A Master by the Name of Mateo

Master Mateo's work on the cathedral included completion of the naves and the execution of his own project, which began with the Portico of Glory and its exterior facade, and concluded with the cathedral's consecration in 1211.

Mateo's facade, which was organized over 3 streets and 4 registers, was probably made between 1188 and 1211. It featured a large rose window that occupied the top of the central section.

This set is also from the missing facade by Mateo, and was part of an eave that ran along the edge of the first section of the central part.

It comprises 5 elements made up of rounded arches sheltering busts of angels with outstretched wings, carrying books and phylacteries (boxes containing scriptural passages).

This sculpture of David would have been situated in the central part of the primitive facade, as a precursor of the Savior. This would justify its position in the same place in the same pillar as Saint John the Baptist, in the narthex of the Portico of Glory.

Solomon would have been in the front pillar, in an identical position to the sculpture of his father, David, in relation to the Queen of Sheba. However, there would have been another figure between them both in the door jamb.

The prophets were also portrayed in the Portico of Glory. In this case, there is a depiction of Isaac, who holds a card with an inscription that is no longer legible.

The work to the cathedral facade between 1519 and 1521 involved its 3 doors, and it was necessary to take down the column statues and reliefs added by Master Mateo and his team in order to finish the decoration and iconography on the portico.

These two sculptures depicting the elderly characters Elijah and Enoch belonged to the primitive facade. Wearing halos, they are barefoot with their left legs bent. They are dressed in tunics and cloaks which, although powerful in effect, are not enough to conceal the rounded shapes of the bodies beneath them.

It is important to note this head alongside the column statues, as it provides some valuable information about how the Portico figures were carved in Master Mateo's workshop. The head was sculpted independently from the statue on which it sat, which has since been lost.

The crypt symbolizes the earthly realm that exists before Glory, which is represented on the floor above. Unlike the latter, it relies on celestial bodies to illuminate it.

By the time the cathedral was consecrated in 1211, Mateo's choir had been completed. It remained standing until 1604, when it was torn down to make way for new wooden stalls. These were built to a design requested by Archbishop Juan de Sanclemente to suit the latest liturgical customs of the period.

The high choir stalls consisted of a stone pew with alternating blind arches and corbels, which supported columns marking out seats separated by braces. They also held panels with cresting featuring complex iconography, which was decipherable by those who were suitably educated.

The facade of the retrochoir (space behind the high altar) made by Master Mateo, in the fourth section of the nave, was presided over by a tympanum dedicated to the Epiphany (now lost). To the left was a relief featuring horses from the entourage of the Magi or Three Kings.