September 24

The Silos Workshop and l’Œuvre de Limoges. The altarpieces of Silos and San Miguel de Aralar. project de exhibition

Dr. Lourdes de Sanjosé Llongueras

The website degree scroll of the lecture provides information on the topic we have discussed. To help readers understand the artistic significance of these two altarpieces—the one in Silos and the one in San Miguel de Aralar—we have first and foremost defined the two techniques found in both: the champlevé enamel used on the enamel plaques and the vermiculated motif decorating the metal backgrounds. The differences between these two works allow us to see the parallels and differences that exist between the two workshops: Silos and Limoges. 

We have devoted the first part to the description and technical analysis of the front panel of Silos (Burgos Museum). We emphasize Muslim culture, the decoration of the Beatus of Silos, and the Byzantine tradition, as we consider them to be part of the Silos master’s artistic background. We have referred to its iconography centered on the Maiestas Domini, the Tetramorph, and the Apostles, highlighting its enamels and vermiculated decoration. We consider the analysis of the metal (copper) architecture, the columns and their compositional elements, as well as the framing, to be of the utmost importance in defining this workshop. 

We have devoted the second part to the description and analysis of the San Miguel altar frontal. Its iconography is more complex than that of the Silense altar frontal. It features the Maiestas Mariae, the Tetramorph, the apostles (six), and the Three Wise Men. There is one historically controversial scene which, in our opinion, depicts Saint Joseph and the Annunciation. We have also highlighted the series of enameled medallions (currently sixteen) placed on the pediment of the altar frontal. Our analysis of the architectural structure of the San Miguel altar frontal has been of particular interest to us—especially the mandorla, the columns, and their decorative motifs—due to the insights they have provided. 

The third part focuses on a comparison of the two altarpieces, with the one from Silos dating slightly earlier than the one from San Miguel. The most significant conclusions we have reached lead us to distinguish between two medieval enamel workshops: the one in Silos, with a very distinctive style, and the one in Limoges, which is widely known. 

The chief master of the Silos workshop is the creator of the enamels on its altarpiece; we attribute the master (and his workshop) responsible for the enamels on the figures of the San Miguel altarpiece to l’Œuvre de Limoges, likely the finest workshop of its time during the second half of the 12th century—the “Plantagenet style,” associated with that dynasty. 

We have identified the most significant characteristics that define Silos’s workshop: the fantastic birds, whose defining features we have analyzed—whether made of metal (columns, capitals, and bases) or enamel (framing)—and we have concluded that these characteristics served as the source of inspiration ( source ) for the enameled medallions on the façade of San Miguel. 

With regard to the wavy pattern decorating the metal backgrounds (Silos) and the enamel plates (Limoges), which displays great precision and technical skill in both cases, we have noted that they exhibit differences in execution, each reflecting the workshop that produced it. We have also identified other differences and similarities between the two works. 

And finally, the fourth section, in which we have publicly unveiled our “ project ” (The Art of the Cross) at exhibition. The aim is to present a “dialogue” between three representative altarpieces from both workshops, covering a period from the second half of the 12th century to the early 13th century. 

The facade of Silos, that of San Miguel de Aralar, and that of the Cathedral of San Martiño de Ourense (which has been dismantled), along with other works featuring enamel from these periods. The “ exhibition ” will consist of various sections. 

area 0, which sample explains how to make enamel, shows some of the materials and techniques used to produce enamel, as well as some tools and drawings to illustrate a workshop.

area 1 focuses on the front of the Silos Altarpiece (the period of its greatest splendor), ca. 1150–1189, along with other works from this workshop or attributed to it, as well as manuscripts that served as a source of inspiration source for the master.

area 2 is dominated by the altarpiece of Saint Michael, accompanied by other works located in Spain or abroad. Date: the second half of the 12th century. 

area 3 In this case, it is the (dismantled) façade of the Cathedral of San Martiño (Ourense) that inspired the “ area ”; it will be accompanied by works from Limoges dating from the first third of the 13th century. 

area 4. We will display pieces that we consider representative of the Silos and Limoges workshops. They will be accompanied by others made in the Silos or Limoges style, as well as pieces from the 19th century.