THE RELIEFS OF THE MAIN ALTAR OF SAN MARTIN

HISTORY 

The reliefs and figures shared between the Fair Museum and the Church of Santiago el Real used to form part of the main altarpiece of the Church of Saint Martin, the Bishop of Tours. After the de-sacralisation of this temple, the main altarpiece was moved to the northern wing of the transept in the Church of Santiago el Real.

The coat of arms appearing on the columns flanking the altarpiece would seem to indicate that the initiative for its construction began with Pedro de Ribera, son of the founders of the temple itself, and his wife, Ana de Chaves, to whom the addition of the second left-hand quarter to the family coat of arms is attributed.

Given the differences in style between the figures and the paintings on the altarpiece (the former closer in style to Flemish workshops, whereas the latter panel paintings are attributed to a Spanish painter) and the predominant Renaissance architecture of the relief work on the altarpiece as compared to the still Gothic architecture of the compartments on the predella, it is generally accepted that, when the altarpiece was manufactured around the year 1530, the decision was taken to incorporate reliefs and compartments from an earlier work into it.