The restoration of the “Altar de los Reyes” (Altarpiece of the Kings) in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, commonly called the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral has been finalized.
Created by Jerónimo de Balbás between 1718 - 1737 this unique masterpiece of colonial art in Churringuresque Baroque style weight over 20 tons and reaches a height of 25 metres that has survived earthquakes and fires was restored using the “hatching” technique based on the application of dots to preserve the uniform sheen of the gilding across the entire surface, highlighting its stunnoing intricate, ornate structure after years of damage.
The retablo serves as the masterpiece of the chapel within the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City, showcasing the first major example of “estipite” *inverted cone) columns in Mexico.
The Altarpiece of the Kings is a key example of the Churrigueresque style, a 17th - 18th century Spanish “ultra Baroque” artistic movement that influenced architecture throughout the region, characterized by extreme, opulent surface ornamentation and theatrically, named after the Churriguera family, consisted of at least two generations of Spanish sculptors and architects, originally from Barcelona.
This style features highly decorative façades, gilded altarpieces, broken pediments, and twisted columns, often focusing intense, chaotic details around doorways and second spaces, highlighted by a central element, the “estipite” a non - structural, ornamental pilaster shaped like an inverted cone or obelisk, often topped with complex floral or geometric decoration.
The piece of the Altarpiece of the Kings in the Metropolitan Cathedral is made of wood, fully gilded in gold leaf, featuring twelve sculptures of canonized kings and queens, alongside, Juan Rodríguez Juárez paintings of the Adoratio of the Magi and the Assumption of the Virgin.
The altarpiece involved extensive, years - long labour, primarily led by Jerónimo de Balbás, a Spanish architect active during the 18th century who created the altgarpiece for the tabernacle of the Seville Cathedral which was destroyed in 1824, and he was also involved in working on parts of other Spanish cathedrals.
The restoration of the “Altar de los Reyes” ensures that this unique key piece of Spanish American Colonial Baroque art remain intact and visible in the heart of Mexico City.
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Thanks a lot to read and note.