Part 2 of the Exhibition Camino El Origen (The Way The Origin) which was held between days March 13 and September 13 of this year 2015 in the Museum Centro Gaiás in the Ciudad de la Cultura of Santiago de Compostela.
Click Here for Part 1.
Room 6
Iconography of Saint James.
The Apostle Saint James has been portrayed in different semblances throughout the history of art. In each of his iconographies he is represented with a different meaning. Thus, while the Seated Saint James reminds us of his condition of Magister, and in representations of different periods he evokes the image of the Portico of Glory or the coronation tradition, his condition as apostle – barefoot and holding a book in one hand – or as a pilgrim, have become common portrayals reminiscent of the gospel preaching tradition and the dissemination of The Way. Of course, we must not forget that, in addition, it is his condition as knight, or as Saint James the Moor-slayer, which turns him into the protector of the kingdoms of Hispania in his battle to free the peninsula from Moslem dominion. In the Codex Calixtinus this mission makes it possible for the Apostle to be the one who urges the emperor Charlemagne to lead his army to liberate his sepulchre and The Way. His miraculous apparition was responsible for the victory in the uncertain battle of Clavijo.
Saint James in majesty. Anonymous, ca. 1340. Granite. 109 x 60 x 58 cm. Church of Santiago de Ribadavia, Ourense.
Seated Saint James. Anonymous, 14th century. Polychrome granite. 103 x 73 x 48 cm. Church of San Martiño de Neda, A Coruña.
Saint James the Elder.From the parish church of Alcoletge (Lleida). Jaume Ferrer, 15th century. Tempera on panel. 182 x 113 x 10 cm. Museu de Lleida: diocesá i comarcal.
Room 7
Dürer.
Albrecht Dürer, more commonly known in Spain as Alberto Durero, is the author of this portrait. During a period of absolute dominion of the sacred theme, the German engraver and painter consolidated the religious image, endowing it with a new expressivity and relevance which characterized his works from the last decades of his lifetime. This can be seen in the head of Saint James the Elder, one of the masterpieces in this exhibit and which is kept at the Galleria Degli Uffizi in Florence.
Dating from 1516, it is paired with the head of Felipe and both, very probably, are part of a collection of twelve heads of apostles, premonitory examples of the “severities of the Reformation”.
This portrait of Saint James is the preamble of what we can be witnessed in the series of the four apostles that Dürer completed in 1526. There, a new expressivity, simpler and more sober, reflects his new ideology resulting from the preaching of Martin Luther. “The Reformation acted with its terrible severity: the features contract, the line coils, twisting the strands of the long beard; de colouring darkens, becoming almost monochrome, with few tones…”.
The Apostle Saint James. Albrecht Dürer. 16th century. Oil on panel. 46 x 37 cm. Instituti museali della Soprintendenza per il Polo Museale Fiorentino. Galleria Degli Uffizi, Florence (Italy).
Room 8
Saint James the knight.
The condition of Saint James as knight or warrior is directly associated to his condition as patron and protector of the Hispanic monarchy and all of its territories, both in the Iberian peninsula as in America. Although it is not possible to establish a clear prevalence between this portrayal and the story of the battle of Clavijo, it is this condition which directly links the Apostle with the Crown.
The battle of Clavijo took place in 844, when Ramiro I refused to continue paying the tribute of the one hundred maidens –fifty nobles and fifty commoners- to the Emirate of Cordoba. The battle site would have been in mount Lanturce, near Logroño.
As had previously happened with Charlemagne, Saint James appeared before Ramiro in dreams urging him not to give up and to persevere in the battle. The saint told him that he would descend from heaven to assist the Christian troops.
Saint James the moor-slayer. Domingos Nogueira, 1620-1630. Oil on canvas. 183,2 x 141 cm. Museo de Arte Sacra de Moura, Beja (Portugal).
Saint James the moor-slayer. Gothic. Aragón school, 16th century. Oil on wood. 129 x 69,20 x 7,50 cm. Lázaro Galdiano Foundation, Madrid.
The Apostle Saint James. Aanonymous, 16th century. Gilded and coloured wood sculpture. 180 x 100 cm. Brotherhood and Fraternity of the Vera Cruz, Belén and Santiago Apóstol from Pilas, Sevilla.
Room 9
Murillo.
The painter from Seville depicts the Apostle Saint James the Elder, son of Zebedee, in a huge portrait, larger than half-length, before a lightened neutral background where he is facing the spectator, whom he seems to observe carefully and inquisitively. He wears a dun coloured habit and red tunic; in his left hand he holds a book reminiscent of his condition as apostle and in his right hand he holds the staff that is allusive to his quality of pilgrim, which is strengthened with the presence of a scallop shell attached to the cloak. These attributes were used by pilgrims who, on their return journey placed them on their garments or on their hat to provide proof of their success.
The overall earthy tones of the canvas are interrupted by the presence of light, which illuminates that which interests the painter: the hands, the spine of the book and, especially, the saint´s face, which is noteworthy and probably the portrait of someone famous, or perhaps it was based on the sketch of a live model.
Saint James the Pilgrim. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, ca 1655. Oil on panel. 134 x 197 cm. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.
Room 10
This room does not have any text printed on the wall.
Top fragment of the window from the Basilica of Alfonso III. Anonymous. 10th century. Granite. 36.2 x 54.5 x 20.5 cm. Museo de la Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
The next fundamental theme of the exhibition starts here: The Way.
Room 11
The Origins of A Way.
The apostolic aedicula is the fundamental piece and the ultimate “raison d´etre” of the cathedral of Compostela. It is a Roman mausoleum from the end of the 1st century B.C.
Known though medieval documents as domuncula (little apostolic house), it consisted of a raised memorial shrine – cella memoriae – which gave access to the vaulted sepulchral chamber. The mausoleum also included a later construction that served as a passageway, dating from the middle of the 2nd century.
Of special interest is the second floor level, Paleochristian – from the middle of the 2nd century – with plant decoration, and the Altar of Antealtares, which reads “dedicated to the Manes gods. Atia Moeta, by testamentary provision, ordered this epitaph to be placed for the eternal rest of Viria Moeta, her extremely good granddaughter, aged sixteen, and provided for her own burial”.
There are a large number of archaeological remains that were found in this aedicule, which was converted into a crypt since its discovery at the beginning of the 9th century, and from the subsequent excavations from the end of the 19th century, conducted by A. López Ferreiro, and from the 20th century.
Numismatic ensemble from the apostle´s aedicula. Various mints, 10th-12th centuries. Vellón (copper and silver alloy coin) and silver. Museo Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
Mosaic remains from the apostle´s aedicula. Anonymous. 4th or 5th centuries A.D. Museo Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
Altar and crypt of the Apostle Saint James. Antonio López Ferreiro, 1891. Ink on paper. 26 cm. Archivo de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela.
History of the Apostle Ihesu Christo Santiago Zebedeo. Mauro Castella Ferrer, 1610. Printed in the Office of Alonso Martín Balboa, Madrid. Ink printed on paper. 28 x 23 x 6 cm. Archivo Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
King Alfonso II with his court offering the Cross of the Angels. Anonymous, middle of the 16th century. Gilded and painted wood. 44,4 x 30,9 cm. Church museum Council of the Catedral de Oviedo. Catedral de Oviedo.
Concordia de Antealtares. Compostela, 17th August 1077. Notary copy from 1435 by Fernán Eanes of the lost original. Parchment. 38,5 x 34,5 cm. Arquivo Histórico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela.
Room 12
The Roads to Santiago.
In practice, the Way of Saint James consists of many roads whose starting point cannot be found, for it begins when pilgrims actually start their journey.
However, that road, which is made by walking, where pilgrims each mark their own path towards Compostela, eventually adopts a personality and meaning of its own. It ceases to be a succession of footprints to become the sum of milestones and stops: cities, villas, sites, bridges, sanctuaries, hospitals.
The roads to Santiago, whether the French Way, the Primitive Way, the Portuguese ways, the Vía de la Plata or the Coastal Route, have ended au becoming physical, emotional and above all spiritual routes.
General view of the room.
Partial view of the room.
Saint James. From the church of Saint Pierre D´Auch. Anonymous, 19th century. Enamelled ceramic. 62 x 50 x 30 cm. Deposit of the Musée des Jacobines. Abbaye de Flaran, Auch (France).
Tondo of Saint James the Elder. Anonymous, 1500. Coloured glass. 16 mm. Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen-Age, Paris (France).
Saint James Pilgrim from Frómista. Anonymous, 15th century. Painted wood. 150 x 50 cm. Church of San Martín de Frómista, Palencia.
Saint James Pilgrim from Beltza. Anonymous, 14th century. Gilded and painted wood. 190 x 40 x 30 cm. Church of Santiago el Mayor. Puente la Reina, Navarra.
Saint James in the battle of Clavijo. Brabante atelier, ca. 1515-1520. Painted wood. 82 x 67 x 22 cm. Museo de las Ferias. Deposit of the church of Santiago el Real, Medina del Campo, Valladolid.
Romanesque Christ from Nuestra Señora de la Encina. Anonymous, 13th century. Painted Wood. 170 x 111 cm. Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Encina, Ponferrada, León.
Crucifix of Ordoño II. Rhine atelier functioning in León, ca. 1060. Gold and cedar wood. 22 x 15 x 2,5 cm. Museo Catedral de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela.
Fierro cross from Foncebadón. Anonymous, 15th century. Iron. 80,5 x 46 x 3 cm. Museo de los Caminos. Diocese of Astorga, León.
Christ crucified from the Church of San Juan de Ortega. Anonymous, 12th century. Ivory. 13 x 13 x 2 cm. Museo del Retablo. Church of San Esteban, Burgos.
Reliquary bust of Saint James. Anonymous, 17th century. Painted wood. 48 cm. height. Church of Saint-Jacques d´Asquins. Yonne, Commune d´Asquins. Bourgogne (France).
The part of the exhibition in the First Floor ends here. Now we climb to the Second Floor.
End of Part 2.
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