BAROQUE ALTARPIECE OF LAS CLARAS
30 minutesThe building underwent several significant renovations throughout its history. Thanks to a restoration carried out in 1988, the medieval paintings of the choir and a magnificent coffered ceiling were recovered, works that had remained hidden during previous renovations. This intervention received the Europa Nostra Award for Heritage and led to the establishment of a museum open to the public. In the lower choir, visitors can admire the mural paintings, dating from the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the oldest in Salamanca. Platforms above the church's baroque vault allow access to the original roof, with interesting heraldic polychromy.
The church is decorated with seven baroque altarpieces, notably the main altarpiece, which was created in the early 18th century by Joaquín de Churriguera. This altarpiece is part of the Salamanca Baroque Altarpiece Constellation Route, an artistic itinerary that invites visitors to rediscover the splendor of baroque art through the altarpieces preserved in eight temples of the city.
The Convent of Santa Clara is the oldest of the female monasteries preserved in the city. Its origin dates back to the first half of the 13th century when a group of noblewomen decided to unite in community to live ascetically and protect themselves when their husbands went to war. They settled in the hermitage of Santa María, giving rise to the beaterio (beguinage) of Dueñas de Santa María. Over the years, and thanks to privileges from popes and kings, it became the Royal Monastery of Santa Clara. This convent has been home to the Poor Clare community for approximately eight hundred years. In 2019, due to a lack of vocations, the nuns left this place to settle in other monasteries of the order.
It is an emblematic space now converted into the Santa Clara Convent Museum. It showcases the great spiritual, artistic, and historical legacy that the convent has preserved throughout the centuries. During the tour of the monastery, visitors can contemplate a large number of artworks that bring them closer to the life and spirituality of the community of Poor Clare nuns. The highlights are the medieval paintings covering the walls of the lower choir, the cloister, the baroque church, and the exceptional medieval coffered ceiling that was accidentally discovered above the church's baroque vault in the 1970s. The subsequent restoration received the Europa Nostra Award for Heritage Conservation in 1988.
Among the many surprises that the visit to the Convent of Santa Clara in Salamanca holds is the conventual church and its altarpieces. The origin of this church dates back to the 13th century, undergoing significant remodels on two occasions: one, as a consequence of the fire that occurred in 1413, and another, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to adapt to the tastes and needs of the era. The church, small in size and with a rectangular plan, is covered with a barrel vault with lunettes. This false vault concealed the church's original coffered ceiling for centuries, which was discovered and restored at the end of the 20th century and today constitutes one of the convent's main attractions.
The church is adorned with seven baroque altarpieces, all finished with splendid gilding. The main altarpiece was commissioned in 1701 by Joaquín de Churriguera and Pedro de Gamboa. It is presided over by the image of Saint Clare, patron saint of the convent, accompanied by the Immaculate Conception, Saint Anthony of Padua, and Saint Francis of Assisi. The sculptures have been attributed to José de Larra Domínguez, brother-in-law of the Churriguera brothers.
The church is embellished with seven baroque altarpieces, whose golden splendor seems to illuminate the temple upon entering its interior. The main altarpiece was commissioned in 1701 from Joaquín de Churriguera and Pedro de Gamboa. Although smaller in dimensions, this altarpiece bears a close relation to the one his brother José created for the Church of San Esteban. Carved in gilded wood with gold leaf, its design harmoniously adapts to the semicircular arch of the vault. It is composed of a predella, a central body divided into three sections (streets), and an attic, crowned by a finial decorated with a cherub.
The central body of the altarpiece is articulated into three sections, delimited by Solomonic columns and topped at the ends by stipes. All its ornamentation constitutes an exaltation of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The six columns present an exuberant decoration, with clusters of grapes and vine leaves that almost completely cover their surface, leaving hardly a centimeter free.
The tabernacle, located under a baldachin, is also flanked by Solomonic columns. The door that protects it is decorated with a painting representing Jesus Christ carrying the Sacred Host. In the central niche is the image of Saint Clare of Assisi with the monstrance, while in the attic is the figure of the Immaculate Conception. On both sides, two young angels amidst volutes point with their hands to the Virgin, highlighting her presence. The niches in the side sections house the sculptures of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Anthony of Padua, thus completing the iconographic ensemble of the altarpiece.
The side altars, in the same style as the main one, though smaller in dimensions, are dedicated to Saint Bonaventure, the Calvary, Saint Catherine of Bologna, Saint John the Baptist, and Our Lady of the Rosary.