The Catholic Monarchs with Saints Helen and Barbara

This panel was part of an altarpiece. The museum also has another scene from the same altarpiece depicting the scene of the Mass of Saint Gregory. According to a handwritten note by José Lázaro Galdiano himself, when he bought the two pieces they were no longer part of the altarpiece, and had been reused to make a reliquary. While being adapted for this new purpose, the lower part of the painting, which originally depicted two hassocks with crowns, was cut off. It was this that led the collector, at the time, to believe it to be one of the earliest portraits of the Catholic Monarchs. However, this attribution does not really correspond to the subjects' appearance, which more closely resembles the facial features painted by the "Master of Manzanillo." Saints Helen and Barbara, who are frequently depicted in other royal portraits, also appear at the top.