PhD Program in Historical studies
The sculpture collections. The Colegio de San Gregorio and the golden age of Spanish sculpture
The collection preserved here is the spearhead of the entire museum. The works of polychromed wood all have intense personality, on account of their artistic quality and original technique; for the emotional force and pathos that the sacred images emit. They are an effective witness of the spiritual, cultural and political life of Spain in the Early Modern period. The interest and the quality of this collection are to be explained by considering the role Valladolid played in the Early Modern era as the capital of the Kingdom and the occasional residence of the kings. The cosmopolitan atmosphere fueled active patronage which attracted artists and writers and favored trade with the most vibrant sectors of European art.
A visit that winds through twenty rooms, the works, carved in wood and painted, bears witness to the heyday of the history of Spanish art from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, and offers a wide repertoire: single figures, reliefs, tombs, sillerías and retablos. To this must be added coffered ceilings in wood, that make the dialogue between the building and the works in it even clearer. Do not forget the fifteenth century chapel (Room 0) that occupies a singular place in the prestigious Colegio de San Gregorio.
For their religious theme, the works of the museum belong to a special category of objects: they are sacred images, ideally halfway between the visible and the invisible, with a ritual function and intended for a devout society. Located in places of worship, they were part of arrangements which are today lost or dismembered. This can give the impression at times that they are disproportionate, having been designed as components of a larger structure, or that they have remained incomplete. The museum changes the sacred use of such works, and proposes instead to bring centuries of the past to the present day, to admire them, discover details in them which have never been noticed before and fully enjoy their beauty and their historical value.
Even painting occupies a unique place within the permanent exhibition. The dialogue with sculpture allows the visitor to better understand the artistic culture of Spain. The presence of painting stands out in polychrome wood, in the practice of many artists, as in the case of Berruguete or Alonso CanoAlonso Cano (1601-1667), among the greatest Spanish artists of the seventeenth century, was born and died in Granada. He was also active at court, where he was singled out by his friend Velázquez. Accused of murdering his wife in 1644, he became a monk, taking refuge in Valencia. Thanks to the protection of Philip IV, he returned to Madrid and assumed the post of superintendent of the Cathedral of Granada. He worked at the cathedral of his native city until the last days of his life, and was buried in it., who cultivated both art forms, or in the cooperation between the workshops of painters and sculptors for joint projects.