BAROQUE ALTARPIECE CHAPEL CHRIST OF THE BATTLES
30 minutesThe central apse chapel of the New Cathedral of Salamanca is dedicated to the Christ of the Battles and houses a prominent Baroque altarpiece created by Alberto de Churriguera, donated in 1733 by Bishop José Sancho Granado.
In its central niche, the Christ of the Battles is venerated, a Romanesque-Byzantine style crucifix that, according to tradition, belonged to El Cid Campeador. The image would have been brought to Salamanca by Jerónimo de Perigord, El Cid's chaplain and later bishop of the diocese after its restoration in 1102. Since 1744, his remains rest in a funerary tumulus located next to the altarpiece.
The ensemble is organized into three levels: predella, central body, and attic. In the main axis, the niche of the Crucified is opened, whose background displays reliefs of the sun and moon. This space is framed by a border of clouds and cherubs —some with the instruments of the Passion— and is flanked by four columns profusely decorated with rocaille. In the attic, two angels hold the spear and the sponge, while in the center, the dove of the Holy Spirit is placed, surrounded by a glory of angels.
This altarpiece has been included in the Constellation of Baroque Altarpieces of Salamanca route, a route that invites visitors to discover the splendor of Baroque art through some of the city's most prominent altarpieces.
Upon the death of El Cid and after the loss of Valencia, Jerónimo was appointed Bishop of Salamanca by Counts Raymond of Burgundy and Doña Urraca, daughter of King Alfonso VI. During his transfer to the city, the bishop brought with him the image of the Christ of the Battles, along with several donation documents signed by El Cid himself and by Doña Jimena. After his death, Jerónimo de Perigord was buried in a chapel located in the Epistle nave of the Old Cathedral, whose altarpiece was presided over by the image of the Christ of the Battles.
At the beginning of the 17th century, devotion to this image experienced a remarkable resurgence, motivated by a series of miraculous accounts attributed to its intercession. Eighteen of these miracles were represented in a mural painting that still decorates the wall of the Gospel nave of the Old Cathedral, opposite the location of the original altar of the Christ. During that period, a new altarpiece was made for the chapel that housed the image in the old temple.
With the completion of the works of the New Cathedral of Salamanca, the central chapel of the chancel was reserved for the Christ of the Battles. For this space, a magnificent Churrigueresque-style altarpiece was commissioned, financed by Bishop Sancho Granado and executed by Alberto de Churriguera. The image was transferred from the Old Cathedral in the year 1734.
The Christ of the Battles was restored between 2009 and 2012. The numerous layers of paint that concealed its original polychromy, which gave it its characteristic black color, were then removed. The figure currently housed in the altarpiece's niche is a copy made in the workshops where the restoration was carried out. The original is preserved in a methacrylate urn located on the altar, in front of the altarpiece. There are also two additional replicas: one in the chapel of San Clemente and another in the Main Chapel of the New Cathedral.
The altarpiece of the Christ of the Battles occupies the eastern wall of the central chapel of the chancel of the New Cathedral. Its arch conforms to the shape and measurements of the arcosolium that shelters it.
The structure of the altarpiece consists of a predella, a large central body, and its corresponding finial or attic. The niche where the image of the crucified Christ is located is cruciform in shape. At its back, reliefs of the sun and moon have been carved. A frieze of clouds and cherubs, some of which display instruments of the Passion, surrounds the niche. Four columns with shafts fully decorated with exuberant rocaille flank it. Four steps, in which an influence from Portuguese altarpieces has been seen, direct attention towards the image of Christ. In the attic, two young angels, with the spear and the sponge, ride on two volutes placed heavily upon the columns. In the middle, the dove of the Holy Spirit surrounded by a glory of angels.
The image we see today inside the niche is a copy. The original is displayed inside a methacrylate urn located on the altar. It is a Romanesque-Byzantine style crucifix that belonged to El Cid Campeador. It was brought to Salamanca by Jerónimo de Perigord, El Cid's chaplain, who was appointed bishop of Salamanca after the restitution of the Diocese in the year 1102. The image, barely 76 cm tall, presents four nails and a rigid and solemn expression. It wears a royal crown and a loincloth that falls to the knees, following the Byzantine model of Christ in Majesty. Both the Cross and the base - made of black wood with silver overlays - are 17th-century creations.
The multiple displays of devotion given throughout the centuries to the venerated image of the Christ of the Battles had as a negative consequence a progressive deterioration of the image. Transfers, processions, lit candles, and repainting transformed its original appearance, now recovered thanks to the restoration carried out between 2009-2012.
The remains of Bishop Don Jerónimo followed the steps of the Christ of the Battles. They were transferred from the sarcophagus it occupied in the Old Cathedral in 1744 and placed in a niche next to the altarpiece. It is a marble tumulus, with the urn in the shape of a shell, covered with foliage ornaments and topped with three genii at the apex.