PhD Program in Historical studies
Palacio Riquelme and the Charterhouse of Jerez de la Frontera
The economic importance which Jerez de la FronteraJerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cadiz, has a history which is closely linked to the Arab occupation. The first part of the name, Jerez, derives from the Arabic language, while the second part, de la Frontera, was added after the reconquest by the Christians because it was the border with the Muslim kingdom of Granada. Between the sixteenth and seventeenth century it had a golden age, as evinced by large urban growth and the presence of numerous foreign merchants. acquired attracted a large number of merchants, artists, and religious. The Genoese artistic influence is evident in two buildings: Palacio Riquelme and the Charterhouse.
The construction of Palacio Riquelme began in the sixteenth century. Currently the interior is very deteriorated, but the exterior continues to be one of the best examples of the Genoese influence on the nobility of Jerez. Several members of the RiquelmeA family of Aragonese origin, of which a branch moved to Jerez between the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. While not noble, they attained great economic power, through which they acquired a group of houses to build their palace. Next to it, the church of San Mateo (Saint Matthew) was used as a burial chapel of the Riquelme family. clan became interested in raising and restructuring this building. The palace is situated in the old market square, which no longer exists, where in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the city’s most important economic transactions took place. In this way, therefore, the Riquelme presided over the central economic space of the town, around which the colony of Genoese merchants and bankers congregated. The façade of the building (photo 1), the construction of which dates back to 1542, is divided into two parts and has an iconographic program that aims to celebrate the Riquelme family and is evidence of the economic power it had reached in the sixteenth century. In the lower body the door stands out, with composed columns on the sides. To crown the façade there is an entablature which dominates the upper body and on which there is a large window, flanked by small columns in rows, and a lintel resting on two shelves placed above two chained mythological lions. The decoration is linked to classical mythology, as the two figures of Hercules on the sides demonstrate. Medallions and shields with the insignia of Riquelme surround the door. The influence of Genoese art emerges in some elements such as the capitals of the external columns, which follow a model imported in Jerez from the Italian community of Genoese merchants.
Other examples of Italian marble columns with characteristic capitals are visible in the cloister of the monastery (cartuja) of Santa María de la Defensión (photo 2), located on the outskirts of the city. Don Álvaro de Obertos ValetoA noble born in Jerez (1427-1482) who was buried in the Carthusian monastery which he had founded in the city. He gave all his possessions to the monks to finance the construction of the monastery. was a nobleman of Genoese origin who founded the Carthusian monastery, then selling it in 1476. The construction of the monastery was completed in 1620. The spectacular façade was designed by architect Andrés de RiberaAndrés de Ribera was the artist who designed most of the buildings and the most valuable decorative elements of Jerez de la Frontera. In the second half of the sixteenth century he was appointed Maestro Mayor de las obras (Chief master of construction work) of the city, introducing its Renaissance style. (1571), in the form of a triumphal arch. The interior of the church is richly decorated with wall paintings and plaster works and the influence of Baroque art is evident in it: the shrine, the railings, the altarpieces and vaults date back to the mid-seventeenth century. In the capilla mayor (main chapel), there were paintings by important artists like Zurbarán, now exhibited in the Museum of Cadiz.