Beware of the Rug: If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 480

Thursday, December 3, 2020

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 480

The High Altar of the Avila Cathedral, Spain, ca 1963

This 1963 used postcard has a photograph of the High Altar area in the Avila, Spain Cathedral of the Saviour (Catedral de Cristo Salvador). Located in the south of Old Castile, Spain it is a Roman Catholic church. Printed on the reverse, the mid line and lower right bottom of the card, give Manipel as the distributor with Fournier – Vitoria .

It is possible that there was an earlier Romanesque Church of the Saviour at this location and that work to build a new cathedral there began in 1091 by Alvar García. What is known for certain; however, is that Alfsonso VIII hired the master builder, Fruchel, and initiated the construction of the present structure in 1172. It is one of the first two Gothic style cathedrals in Spain. Additional construction and modifications continued into the 1600s. The enormous altar piece shown on the postcard was begun by the Spanish painter, Pedro Berruguete (ca 1450-1504), in the late 1400s and the beginning of the 1500s.

Berruguete’s works include 8 images representing naturalism, and 2 boards portraying the “Prayer in the Garden” and the “Flagellation.” He used gold backgrounds and the rigid compositions of the prevailing style in Castile at that time. Berruguete died before the work was completed and his assistant, Santos Cruz, completed three works, “the Crucifixion,” “the Resurrection,” and “the Epiphany.” The rest of the paintings are by a High Renaissance painter, Juan de Borgoña (ca 1470-1536). He was known to use well balanced compositions with finely drawn figures in elegant and tranquil poses. The scenes often included open spaces and craggy landscapes.

Looking at the picture on the card one can notice the difference between the panels on the lower tier and the larger paintings with landscaped backgrounds on the two upper tiers. “The Crucifixion” is the top center painting.