The Main Chapel of San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo
1485 - 1490. Pencil on parchment.Not on display
A cross-section of the sanctuary of the church at the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo, founded by queen Elizabeth I in 1477. This image of the proposed construction differs considerably from the finished building, which lacks the clerestory or gallery and has a much wider and more simply ribbed dome. The final decoration of the squinches and windows is completely different, as the latter have no sculptural adornments at all. The present drawing most closely resembles the completed construction in its depiction of the lateral parts of the transept. Construction began after 1477 and the transept’s interior decoration was carried out before 1492, as the pomegranate does not appear on the royal coats of arms that decorate its walls. Work continued until 1504, following Guas’s death. Besides the coats of arms of the Catholic Monarchs, which appear in various parts of the chapel, the decoration includes several of Ferdinand and Isabella’s yoke-and-arrow emblems as well as statues of saints and kings of arms. An inscription on the cornice under the gallery reads a servicio de dios... e ... ab ... as: del mes: año de nacymiento: de ... o ... vador... chu xpo. de ivcccclx... but the inscription visible in the temple today is different. The altarpiece shows Saint John the Evangelist and the path to Calvary at the center, with King Ferdinand the Catholic and Saint John the Baptist on the left and Queen Isabella with Saint Anthony and Saint Peter the Martyr on the right. Christ’s body with the Virgin Mary and Saint John appear on the predella, with Saints Peter, Paul, James and Andrew on the sides. The base molding reads: o gloriosa; domina ecelsa: supra sydera qui te creavi provide... etati sacro... ere o mater dey: virgo: memento mey. But, while this carefully designed altarpiece appears in the project, it was probably never actually made. In the 18th century, Ponz mentions, but does not describe, an altarpiece consisting entirely of paintings (Text drawn from Pérez Sánchez, A. E.: Dibujos españoles siglos XV-XVII, Museo del Prado, Catálogo de dibujos, 1972, pp. 17-18).