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Choir stall

Rodrigo Alemán1500

Museo Nacional de Escultura

Museo Nacional de Escultura
Valladolid, Spain

Reused as chair of the Penance Canon, it is safe to assume this piece was the sample shown by the sculptor Rodrigo Aleman to make the choral group of the Cathedral of Plasencia. Sold at the beginning of the 20th century, it was recovered by the State in 1992. Its structure agrees with the common diagram for this type of furniture. A high back shows an exquisite representation of Saint Peter, symbol of the church authority delegated to the bishop, showing the typical symbols: the keys and the book. His vessels and mercy seats are decorated with moral figures. The ones in the vessels, a bear dressed in a church habit and an exhibitionist bag-piper seem to symbolize the carnal desires while the theme of the mercy seat "Phillys riding Aristotle" is a clear reference to the power of passion over intellect. This last theme, present in other chairs of that time, is inspired from a classical story that narrates how Alexander the Great was reprimanded by his master Aristotle due to his relation with a courtesan, Phyllis, who swears vengeance, seducing the philosopher and making him take the role of the mount. All the figures are treated with great thoroughness and richness with details in the hair locks or the hands with long fingers and marked veins, showing the clothes with typical pleats, very broken, that helps reinforce the volume outlines.

Details

  • Title: Choir stall
  • Creator Nationality: German
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Date Created: 1500
  • place of origin: Catedral de Plasencia, Cáceres
  • Sculptor: Rodrigo Alemán
  • Physical Dimensions: w90 x h347 x d90 cm
  • Type: Sculpture
  • External Link: CERES

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