25 June

Painting in the cathedral of Pamplona

Alejandro Aranda Ruiz
Cultural Heritage. Archbishopric of Pamplona and Tudela.

Some considerations about the painting of the cathedral

Among the different artistic manifestations that the cathedral treasures, painting is one of the most important. Before starting our walk, we will make some considerations that will serve as a context for what we are going to see here.

First of all, the cathedral has examples ranging from the early 14th century - the Crucifixion Tablet - to the 19th century - canvases of the Prayer in the Garden and the Last Supper. Consequently, the cathedral houses examples of the main pictorial styles, from Gothic to Neoclassicism.

As for their origin, although most of the paintings are of Navarrese or Pamplona origin, there are also canvases of Castilian, Madrid, Flemish or Italian school. Most of the documented painters are local, such as Lucas de Pinedo in the 16th century, Carlos Berdusán in the 17th century, Pedro Antonio de Rada in the 18th century. Others are of courtly origin, such as Juan Ricci in the XVII century or Juan Gálvez in the XIX century. An exception is the Italian Giovanni Batista Salvi, known as Il Sassoferrato. 

Thirdly, we are faced with unoriginal works, very attached to the great repertoires of Flemish, German, French and Italian engravings. Most of the authors are not creators, but mere copyists, although it is true that the most experienced ones do not make literal copies of an engraving, but by combining several sources they are able to create a more or less original work. 

Fourth, little is known about the promoters and the context in which many of these works were conceived. However, we do know some of the patrons. In addition to the chapter, it is no coincidence that some of the personalities we will see this afternoon held the position of archdeacon of the Chamber, which was the dignity with the highest income in the cathedral and the one that could afford commissions of this subject. It is quite possible that other paintings are the result of the donation or spoliation of deceased canons.

We should also point out that some of these paintings can be seen in the exact place for which they were conceived -the set of paintings in the sacristy-. On the other hand, other works can be contemplated today out of their context, either because they have been moved -the altarpiece of Itoiz- or because it has disappeared -the back room that housed the canvases of the Last Supper and the Prayer in the Garden-. 

As far as iconography is concerned, since the end of the 16th century, "modern" saints predominate, that is, those who embody the values promoted by the Counter-Reformation, such as asceticism and penance. There are religious, founders or reformers of orders, such as St. Teresa of Jesus, St. Rose of Lima or St. Ignatius of Loyola. To these are added saints of medieval tradition, either by secular devotion - St. Christopher, St. Christina or St. Blaise - or some subject related to the person who commissioned the work - St. Benedict or St. Augustine. There are also representations of New Testament saints, such as Saint John the Baptist, and scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin, as in the canvases in the sacristy. Finally, there are representations of some of the great Marian advocations of Spain and Pamplona of the time, such as the Salus Populi Romani of Rome, the Virgin of Atocha of Madrid or the Virgin of the Way of Pamplona. 

1. Baptism of Christ (first half of the seventeenth century)

Although it can be dated to the first half of the seventeenth century, everything in this canvas breathes Renaissance: restraint, peace, serenity, balance and tendency to symmetry. We also observe several traits of mannerism, typical of the late sixteenth century, such as the affected posture of Christ with his hands crossed in front of his chest. The exquisiteness with which the landscape in the background is represented stands out. The colors are mostly cold: blues, whites, grays, dark greens, earths. The touch of warmth is provided by the red of the mantle of St. John the Baptist and the gold of the breaking of glory in the sky. 

It should be noted that the painting represents the baptism of Christ as an epiphany or manifestation of the divinity of Christ, since he is represented as one of the three persons of the Trinity. We see Christ, above his head the dove of the Holy Spirit and above, surrounded by angels, God the Father. 

Baptism of Christ, first half of the seventeenth century

2. Saint Theresa of Jesus (Carlos Berdusán, 1701)

This canvas is one of the few works signed by Carlos Berdusán. Son of the famous Tudela painter Vicente Berdusán, Carlos was born in Tudela in 1668 and learned the official document from his father, who was related to Juan Carreño de Miranda, of whom he preserved some "sketches and drawings".

The canvas depicts St. Teresa as a writer, in an ecstatic attitude, receiving the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the saint turns to one side with her head bowed and looks at the dove of the Holy Spirit, whose light illuminates, like the spotlight of a theater, the entire painting. 

3. Virgin of Atocha (Madrid school, second half of the seventeenth century)

Madrid school painting, from the second half of the 17th century. It is a trompe l'oeil to the divine in which the Virgin of Atocha, patron saint of the Spanish Monarchy, is represented. We can see the Virgin of the XII century in her dressing room, recreated thanks to a silver pedestal, wearing a rich apron, mantle and pearl rostrum to match a large necklace. She wears a rich crown and a large matching halo topped with flowers. 

This painting can be linked to the canon Domingo Pérez de Atocha, archdeacon of the Chamber, who may well have given this painting acquired by him for his staff devotion. 

4. Mystical nuptials of Saint Rose of Lima (attributed to Carlos Berdusán, early 18th century).

Attributed to Carlos Berdusán, the painting reproduces one of the most important episodes in the life of Saint Rose of Lima: the apparition of the Virgin of the Rosary to Saint Rose and her mystical betrothal to the Child Jesus.   

The composition is typically baroque: the curtain that reveals the scene as if it were a theater and the crossing of the two diagonals formed by the heads of the three characters and the altar table.  

5. San Cristóbal (Pedro Antonio de Rada, 1774)

In 1774 the chapter decided to replace the old altarpiece of St. Christopher with a painting of considerable dimensions, following the example of cathedrals such as Seville, Burgos, Zamora, León or Toledo. The one chosen for the work was Pedro Antonio de Rada, the most popular painter in 18th century Pamplona. Pedro Antonio was born around 1706 in Vitoria or Calahorra and ended up settling in Pamplona as a protégé of Bishop Gaspar de Miranda and painter of the social elites and institutions of the capital. 

The saint is represented with a monumental character, like a giant. The pastel tones and the sweetness and delicacy of the faces are typical of Rada's painting. 

6. Apotheosis or Triumph of St. Blaise (Buenaventura Salesa, ca. 1816)

This altar painting was part of an altarpiece dedicated to Saint Blaise that the chapter decided to build in 1807. The canons commissioned the painting to Buenaventura Salesa, the king's chamber painter who had been a disciple of Salvador Maella and had trained in Rome in the company of other painters such as Rafael Mengs.  

The painting is neoclassical in the prominence of the drawing. However, the subject matter, the composition and the bright colors are still baroque, since the saint is represented in glory, surrounded by angels, some of whom crown him with flowers while others carry the palm of his martyrdom and the attributes of the staff and the iron comb with which he was martyred. 

7. Set of paintings in the main sacristy (Pedro Antonio de Rada, 1760-1766)

Between 1760 and 1766 the old 16th century sacristy was covered with an impressive rococo decoration promoted by the archdeacon of the Chamber, Don Pedro Fermín de Jáuregui. The designer of all this decoration was the decorator Silvestre de Soria, who worked in the Royal Palace of Madrid. The pictorial decoration was entrusted to Pedro Antonio de Rada.

Rada elaborated the 14 canvases located in the lunettes and over the mirrored doors and drawers. In them he developed a double iconographic program. In the lunettes and on the doors he contrasts the figure of Eve - scene of the Original Sin - with that of the Virgin - scenes of the presentation in the Temple, the Annunciation, the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Flight into Egypt, Jesus with the Doctors, the Dormition and the Assumption.

On the drawers and mirrors of the consoles, it narrates the life of Christ: his passion -Prendition, the Flagellation, the Crucifixion and the Descent from the Cross- and his glorification -Resurrection and Ascension-. 

These canvases show an elegant, delicate and soft-colored painting, reproducing French and Flemish engravings from different periods, although not literally. 

8. Madonna praying (Giovanni Battista Salvi, 1609-1685)

Among the paintings in the sacristy that are not part of an iconographic program by Pedro Antonio de Rada, a Virgin praying stands out, attributed by José Luis Requena to the Italian Giovanni Battista Salvi (1609-1685), known as Il Sassoferrato. This author stood out among other things for consolidating this iconographic subject that the author borrowed from the Renaissance and updated and baroque. It is a painting of great delicacy and refinement, which transmits the peace and calm of the Renaissance, but with the colorful and luminous contrast of the Baroque. 

9. Last Supper and Prayer in the Garden (Juan Gálvez, 1831-1842)

In 1830 the Chapter commissioned the architect Pedro Manuel de Ugartemendía from San Sebastián to design a neoclassical choir presided over by the carving of the Crucifixion of Ancheta flanked by two canvases of the Last Supper and the Prayer in the Garden, whose realization would be entrusted in 1831 to the director of the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando and chamber painter of the king Juan Gálvez. Due to various circumstances, the paintings were not delivered until 1842 and were not installed until 1857.

In 1886 Madrazo described these paintings as "naked of all inspiration and cold as a hearth without fire". Don Mariano Arigita considered them in 1904 as "cold and mannered". And the fact is that we are faced with typically academic paintings, in which drawing and flat colors predominate. There are also references to classical antiquity in the ceiling and in the Doric columns of the Last Supper and in the aqueduct of the Prayer in the Garden.

Juan Gálvez, The Last Supper, 1831-1842

10. Paintings of the altarpiece of Saint Benedict (Lucas de Pinedo, 1632-1634, and Juan Ricci, 1651) 

The altarpiece of St. Benedict was promoted by the bishop of Pamplona Fray Prudencio de Sandoval between 1632 and 1634. The Calvary of the attic and the Fathers of the Church of the Bench were made by Lucas de Pinedo, from Burgos and settled in Pamplona, founder of the painters' guild of San Lucas de Pamplona and overseer of works of the bishopric and considered the best painter of Pamplona at the time. The fathers of the Church stand out for their quality, which seem to be authentic portraits. In 1651 the canvas made by the Benedictine friar Juan Ricci was placed in the body of the altarpiece. It represents the saint standing on a path, dressed in a black chasuble and looking at the sky from which a light seems to descend and illuminate him. He is represented as a holy founder, carrying the abbot's crosier and the book of the rule he wrote in the 6th century. 

John Ricci, St. Benedict, ca. 1651

11. Virgen del Camino (ca. 1730)

This trompe l'oeil serves as a window to the chapel of the Virgen del Camino in the parish of San Saturnino in Pamplona. The painting is practically a literal copy of the engraving made in 1721 by the Pamplona silversmith Juan José de la Cruz, which was taken to canvas on many occasions in Pamplona, Madrid and Mexico. 

The painting, made around 1730, represents the Virgin framed by curtains raised by two angels and from which hang the coats of arms of the burgh of San Cernin. In the middle appears the Virgin on a silver pedestal, richly dressed with crown, rostrillo, apron with numerous jewels and pinjantes and mantle. She is flanked by two silver ceroferarios angels in imitation of the Virgin of the Pillar of Zaragoza or the one of the Sagrario of Pamplona. Below, placed in cartouches with vegetal decoration, appear the patron saint of the city Saint Saturnino and that of the kingdom Saint Fermin with a coat of arms that combines those of Navarre and Pamplona.

Once again, it is probable that the origin of this canvas is some canon, since it was very common for the houses of Pamplona's high society to have canvases of the Virgen del Camino decorating their walls.