Cathedral of Santa Maria of Leon. 17 x 8 x 21 cm.

Description

Model of the Cathedral of León, made of marble reconstituted with resin.

Measurements: 17 x 8 x 21 cm.

Cathedral of Santa María de León. The Pulchra Leonina, the Gothic cathedral of León, has its foundations on the pre-Romanesque and Romanesque buildings built, respectively, by bishops Frunimio II (915-928) and Pelayo (1065-1078).

Although the construction of the temple we admire here was the initiative and personal efforts of Bishop Manrique de Lara (died in 1205), work did not begin until the second half of the 13th century (1255), coinciding with the beginning of the episcopate of Don Martín Fernández (1254-1289) and thanks to the support of a good friend, the monarch Alfonso X.

The completion of the temple is usually placed in the early years of the 14th century (around 1303), when Don Gonzalo Osorio was bishop. Both its cruciform plan – with three naves, transept and ambulatory – and the elevation – in which the dematerialisation of the wall predominates – show clear French influences (Reims, Amiens and Beauvais). The search for light, essential in the aesthetic-constructive approach of the Gothic style, is reflected in the predominance of the span over the wall, with stained-glass windows that reach here one of the highest levels of virtuosity.