them (Fig. 6.6). This striking armorial reference to Salda簽as patron has led to the suggestion that Lunas first wife, Elvira de Portocarrero, might be buried in the chapel.[24]泭However, such an unusual arrangement would surely have been mentioned in Salda簽as contract with convent (signed in 1432, several years after Portocarreros death) which specifies only that the chapel should house those tombs and funerary monuments specified by Salda簽a or the heirs to his泭mayorazgo.[25]泭Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza has written about the southern portal to the main church, which bears the arms of the family of Isabel de Guevara and was shifted, probably in the eighteenth century.[26]
One problem with some of these arguments may be the assumption that the chapel as it appears now is largely intact, and that the date inscribed in its frieze marks the end of work.[27]泭This assumption is likely to be false. Isabel de Guevarafirst documented as Salda簽as new wife in December 1436is not mentioned in the frieze (which was presumably completed by the end of 1435), but her arms appear inside the chapel and on the stone relief on the exterior wall.[28]泭Close reading of the physical evidence indicates that work may have continued well beyond 1435, and, when examined in relation to biographical information, can help to answer some of the outstanding questions and to understand Salda簽as programme as one of appropriation, rather than pure imitation, of the Valois model.
The Identity and Original Location of the Effigies
With nothing painted on the shields above the tombs and no epitaphs, there has been considerable debate about the identity of the portrait-like effigies in the chapels four niches. These effigies are laid directly on the plinths rather than on raised beds, as was conventional.[29]泭The limestone effigy, representing a man in his late forties or early fifties dressed in a full-length formal gown, measures 205 by 67 by 52 centimetres; two of the alabaster effigies, representing young adult women, measure 190 by 47 by 30 centimetres; the third alabaster represents a man in his late thirties or early forties.[30]泭The alabaster effigies are thus considerably smaller than the limestone one and, as Ara Gil remarked, appear too small for their niches.[31]泭The female effigies are dressed in泭hopas泭belted above the waist (as was fashionable from about 1440) worn over laced泭briales,泭with elaborate head-dresses and necklaces, and泭chapines泭on their feet.[32]泭泭The male alabaster figure is dressed in a knee-length泭ropa, with short gathered sleeves and a belt at the waist, as was fashionable in the late 1430s and 1440s.[33]泭All four effigies are carved with great skill, although the limestone figure is stylistically very different to the other three, which all appear to have been carved by the same hand.
At least one of the male effigies almost certainly represents Fern獺n L籀pez de Salda簽a, whose name is inscribed in the frieze above the tombs, and whose heraldry features prominently in and outside the building.[34]泭Although Salda簽a was originally buried at the convent of San Francisco in Borja (Aragon), it is known from the will of his son Pedro V矇lez de Guevara that he had been reburied in the chapel by 1477.[35]泭Another of the effigies is likely to be Elvira de Acevedo, who is also mentioned in the frieze. The couples shields figure on the stairs leading down to the crypt beneath the chapel.[36]泭The second female effigy is likely to represent Isabel V矇lez de Guevara, Salda簽as second wife whose arms also appear on the crypt stairs.[37]
The first scholar to publish illustrations of the chapel, Valent穩n Carderera y Solano, writing in the 1850s, identified the male alabaster effigy wearing the knee-length泭ropa泭as Salda簽a.[38]泭However, in the 1860s Jos矇 Mar穩a Quadrado claimed that Salda簽a was instead represented by the limestone effigy wearing the more traditional泭ropaje talar泭associated with a泭contador.[39]泭Most scholars have accepted Quadrados identification, although the figure appears to be considerably older and dressed differently to the donor in the retable on the chapels altar, which has been dated, like the alabaster effigys knee-length泭ropa, to the mid-1430s.[40]泭In this painting, Salda簽a is dressed identically to the alabaster effigy, with the same distinctive haircut, and it is difficult to disagree with Carderera that the alabaster effigy is intended to represent Salda簽a himself.[41]泭Alabaster was, after all, the material chosen by high-status Castilians for their effigies.[42]
Is it possible that both the alabaster and the limestone figures represent 喧堯梗泭contador? The limestone figure appears to have been carved by the same sculptor as that of the polychromed limestone effigy of Francisco de Villaespesa (d. 1421), Chancellor of Navarre under the Valois-born Charles the Noble, in the Chancellors funerary chapel in Tudela Cathedral. The relationship between the design of Villaepesas tomb niche produced by a team of northern-European masons who had worked under Isambart in the chapel of the Sagrados Corporales in Darocaand that of the niches in Tordesillas was first highlighted by Ara Gil (Fig. 6.7).[43]泭Although the latter are not polychromed, they reprise not only the decorative tracery but also the innovative display of heraldry in the spandrels.[44]泭Salda簽a is likely to have visited Tudela in the late 1420s as part of negotiations with the infante Juan, who was by then consort of Juana of Navarre. Salda簽a may have commissioned his effigy at that time, long before he commissioned the alabaster figures, which, as discussed below, were probably not made until approximately 1440. Given Salda簽as apparent admiration for all things related to the Valois, this hypothesis is worth further investigation.
These issues beg the question of whether the current position of the effigies is original. The description and illustration published by Carderera in the 1850s implies a different arrangement to that known since the early twentieth century, when the first photographs of the chapel were published. One of the most consistent features of the monuments commissioned by well-to-do early fifteenth-century Castilians such as Aldonza de Mendoza and G籀mez Manrique was their placement directly in front of the altar, often almost touching the steps below it and accommodating both the donor and his or her spouse(s).[45]泭The disruption of the neatly laid paving stones in the centre of the eastern half of the Salda簽a Chapel indicates that there was originally a structure which stood there, between the altar and the entrance to the crypt (see Figs. 6.2 and 6.8). The measurements of the relaid area, approximately 237 by 307 centimetres, are consistent with a large tomb accommodating the three alabaster effigies. Salda簽a would lie in the middle, with Elvira dexter (as his first wife) and Isabel sinister (as his second).
Although there is no documentary evidence of a central tomb and its destruction, there is physical evidence of undocumented change within the chapel (such as the displacement of the seated saints from their original location) as well as in its vicinity (such as the movement of the entrance portal with the arms of the V矇lez de Guevara family). There are also many precedents for the re-siting and removal of tombs in the decades and centuries following their construction.[46]泭The tombs of Pedro Fern獺ndez de Velasco and Juan Fern獺ndez de Velasco in the monastery of Medina de Pomar, for example, were re-sited from the middle of 喧堯梗泭capilla mayor泭into niches by Juans son when he rebuilt the church in 1436.[47]泭Monuments could be removed to make way for new benefactors or if the chapel was to be re-dedicated. Burial rights were an important source of income, and the forfeiting of patronage rights if donors did not maintain private spaces according to the terms of their contracts was common.[48]泭Royal confirmations of the L籀pez de Salda簽as rights in the chapel issued in 1489 and in 1509 may have been instigated by the nuns to remind Salda簽as descendants of their obligation to pay the annual fee.[49]
The siting of important tombs featuring portrait-like alabaster effigies in front of altars was also a feature of Valois funerary chapels such as the Duke of Berrys Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges and Philip the Bolds tomb at Champmol, designed, like Salda簽as, to be seen on all four sides and centrally positioned in the monks choir facing an altar.[50]泭Given the regular diplomatic and mercantile exchanges between Castile and Flanders, eyewitness reports brought back by travellers such as Pedro Tafur, and growing fascination with泭vivre noblement泭in the Burgundian fashion, Salda簽a must have heard about Champmol even if, to the best of our knowledge, he never left the Iberian Peninsula.[51]泭He must certainly have known about the magnificent and innovative carved and gilded泭Altarpiece of the Crucifixion泭in the choir at Champmol, as he commissioned a similar work for his own chapel (see Fig. 6.2). This object was the first of its kind in Iberia and one of the earliest T-shaped carved retables of the type which would be exported to Castile from the southern Netherlands in large numbers from the mid-fifteenth century onwards.[52]泭Given the proximity of the no-longer-extant tomb-chest to the altar, the Salda簽a group effigies would likely have been closer to it than Philip the Bolds in the larger and more formal space of the monks choir in Champmol. Salda簽a thus succeeded in referencing the grandeur of the Burgundian duke whilst at the same time placing himself and his spouses in almost direct physical contact with site of the transubstantiation.
The existence of a central tomb would, furthermore, make sense of the chapels four niches which would have remained empty according to our hypothesis. When building started in 1430, Salda簽a must have anticipated burial spaces not only for himself and Elvira in a central tomb but also for their four surviving children: Fern獺n (a.k.a. Ferrando, c. 14281496), Sancho (d. 1444), Elvira (d. 1454), and Mar穩a (d. 1491).[53]泭His contract with the monastery specifically mentions the burial rights inherent in his泭casa, so it is likely that he planned space for the four surviving children from the outset. However, Salda簽as daughters Elvira and Mar穩a both appear to have been buried in the convents in Toledo and Salamanca where they died, and his son Sancho, who died fighting with his father and the rebels at the Battle of Olmedo, would not have been granted burial in the chapel after his fathers betrayal of the king.[54]泭泭The only son by Elvira whose bones may be amongst those in the crypt is Fern獺n, who left two wills, one asking to be buried in Tordesillas, the other in Salamanca.[55]泭The absence of effigies corresponding to these individuals and the lack of polychromy on the shields above the niches tends to confirm that none of them were ever buried in the chapel.
Inventio and the Seated Saints
The existence of a central tomb also answers the question about the original location and function of the seated saints representing Andrew (Fig. 6.9), an unidentified Franciscan, and an unidentified female (see Fig. 6.5). On one side of each sculpture, a rough-surfaced square of stone projects outwards, clearly designed to anchor the figure to another stone surface. The detailed carving on all three other sides indicates that they were designed to remain visible: for example, a long braid hangs down the female saints back (Fig. 6.10). In two cases, the projecting square is on the left, and in the third it is on the right. Saint Andrew,泭whose right elbow is bent, with a ledge cut out from its underside, would have leant on the left side of the tomb chest. Although this ensemble represents an unprecedented design, the tradition of saints praying for the effigyand often reading from the scripturewas well-established, featuring, for example, in Queen Beatriz de Portugals tomb at the nearby monastery of Sancti Spiritus at Toro (c. 1420).[56]泭The design can, furthermore, be related to that of the tomb of Sancho S獺nchez de Oteiza in Tudela, attributed to Jehan Lome, where two young deacons, on either side of Oteizas head, read the scripture (one of them holding a hand to his face, like one of the angels on Claus Sluters泭Well of Moses) (Fig. 6.11).[57]泭The parallel between the bent elbow resting on the bible held by one of the Tudela deacons and泭Saint Andrews elbow resting on the tomb in Tordesillas seems too close to be coincidental.
The reconstruction of the tomb proposed on this basis is illustrated in Figs. 6.12 and 6.13.泭Saint Andrew,泭on the left of the tomb chest, prays for Isabel, whose arms prominently figure the saints cross. The Franciscan is likely to be Fern獺ns name saint, Saint Anthony of Padua (who was baptised by the name of Fernando), often represented with a book. The female saint, who prays for Elvira, may represent Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a model of wifely virtue whose monastery on Mount Sinai was a popular destination for fifteenth-century pilgrims.[58]泭The sculptors of these figures must have had the opportunity to see the finished effigies as the seated泭Saint Catherine泭wears the same laced泭brial泭and belted泭hopa泭as those worn by Elvira de Acevedo and Isabel V矇lez de Guevara. The result is both imitative of the contemporary Castilian and Valois preference for a central tomb with alabaster effigies, and inventive in its inclusion of the three seated saints.
The ledge under泭Saint Andrews arm, approximately 95 centimetres from the ground, indicates the height of the tomb chest. This corresponds approximately to the height of the chest of the near-contemporary tomb of G籀mez Manrique and Sancha de Rojas, now in the Museum of Burgos.[59]泭The fact that the seated figures of泭Saints Andrew,泭Anthony泭and泭Catherine泭gaze in the direction of their respective namesakes confirms this arrangement. As Jeffrey Hamburger and others have underlined, seeing was an important vehicle for salvation,[60]泭and gaze was important element in the empathic meditation which became popular in the Iberian Peninsula in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.[61]泭The accuracy of the arrangement is confirmed by the effigies gazes too: Salda簽as looks straight ahead at the altar, while Elviras and Isabels look towards the altar from their respective sides. Although this design was clearly unconventional, the tomb of Alfonso Enr穩quez, admiral of Castile, which featured a similarly unconventional boat, was built around 1431 in front of the altar in the monastery of Santa Clara de Palencia.[62]
The Apostles: Unfinished泭Imitatio or Inventio?
On the walls above the niches in the Salda簽a Chapel are seven unpolychromed limestone sculptures of the apostles, all approximately 180 centimetres in height. They are stylistically different to the relief carvings around the tomb niches and alabaster effigies but appear to be by the same workshop as the seated saints. Whereas stone apostles had often featured on Iberian cathedral portals and were depicted on columns in the C獺mara Santa in Oviedo, their placement against the interior walls of churches was strongly associated with Valois structures such as the Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges which Salda簽as northern craftsmen are likely to have known.[63]泭Ara Gil concludes, no doubt correctly, that Salda簽as intention was for a set of twelve.[64]泭It is possible that one of the missing apostles is the seated泭Andrew, and that the other four were intended for the four empty niches on the piers between the chapel and the main church (see Fig. 6.3). These niches are approximately 210 centimetres high, the right size to have accommodated the sculptures of the apostles, which are 180 centimetres high. Whether these sculptures were produced (and, if so, destroyed or removed), or whether the project was left unfinished, is unknown.
The question of whether Salda簽a intended the sculptures of the apostles and seated saints to be polychromed is also intriguing. The stone apostles commissioned by the Duke of Berry for the Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges were polychromed, as were those from the same period in the Sint-Martinusbasiliek in the Flemish town of Halle, although those in Saint Peters in Li癡ge (as depicted in Rogier van der泭Weydens Exhumation of Saint Hubert) were not.[65]泭According to a 1988 communication from the Patrimonio Nacional, no traces of polychromy were found on any of the limestone sculptures during the 198890 restoration campaign.[66]泭As noted above, showing off the cost of the stone and the skill with which it was carved was clearly an important consideration for Salda簽a, and it may be that he intended minimal polychromy from the outset. This would have been a bold choice in a visual culture which expected and valued colour.
Nevertheless, considering the absence of polychromy on the shields and the surprising lack of decoration on the tomb fronts, it seems more likely that the work was left unfinished when Salda簽a fled to Aragon in 1445.[67]泭The blank shield on the pillow of the limestone effigy in the Salda簽a Chapel indicates that the original intention must have been to polychrome at least that. As Kim Woods and others have underlined, most early fifteenth-century sculpture in northern Europe was fully polychromed or intended for泭polychromy.[68]泭Susie Nash stresses the vital contribution polychromy made to effect and meaning.[69]泭It is possible that the polychromy of the shields was left for completion when Salda簽as children were buried in the chapel which, as we have seen, did not happen.
A New Chronology of the Salda簽a Chapel
Previous scholarship on the Salda簽a Chapel has taken the inscription in its frieze at face value, concluding that the structure and all its contents were completed by 1435. The text should, however, be treated with caution. The difficulty of evaluating inscriptions is well-known, and not only are the opening words missing here but the circumstances of its production are unknown.[70]泭The start of construction in 1430 is confirmed by a papal bull issuing indulgences to visitors, by a contract between Salda簽a and the monastery of 1432, and by the no-longer visible epitaph of of泭maestre泭Guillems death.[71]泭Despite the fact that 喧堯梗泭maestre泭Guillem died in 1431, given the scale and nature of the work there is no reason to doubt that the basic structure was indeed complete by 1435. This would include the four tomb niches and most of the integral decorative carving on the arches and corbels, although certain tasks, such as the painting of the heraldry pertaining to the niches, appear to have been left unfinished. The inscription itself must have been carved in 1435: Elvira had died by then but the inscription does not mention Isabel, who is first named as Fern獺ns wife in a legal document of December 1436.[72]泭The Salda簽a Retable, in which Salda簽a is accompanied by neither Elvira nor Isabel, is likely to have been produced sometime between the middle of 1433 (after Elviras death) and early 1436.[73]
Additional work must have been carried out between late 1435 and 1445, the year in which Fern獺n and Isabel fled to Aragon with two young children (Pedro V矇lez de Guevara, 14421477, and Costanza V矇lez de Guevara, c. 14431505).[74]泭This included the arms of Isabel V矇lez de Guevara and other heraldry on the chapels exterior west wall (see Fig. 6.6). The fact that the display sits under a load-bearing arch indicates that the tablet on which it is carved replaced the original one installed in around 1430 when Salda簽a was still married to Elvira de Acevedo.[75]泭Isabels arms provide a泭terminus post quem泭for the display as it appears now of late 1435 or 1436, and lvaro de Lunas shield at the centre of the relief provides a泭terminus ante quem泭of June 1441 (the date of Lunas exile).[76]
Work carried out after 1435 would also have included the installation of the central tomb and limestone apostles. The effigies may have been commissioned soon after Salda簽as betrothal to Isabel in 1436, but the production of the seated saints must have come a year or two later given the relationship between the garment worn by泭Saint Catherine泭and those worn by the effigies representing Elvira and Isabel. It may be that the tomb with the saints around it was installed in 1441, when the couples marriage contract was signed. Even if Salda簽a had intended to commission a central tomb earlier, Elviras sudden death and the pressures of political life in the 1430s may have prevented this. As noted above, the production of the effigies between approximately 1436 and 1438 fits well with the clothes and hairstyles, and that of the seated saints and apostles towards the end of the decade explains the change in style noted by Ara Gil between them and the shield-bearing angels produced eight or nine years earlier.[77]
When the couple fled, they would thus have left behind their finished tomb, the apostles, and the altarpiece (commissioned, as noted above, before 1435), but the four niches appear to have been left empty. We can infer this from Pedro V矇lez de Guevaras wish to be buried there with his own alabaster effigy, and from a similar request in 1496 by Salda簽as son by Elvira de Acevedo, Ferrando L籀pez de Salda簽a. Why, then, were none of the children commemorated in the chapel?[78]泭The answer may relate to the confusion which reigned for several years after Salda簽as exile over who had the right to be buried in the chapel, as well as to continuing political upheaval. Garc穩a de Salazars account states that Salda簽a lost all his assets upon fleeing Castile.[79]泭Ceballos-Escalera y Gila provides a breath-taking summary of these assets as well as an account of their expropriation.[80]泭Ferrando, who had remained in Castile, had a long-running dispute with the monarchy over his fathers estates, although it is not clear whether Salda簽as rights in the chapel at Tordesillas were part of this.[81]泭In 1455, just before Salda簽a died, these rights were confirmed in a royal charter, probably as a result of an extraordinary deal: shortly after the beheading of lvaro de Luna in 1454, Salda簽a sent word from Aragon to John II asking for pardon and the return of his position and assets in return for revealing where Luna had hidden some of the treasure he had accumulated in office, said to be worth more than 800,000 gold泭doblas.[82]泭Castiles political situation continued to be difficult after Salda簽as death and things only began to settle down in 1474, when Isabella of Castile ascended to the throne.
Whether or not Pedro was interred in the crypt in 1477, the arms that appear on the surviving entrance to the monastery church appear to be his (Fig. 6.14).[83]泭This entrance may have also been commissioned after Salda簽a fled to Aragon. Although it repeats some elements of the interior portals, its decorative scheme is simpler, not unlike the portals Juan Guas produced for vila Cathedral in the 1460s. By this time Pedro was泭maestresala泭to Enrique IV.[84]泭泭
In conclusion, the revisions proposed here provide possible answers to questions relating to the physical evidence remaining inside the Salda簽a Chapel. They make sense, for example, of the seated saints and unfinished appearance of the tomb niches. But they also help us to understand the chapels design more clearly as an expression of Fern獺n L籀pez de Salda簽as dynastic ambitions, and as part his efforts to ensure that he stood out in relation to his peers. By highlighting not only those features in the existing ensemble that were modelled on Valois commissions but those which no longer survive, the revisions allow us to consider this泭converso泭patrons use of imitation and innovation as part of a strategy to fashion himself as a new kind of noble serving the emerging Castilian state
Citations
[1]This essay is based on a chapter from Nicola Jennings, The Chapel of Contador Salda簽a at Santa Clara de Tordesillas: New Proposals about its Original Appearance and Role in the Fashioning of Identity by an Early Fifteenth-Century泭唬棗紳措梗娶莽棗, unpublished doctoral thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, 2015. My thanks go to a number of friends and colleagues for their guidance and support, in particular my supervisor, Susie Nash, and to Rose Walker, Tom Nickson, Phillip Lindley, Kim Woods, Javier Mart穩nez de Aguirre, Diana Olivares, Carmen Garc穩a Fr穩as, Mar穩a Jes繳s Herrero, and ngel Balao. I also thank the reviewers of this essay for their very constructive comments.
[2]Since Manuel G籀mez-Morenos article, Joosk矇n de Utrecht, arquitecto y escultor?,泭Bolet穩n de la Sociedad castellana de excursiones泭(1911): pp. 63-66, many articles have appeared on the chapel. For a comprehensive bibliography, see e.g., Bego簽a Alonso Ruiz, Una montea g籀tica en la capilla Salda簽a de Santa Clara de Tordesillas, in S. Huerta & F. L籀pez Ulloa (eds.),泭Actas del octavo congreso nacional de historia de la construcci籀n泭(Madrid: Instituto Juan de Herrera, 2013), 1: p. 35.
[3]Clementina Julia Ara Gil,泭Escultura g籀tica en Valladolid y su provincia泭(Valladolid: Instituci籀n Cultural Simancas, 1977), p. 194. On the conservative nature of Castilian architecture in the first few decades of the fifteenth century, see Bego簽a Alonso Ruiz and Mart穩nez de Aguirre, Arquitectura en la Corona de Castilla,泭Artigrama泭26 (2011): pp. 103-147.
[4]Salda簽as Jewish background is mentioned, for example, by L. Garc穩a de Salazar in泭Las bienandanzas e fortunas: C籀dice del siglo XV. Libro XX泭(Bilbao: A. Rodr穩guez Herrero, 1955), p. 58. Several historians have discussed the close relationship between Luna and 喧堯梗泭conversos. See, for example, F. M獺rquez Villanueva, Conversos y cargos concejiles en el siglo XV,泭Revista de Archivos, Bibliotecas y Museos泭63: 2 (1957): p. 510.
[5]See Alfonso de Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza de Fern獺n L籀pez de Salda簽a,泭Medievalismo泭21 (2011): pp. 170n25 (citing, legajo 34.318, Archivo Hist籀rico Nacional, Consejos Suprimidos) and 174. He was one of three treasurers responsible for all the Crown finances.
[6]Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, pp. 180 and 183.
[7]Cayetano Rosell (ed.),泭Cr籀nicas de los reyes de Castilla: Desde don Alfonso el Sabio hasta los cat籀licos don Fernando y do簽a Isabel泭(Madrid: M. Rivadeneyra, 1877), pp. 628-29.
[8]Fern獺n P矇rez de Guzm獺n,泭Generaciones y semblanzas,泭ed. Robert Brian Tate (London: Tamesis Books, 1965), 2: p. 112.
[9]There is a great deal of literature on funerary chapels in fifteenth-century Castile. See, for example, E. Paulino Montero, Patrocinio religioso, patrocinio art穩stico e identidad familiar a finales de la Edad Media. El caso de los Fern獺ndez de Velasco,泭eHumanista, 24 (2013): pp. 411-432; Isidro Bango Torviso, El espacio para enterramientos privilegiados en la arquitectura medieval espa簽ola,泭Anuario del Departamento de historia y teor穩a del arte泭4 (1992): pp. 93-132; and Joaqu穩n Yarza Luaces, La capilla funeraria hispana, in Manuel N繳簽ez and Eugenio Portela (eds.),泭La Idea y el sentimiento de la muerte en la historia y en el arte de la Edad Media: Ciclo de conferencias celebrado del 1 al 5 de diciembre de 1986泭(Santiago de Compostela: Servicio de publicaci籀nes e intercambio cient穩fico de la Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 1988), pp. 67-91.
[10]Vna capilla de piedra e obra muy polida e costosa, Caja 2, Expt. 22, Archivo Santa Clara de Tordesillas (henceforth abbreviated to ASCT).
[11]See, for example, Bego簽a Alonso Ruiz, La Nobleza en la ciudad: arquitectura y magnificencia a finales de la Edad Media,泭Historia Moderna泭24 (2012), pp. 213-49; Richard Goldthwaite, The Empire of Things: Consumer Demand in Renaissance Italy, in Francis Kent, John Eade and Patricia Simons (eds.),泭Patronage, Art, and Society in Renaissance Italy泭(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), p. 166.
[12]Jeremy Lawrance, Alfonso de Cartagena y los conversos, in Ralph J. Penny and Alan Deyermond (eds.),泭Actas del primer congreso anglo-hispano泭(Madrid: Editorial Castalia, 1993), 2: p. 109.
[13]For a more extended discussion of Salda簽as self-fashioning as a泭converso泭homo novus泭serving the emerging Castilian state, see Nicola Jennings, The Chapel of Contador Salda簽a at Santa Clara de Tordesillas and the Fashioning of a Noble Identity by an Early Fifteenth-Century泭Converso,泭Hispanic Research Journal泭17 (2016): pp. 1-17.
[14]Examples of Mud矇jar chapels built in the first half of the fifteenth century include the capilla del Crucifijo at the monastery of Olmedo commissioned by don Velasco Fern獺ndez circa 1411, the chapel of the Villag籀mez in Santa Mar穩a de Arbas in Mayora built in 1422, the chapel of Diego G籀mez de Sandoval, c. 1420, in the Franciscan convent of Sahag繳n, and the chapel of the Riberas at Santa Mar穩a de las Cuevas in Seville, dated 1411. See M. Vald矇s Fern獺ndez, Patronazgo se簽orial y arte mud矇jar en el Reino de Castilla, in J. Yarza Luaces and M. Melero Moneo (eds.),泭Im獺genes y promotores en el arte medieval泭(Bellaterra: Universitat Aut簷noma de Barcelona, 2001); Mar穩a del Carmen Lacarra Ducay,泭Arte mud矇jar en泭Arag籀n, Le籀n, Castilla, Extremadura y Andalucia泭(Zaragoza: Instituci籀n Fernando el Cat籀lico, Excma. Diputaci籀n de Zaragoza, 2006).
[15]The iconography of supporting angels was developed in France in the late fourteenth century by the Valois monarchy, and in the 1390s Charles VI adopted an image of a heraldic angel as his counterseal. See E. Taburet-Delahaye (ed.),泭Paris, 1400: Les arts sous Charles VI; Exposition pr矇sent矇e Paris, Mus矇e du Louvre, 22 mars-12 juillet 2004泭(Paris: Fayard, 2004), p. 31.
[16]C. Gonz獺lez Palencia, La capilla de Don Alvaro de Luna en la Catedral de Toledo,泭Archivo Espa簽ol de Arte y Arqueolog穩a泭5: 13 (1929), pp. 109-122.
[17]On Mart穩nezs involvement, see e.g., Jos矇 Mar穩a Azc獺rate, El Maestro Hanequ穩n de Bruselas,泭Archivo Espa簽ol de Arte泭21: 83 (1948), p. 177.泭 On Jalopa, see Amalia Mar穩a Yuste Gal獺n, La Introducci籀n del Arte Flam穩gero en Castilla: Pedro Jalopa, Maestro de los Luna,泭Archivo Espa簽ol de Arte泭77: 307 (2004), pp. 291-300; Victor Daniel L籀pez Llorente, Las M獺s Suntuosa Capilla de Espa簽a. Poder y Magnificencia en la Arquitectura de la Capilla de lvaro de Luna, in Matilde Miquel Juan, Olga P矇rez Monz籀n and Mar穩a Mart穩nez Gil (eds.),泭Ret籀rica art穩stica en el tardog籀tico castellano. La capilla f繳nebre de lvaro de Luna en contexto泭(Madrid: Silex, 2018), pp. 335-351.
[18]Javier Ib獺簽ez Fern獺ndez, Con el correr del sol: Isambart, Pedro Jalopa y la renovaci籀n del g籀tico final en la pen穩nsula ib矇rica durante la primera mitad del siglo XV,泭Biblioteca: Estudio e investigaci籀n泭26 (2011): p. 206.
[19]The epitaph, which is no longer visible, read: Aqu穩 yace maestre guillem de roam, maestro de la iglesia de leon, y aparejador de esta capilla, que dios perdone, et fin籀 獺 vii. de deciembre a簽o de mil, et cccc et xxx et un a簽os. Antonio Ponz,泭Viage de Espa簽a: En que se da noticia de las cosas mas apreciables, y dignas de saberse, que hay en ella, 2nd ed. (Madrid: Por don Joachin Ibarra, 1776-1788), p. 138. It was mentioned by several nineteenth-century visitors, including Richard Ford,泭A Handbook for Travellers in Spain泭(London: John Murray, 1847), p. 620. It is not known when or how the epitaph disappeared, but it was clearly still there when G籀mez-Moreno visited the chapel c. 1911.
[20]See for example Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza and Antonio Garc穩a Flores, Ysambart y la renovaci籀n del g籀tico final en Castilla: Palencia, La capilla del contador Salda簽a en Tordesillas y Sevilla. Hip籀tesis para debate,泭Anales de Historia del Arte泭19 (2009): pp. 43-76; Ib獺簽ez Fern獺ndez, Con el correr del sol, pp. 205, 220-26; Alonso Ruiz, Mart穩nez de Aguirre, Arquitectura en la Corona de Castilla, p. 125; Fernando Villase簽or Sebasti獺n, Nuevas aportaciones a la historia constructiva de la capilla del contador Salda簽a (Real Monasterio de Santa Clara de Tordesillas) (c. 1430-1435) y su importancia en la renovaci籀n del g籀tico castellano, in Santiago Huerta and Fabi獺n L籀pez Ulloa (eds.),泭Actas del octavo congreso nacional de historia de la construcci籀n, Madrid, 9-12 October, 2013泭(Madrid: Instituto Juan de Herrera, 2013), 2: pp. 1037-46.
[21]See, for example,, Javier Mart穩nez de Aguirre, El siglo XV en las catedrales de Pamplona y Palencia, in Alfonso Jim矇nez Mart穩n (ed.),泭La Piedra postrera. Simposium internacional sobre la catedral de Sevilla en el contexto del g籀tico final泭(Seville: Cabildo Metropolitano de Sevilla, 2007), 2: pp. 115-48; Javier Ib獺簽ez Fern獺ndez and Jes繳s Criado Mainar, El maestro Isambart en Arag籀n: La capilla de los Corporales de Daroca y sus intervenciones en la catedral de la Seo de Zaragoza, in泭La piedra postrera,泭1: pp. 75-113; Ruiz Souza and Garc穩a Flores, Ysambart y la renovaci籀n del g籀tico final en Castilla, pp. 43-76; Alonso Ruiz, Mart穩nez de Aguirre, Arquitectura en la Corona de Castilla, pp. 125-47; Ib獺簽ez Fern獺ndez, Con el correr del sol, pp. 220-226.
[22]Alonso Ruiz, Una montea g籀tica, p. 40.
[23]Ara Gil,泭Escultura g籀tica en Valladolid, p. 203.
[24]Caja 2, Expt. 22, ASCT. On the suggestion that Elvira de Portocarrero is buried in the chapel, see Gonz獺lez Hern獺ndez, Un enterramiento en la capilla de Salda簽a en el monasterio de Santa Clara de Tordesillas,泭Bolet穩n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog穩a,泭58 (1992):泭pp.泭301-12. It has also been ventured the Infanta Beatriz of Portugal may have been buried there. See Magdalena Santo Tom獺s P矇rez, Beatriz de Portugal y el hospital Mater Dei de Tordesillas, in泭Mar穩a Isabel del Val Valdivieso泭and泭Pascual Mart穩nez Sopena泭(eds.),泭Castilla y el mundo feudal: homenaje al profesor Julio Valde籀n泭(Valladolid: University of Valladolid, 2009), pp. 5-6.
[25]Clementina Julia Ara Gil proposes a more convincing interpretation of the armorial depiction, relating it to Salda簽as description in 喧堯梗泭Cr籀nica de lvaro de Luna泭(started while its subject was still alive and finished soon after his death) as the condestables criado y fechura,泭his dependent and his product. See Ara Gil,泭Escultura G籀tica, pp. 195.
[26]The reason for the shift appears to have been a change in floor levels due to constant flooding of the terrace just beneath the church and chapel: Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza, La iglesia de Santa Clara de Tordesillas. Nuevas consideraciones para su estudio,泭Reales Sitios泭140 (1999): pp. 9-10.
[27]See, for example, Ara Gil,泭Escultura G籀tica, pp. 201-202; Javier Cast獺n Lanaspa,泭Arquitectura g籀tica religiosa en Valladolid y su provincia (siglos XIII XVI)泭(Valladolid: Diputaci籀n de Valladolid, 1998), p. 565; Villase簽or Sebasti獺n, Nuevas aportaciones, p. 1039.
[28]For the marriage, see M-71, fols. 193v-197, Colecci籀n Salazar y Castro, Real Academia de Historia (henceforth abbreviated to CSyC RAH). The marriage contract was not, however, signed until 1441: Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, p. 179.
[29]See ngela Franco Mata, Iconograf穩a funeraria g籀tica en Castilla y Le籀n (siglos XIII y XIV),泭De arte泭2 (2003): pp. 67-69. The Salda簽a Chapel niches can be compared, for example, to those in lvaro de Lunas chapel of Santiago in Toledo cathedral, built in the same period, where all the effigies lie on raised beds.
[30]The author is grateful to the Patrimonio Nacional for providing these measurements. The male alabasters legs have been broken off, but, based on the size of the upper body and its height and width, it must have been of similar length to the female effigies.
[31]Ara Gil,泭Escultura g籀tica, p. 202. On the importance of measurements and proportions satisfying to the eye and relating to the belief that God had created man in his own image, see N. Saul, Patronage and Design in the Construction of English Medieval Tomb Monuments, in Paul Binski & Elizabeth A. New (eds.),泭Patrons and Professionals in the Middle Ages: Proceedings of the 2010 Harlaxton Symposium泭(Donington: Shaun Tyas/Paul Watkins, 2012), pp. 322-24.
[32]C. Bernis Madrazo,泭Indumentaria medieval espa簽ola泭(Madrid: Instituto Diego Vel獺zquez, 1956), pp. 49-50. For Burgundian fashion in this period, see for example Fran癟ois Boucher,泭A History of Costume in the West泭(London: Thames and Hudson, 1987), pp. 206-8.
[33]C. Bernis Madrazo, 1956, pp. 44-45. Belts had been worn lower down from 1420-1435.
[34]The inscription reads, [Esta obra mando fazer] Fernand lopez : de : Salda簽a : contador : mayor: del virtuoso : rey : don : 泭john et : su : camarero : et su chanceller e del su conseio et : fue : et : es : comencada en el : a簽o : del : nascimiento : del : nro : salvador : jhu xpo : de mill : et : quatrocientos : et : treynta : a簽os : et acabose : en el : ano : del : nascimiento : del : nro : salvador: 泭jhu xpo : de mill : et : quatrocientos : et : tre: ynta et : cinco a簽os : a : honor et : reverencia : de : nra : se簽ora : a quien: 泭el : siempre: 泭tovo et tiene por protetora : et : abogada : en todos sus : fechos : et esta : aqui esta enterada Elvira: de : Azevedo: su muger que /Dios perdone la qual fino en Toledo viespera : de : Pascua : mayor : que : fue a honze dias de abril del ano de mil et quatrocientos et treinta : et tres : anos. Gloria in excelsis Deo et in tera pax hominibus bone voluptatis, laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramos te, glorifi.泭 Francisco Molina de la Torre,泭Valladolid (siglos X-XV), Corpus Inscriptionum Hispaniae Mediaevalium泭3 (Le籀n: Universidad de Le籀n, 2017), pp. 180-81.
[35]Caja 22/1, ASCT. Salda簽as death in Aragon is recorded in 喧堯梗泭Cronic籀n de Valladolid: 1333-1539. See Pedro S獺inz de Baranda (ed.),泭Cronic籀n de Valladolid泭(Madrid: Viuda de Calero 1848), 13: pp. 26-27. His burial at San Francisco is recorded on a family tree compiled by J. Pellicer de Osau. See 26.385, D 31, fol. 22v, CSyC RAH.
[36]This crypt contains the remains of five unidentified bodies. This information appears in Patrimonio Nacional, Acta de Investigaci籀n, 29 enero 1991, unpublished.
[37]Although this seems to be the accepted view, ngel Gonz獺lez Hern獺ndez believes this is lvaro de Lunas wife Elvira de Portocarrero. However, even if a letter of 8 March 1433 (Caja 4916, Expt. 12, ASCT) confirms that his wife was buried in the monastery, it would be extraordinary for her to be buried in the Salda簽a Chapel, and there is no mention of this in Salda簽as contract with the monastery of 1432. Gonz獺lez Hern獺ndez bases his hypothesis on the presence of Lunas shield on the stone relief on the chapels exterior walls (see Fig. 5). But as Ara Gil has stated, the way that this is depicted, with Salda簽as shield hanging off it, clearly indicates Salda簽as status as Lunas criado e fechura suya (as he is described in 喧堯梗泭Cr籀nica del halconero de Juan II) rather than Portocarreros burial in the chapel. See Ara Gil,泭Escultura g籀tica, p. 195. If Elvira were buried there, her own arms rather than her husbands would be displayed both outside and inside the chapel, and this is not the case.
[38]Valent穩n Carderera y Solano,泭Iconograf穩a espa簽ola: Colecci籀n de retratos, estatuas, mausoleos y dem獺s monumentos in矇ditos de reyes, reinas, grandes capitanes, escritores, etc. desde el siglo XI hasta el XVII泭(Madrid: Impr. de R. Campuzano, 1855-64), plate 25.
[39]Jos矇 Mar穩a Quadrado,泭Valladolid, Palencia y Zamora.泭泭Recuerdos y bellezas de Espa簽a泭(Madrid: Imprenta de L籀pez, 1865), 10: p. 242.
[40]On the dating of the retable, see Francisco Javier S獺nchez Cant籀n, Maestre Nicol獺s Franc矇s, pintor,泭Archivo espa簽ol de arte y arqueolog穩a泭1 (1925): pp. 16-17; S獺nchez Cant籀n,泭Maestre Nicol獺s Franc矇s泭(Madrid: CSIC, 1964), pp. 20-21.
[41]The male alabaster effigy has been linked to Pedro V矇lez de Guevara on the basis that Pedros will of 1477 stated that he wished to be buried in his fathers chapel with an alabaster effigy: Paulina Junquera de Vega, La pintura en el monasterio de Santa Clara,泭Reales Sitios泭14 (1967): p. 43. However, as Ara Gil points out, the figures pudding-bowl haircut was out of fashion by 1450. See Ara Gil, Escultura g籀tica, p. 201. This is confirmed by pictures of Castilian courtiers from the 1470s published in Bernis Madrazo,泭Indumentaria medieval,泭Figs. 159-162.
[42]The 1435 will of Aldonza de Mendoza, for example, specifies a tomb which is de alabastro convenyble a my persona: Francisco Layna y Serrano,泭Historia de Guadalajara y sus Mendozas泭(Madrid: Aldus, 1942), p. 310.
[43]Clara Fern獺ndez Ladreda-Aguad矇, Escultura: Jehan Lom矇 y los talleres coetaneos, in C. Fern獺ndez-Ladrade (ed.),泭El arte g籀tico en Navarra泭(Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, 2015), p. 540. This relationship was first highlighted in Ara Gil,泭Escultura g籀tica, p. 205. On the Sagrados Corporales, see Javier Ib獺簽ez Fern獺ndez and Jes繳s Criado Mainar, El maestro Isambart en Arag籀n: La capilla de los Corporales de Daroca y sus intervenciones en la catedral de la Seo de Zaragoza, also in Alfonso Jim矇nez Mart穩n,泭La piedra postrera, 1: p. 79.
[44]On the innovation represented by the display of heraldry in the spandrels, see Javier Mart穩nez de Aguirre and Faustino Men矇ndez Pidal de Navascu矇s,泭Emblemas her獺ldicos en el arte medieval navarro泭(Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, Departamento de Educaci籀n, Cultura, Deporte y Juventud, 1996), pp. 53-57.
[45]Tombs positioned in this way include those of Pero L籀pez de Ayala and his wife, G籀mez Manrique and his wife, and Aldonza de Mendoza. G籀mez Manriques will, drafted in 1410, states: mando que entierren mi cuerpo en la capilla mayor del monasterio, que yo fago en Santa Mar穩a de Fresdelval e que me entierren en la sepultura de alabastro que ay tengo fecha, delante del altar mayor. See Secci籀n de Clero, Legago 1053, Archivo Hist籀rico Nacional. Aldonzas will includes similar instructions: Layna y Serrano,泭Historia de Guadalajara, p.泭310.
[46]See, for example, Clementina Julia Ara Gil, Monjes y frailes en la iconograf穩a de los sepulcros rom獺nicos y g籀ticos, in Jos矇 ngel Garc穩a de Cort獺zar (coord.),泭Vida y muerte en el monasterio rom獺nico泭(Aguilar de Campoo:泭Fundaci籀n Santa Mar穩a la Real,泭Centro de Estudios del Rom獺nico, 2004), p. 175.
[47]Clementina Julia Ara Gil, Sepulcros medievales en Medina de Pomar,泭Bolet穩n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog穩a泭40-41 (1975): pp. 201-202.
[48]S. Rodr穩guez Guill矇n, El monasterio de Santa Mar穩a la Real de Tordesillas (1363-1509) (unpublished PhD diss., Alcal獺 de Henares, 2010), p. 266. There are various instances over the centuries of Spanish churches and convents selling property to raise funds as well as rededicating chapels. It was also common practice in Italy. See J. Burke,泭Changing Patrons: Social Identity and the Visual Arts in Renaissance Florence泭(University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2004), p. 123.
[49]Caja 3, Expt. 19, ASCT; S/H 347/25, Archivo General del Palacio, Madrid.
[50]Sophie Jugie, Dossier,泭Les Ducs de Bourgogne, 2003, accessed 18 January 2019,泭http://www.musees-bourgogne.org/fic_bdd/dossiers_fichier_pdf/dossier_ducs_bourgogne.pdf. Also see the diagram provided by Cyprien Monget,泭La Chartreuse de Dijon dapr癡s les documents des Archives de Bourgogne泭(Montreuil-sur-Mer: Imprimerie Notre-Dame des P癡res, 1898), 1: p. 54. The exact position of the dukes tomb will be discussed by Susie Nash in a forthcoming article.
[51]Pero Tafur,泭Travels and Adventures, 1435-1439, trans. and ed. Malcolm Henry Ikin Letts (London: G. Routledge, 1926), chapter 23. See Jennings, The Chapel of Contador Salda簽a at Santa Clara de Tordesillas and the Fashioning of a Noble Identity, pp. 4-5.
[52]See Nicola Jennings, Made in Iberia: A New Look at the Retable of Contador Salda簽a in Santa Clara de Tordesillas, in Daan van Heesch, Robrecht Janssen and Jan Van der Stockt (eds.),泭Netherlandish Art and Luxury Goods in Renaissance Spain泭(London/Turnhout: Harvey Millar, 2018), pp. 27-44.
[53]For the L籀pez de Salda簽a family tree, see Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, p. 163. Their first-born, Leonor, died circa 1430.
[54]On the burial places of Salda簽as daughters, see Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, pp. 195-6.
[55]Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, pp. 195.
[56]Diana Luc穩a G籀mez-Chac籀n, Religiosidad femenina y reforma dominicana: el sepulcro de Beatriz de Portugal en el monasterio del泭Sancti Spiritus泭de Toro,泭Anuario de Estudios Medievales泭47:2 (2017): pp. 607-64.
[57]On the tradition of accompanying angels, see for example Franco Mata, Iconograf穩a funeraria g籀tica en Castilla, pp. 71-73. On the innovation represented by the Oteiza tomb and its relationship to sculpture at the charterhouse of Champmol in Dijon, see Fern獺ndez Ladreda-Aguad矇s articles Escultura: Jehan Lom矇 y los talleres coetaneos, pp. 524-7; La escultura en Navarra en la primera泭mitad del siglo XV, Johan Lome y su c穩rculo,泭Anales de historia del arte泭22 (2012): pp. 7-37; and La escultura en Navarra en tiempos del Compromiso de Caspe,泭Artigrama泭26 (2011): pp. 203-7. The first to study of Lom矇s work in depth was Janke. 泭See R. Steven Janke,泭Jehan Lome y la escultura g籀tica posterior en Navarra泭(Pamplona: Diputaci籀n Foral de Navarra, Instituci籀n Pr穩ncipe de Viana, 1977).
[58]See, for example, Christine de Pizan,泭The Treasure of the City of Ladies,泭trans. Sarah Lawson (London: Penguin, 2003), p. 146. Pedro Tafur, for example, went to Sinai. The seated saint closely resembles a polychromed Saint Catherine in Le籀n Cathedral: G籀mez Moreno, Joosk矇n de Utrecht, p. 65.
[59]For a description of this tomb, see M. J. G籀mez B獺rcena, El sepulcro de G籀mez Manrique y Sancha de Rojas,泭Reales Sitios泭83 (1985): pp. 29-36.
[60]See, for example, Jeffrey Hamburger, The Visual and the Visionary: The Changing Role of the Image in Late Medieval Monastic Devotions,泭Viator泭20 (1989): pp. 161-82.
[61]The influence of Pseudo-Bonaventures泭Meditationes泭Vitae Christi泭and Ludolphs泭Vita Christi泭in Catalonia by the late fourteenth century has been widely published. The arrival of empathic devotional practices in Castile is less well documented, but it is clear from the popularity of, for example, the iconography of the Piet by the early fifteenth century that it was already gaining ground. See, for example, Matilde Miquel, Pintura, devoci籀n泭y piedad en Toledo a principios del siglo XV,泭Bolet穩n del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao泭7 (2013): pp. 49-87. For a brief summary of the spread of Christocentric devotional practices in Iberia see Justin Kroesen,泭Staging the Liturgy: the Medieval Altarpiece in the Iberian Peninsula泭(Leuven: Peeters, 2009), pp. 355-361.
[62]Bango Torviso, El espacio para enterramientos privilegiados, p. 118. The choice of three figures positioned in this way rather than four may seem odd, but it is not in itself unique. Jacques Moreau designed a tomb circa 1451 for Ren矇 dAnjou which was to be surrounded by three standing knights and three seated ladies reading their Books of Hours: R. A. Lecoy de la Marche,泭Le Roi Ren矇, sa vie, son administration, ses travaux artistiques et litt矇raires, dapr癡s les documents in矇dits des archives de France et dItalie泭(Paris: Firmin-Didot fr癡res, fils et cie, 1875), 3: pp. 99-104.
[63]See Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, Jean de Cambrai. Sculpteur de Jean de France, duc de Berry, in泭Monuments et m矇moires publi矇s par lAcad矇mie des inscriptions et belles-lettres泭63 (1980): pp. 167-86; Susie Nash, The works for Jean de Berry at Bourges and Mehun-sur-Y癡vre, in Susie Nash (ed.),泭No Equal in Any Land,泭pp. 144-77.
[64]Ara Gil,泭Escultura g籀tica, pp. 196-97.
[65]On the Berry figures, see Erlande-Brandenburg, Jean de Cambrai, p. 157; on the figures in Halle see J. W. Steyaert et al.,泭Late Gothic Sculpture: The Burgundian Netherlands泭(Ghent; New York: Harry N. Abrahams, 1994), p. 68; on those depicted by van der Weyden, see Susie Nash,泭Northern Renaissance Art泭(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 243.
[66]M. Grandmontagne, Fassungslose Figuren. Materialkonzepte zweier spanischer Grablegen im Spiegel von Claus Sluters Werken f羹r die Kartause von Champmol, in B. Borng瓣sser Klein, H. Karge & B. Klein (eds.),泭Grabkunst und Sepulkralkultur in Spanien und Portugal.泭Arte funerario y cultura sepulcral en Espa簽a y Portugal泭(Frankfurt am Main; Madrid: Vervuert, Iberoamericana, 2006), p. 95n13.
[67]The Castilian convention of decorating tomb chests with narrative imagery, saints, weepers, and heraldry is demonstrated, for example, in Mar穩a Jes繳s G籀mez B獺rcena,泭Escultura g籀tica funeraria en Burgos泭(Burgos: Diputac穩on Provincial de Burgos, 1988).
[68]See, e.g., K. Woods, The Master of Rimini and the Tradition of Alabaster Carving in the Early Fifteenth-Century Netherlands, in A. S. Lehmann, F. Scholten and P. Chapman (eds.),泭Meaning in Materials: Netherlandish Art, 1400-1800泭(Leiden: Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, 2012), p. 62.
[69]S. Nash, The Lords Crucifix of Costly Workmanship: Colour, Collaboration and the Making of Meaning on the Well of Moses, in V. Brinkmann, O. Primavesi, & M. Hollein (eds.),泭Circumlitio: The Polychromy of Antique and Medieval Sculpture泭(Munich: Hirmer, 2010), pp. 356-381.
[70]See, e.g., Molina de la Torre,泭Valladolid, pp. 40-41. The ongoing debate over the quatrain on the Ghent Altarpiece illustrates the difficulties inherent in evaluating medieval inscriptions.
[71]Caja 7, Expt. 13, ASCT, and Caja 2, Expt. 22, ASCT. Villase簽or claims that construction must have been ended by 1431 on the basis the bull, but it seems more likely that of the bull was obtained in advance of the chapels completion. See Villase簽or Sebasti獺n, Nuevas aportaciones, p. 1039.
[72]See above and note 28.
[73]Nicol獺s Franc矇s, to whom the Salda簽a Retable is attributed, is documented as having completed the huge泭retablo泭mayor泭of Le籀n Cathedral by 1434, making another commission in the run up to its completion unlikely. See S獺nchez Cant籀n,泭Nicol獺s Franc矇s, p. 9.
[74]These children were Pedro V矇lez de Guevara, circa 1442-1477; and Constanza V矇lez de Guevara, circa 1443- 1505.
[75]My thanks to Javier Mart穩nez de Aguirre and Tom Nickson, whose explanations about the construction process and possible revisions to it have been extremely helpful.
[76]The shields are unlikely to have been commissioned after Lunas return to court in 1443 as by then Salda簽a had gone over to the rebels.
[77]Clementina Julia Ara Gil, El siglo XV. Influencia europea y singularidad castellana, in A. Garc穩a Sim籀n (ed.),泭Historia de una cultura: Castilla y Le籀n en la historia de Espa簽a泭(Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y Le籀n, 1995-1996), p. 115.
[78]It may be that Pedros and/or Ferrandos bones were interred in the crypt where at least five skulls have been found. Only the arms of Fern獺n L籀pez de Salda簽a and his two wives appear on the stairs leading down to the crypt.
[79]Garc穩a de Salazar,泭Las bienandanzas e fortunas,泭p. 58.
[80]Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, pp. 181-83 and 188-90, notes 101-9.
[81]This is documented in F-6, fols. 1-42v, CSyC RAH; M-71, fols. 214-218, CSyC RAH; and M-108, fol. 14, CSyC RAH.
[82]Gonzalo de la Hinojosa,泭Continuaci籀n de la cr籀nica de Espa簽a, ed. Feliciano Ram穩rez de Arellano (Vaduz: Kraus Reprint, 1966), p. 137. A Castilian dobla was worth 200 maravedis, and it was clearly considered at the time to be an extraordinary sum.
[83]The right spandrel displays the arms of the V矇lez de Guevara and Ayala families impaled dexter with the castle and lion of the monarchy. As this quartering is not found elsewhere in relation to Isabel V矇lez de Guevara, these arms are likely to belong to Pedro, perhaps granted to him on account of the military service which led to his premature death in 1477. On this type of concession, see A. Garc穩a Carraffa,泭Enciclopedia her獺ldica y geneal籀gica hispano-americana泭(Madrid, 1919), 9: p. 204. These arms to do not appear on the steps leading down to the crypt.
[84]Ceballos-Escalera y Gila, Generaci籀n y semblanza, p. 196.
DOI: 泭10.33999/2019.50