Minor or Major? Castilian Tabernacle-Altarpieces and Monumental Arts

Abstract

This article explores the origins and distinctive features of castilian tabernaclealtarpieces. Less attention will be paid to the well-known examples of the fourteenth century (as for example the castildelgado and yurre altarpieces) and the focus will be on a number of poorly preserved, fragmented and altered examples of the late thirteenth century, for which proposals of reconstruction are provided in some instances. to investigate the origins of castilian tabernacle-altarpieces, this study centres on several thirteenth-century sculptures that were made prominent by being placed either before back panels or within baldachins. These displays are usually regarded as the forerunners of genuine tabernacle-altarpieces. In this context, special attention is paid to the images of the Virgin and child in the church of Villalcázar de sirga (Palencia). concerning the distinctive features of castilian tabernacle-altarpieces, the text points out the relationship between the earliest tabernacle-altarpieces and the locally produced monumental and tomb sculpture, which in all likelihood served as a model for these early altarpieces.