Monastery of Saint Jerome (Granada)
Encyclopedia
The Monastery of St. Jerome is a Roman Catholic church and Hieronymite
monastery in Granada
, Spain
. Architecturally, it is in the Renaissance
style. The church was the first in the world consecrated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
The monastery was originally founded by the Catholic Monarchs
Isabella I of Castile
and Ferdinand II of Aragon
in Santa Fe
outside the city of Granada, during the siege of the latter city, the last stage of the Reconquista
. The construction of the current buildings in Granada proper began in 1504, and the monastery relocated at that time. The principal architect and sculptor was Diego de Siloé; others involved as architects or sculptors included Jacopo Torni
(from Florence
), Juan de Aragón, Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger
(Vázquez el Mozo), Pedro de Orea, and Pablo de Rojas, the last three associated with the Granadan school of sculpture
.
The Hieronymites are an Augustinian
order. The monastery church follows the usually plan for churches of this order, a Latin Cross with an elevated choir at the foot and the altar behind a wide staircase. The mannerist
altarpiece of the main chapel is considered the point of departure of Andalusian sculpture as such; it is mainly the work of Pablo de Rojas. The richly decorated Renaissance interior features coffering, scalloping and sculptures, and is a late work of Renaissance humanism
. The iconographic program highlights the military and the heroic grandeur of the Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
, known as the Gran Capitán ("Great Captain"), who is buried in the crossing
with his wife, Doña Maria de Manrique.
The monastery has two cloister
s, each built around a garden. The older of the two has more genuinely Renaissance decoration: seven arcosolia
in the style of chapels, richly adorned in classical style, configure a funerary space that was originally intended to receive the Grand Captain's remains into the monastery. The second cloister, now the enclosure of the monastery's community of monks, was the residence of the Empress Isabella of Portugal
on her wedding voyage after her marriage to Charles I of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).
As of 1513, the church was under construction under the leadership of Jacopo Torni 1513. Upon his death in 1526, the task devolved to Diego de Siloé. The main chapel was completed in 1522 and the bodies of the Grand Captain and his wife were moved from the Casa Grande of the Convent of Saint Francis.
Although occupied again today by the same order of monks as at the time of its founding, the monastery has undergone many vicissitudes, including invasion by the French in the Napoleonic era
during the Peninsular War
. The Hieronymites were expelled and the monastery eventually became a near-ruin. The State undertook a restoration of the building in 1916–1920, hiring the architect Fernando Wihelmi for the job. The slender tower of the church had been demolished by the French, who used its stones to build the bridge known as the Puente Verde, which crosses the River Genil
, linking the Paseo de la Bomba to the Avenida de Cervantes. Only in the 1980s was the tower re-erected; the project was completed in 1989.
The gateway that separates the grounds of the monastery from the Calle Rector López Argueta is, indeed, original to the monastery, but had disappeared in the 19th century and was only returned to its position in the 1960s after being found abandoned in a courtyard of in the Vega de Granada
. The sculpture of the Virgin of Sorrows on the gate is not original.
From the beginning of 2004 until March 2005, the main altarpiece underwent restoration work under the aegis of the Minstry of Culture; during this time, the altarpiece was covered by a giant blow-up photo of itself.
Hieronymites
Hieronymites, or the Order of St. Jerome , is a common name for several congregations of hermits living according to the Rule of St. Augustine, with supplementary regulations taken from the writings of the 5th-century monk and scholar, St Jerome. The principal group with this name was founded in...
monastery in Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Architecturally, it is in the Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
style. The church was the first in the world consecrated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
The monastery was originally founded by the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
and Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, Granada
Santa Fe is a Spanish municipality in the province of Granada, situated in the Vega de Granada, irrigated by the river Genil.The town was originally built by the Catholic armies besieging Granada after a fire destroyed much of their encampment....
outside the city of Granada, during the siege of the latter city, the last stage of the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. The construction of the current buildings in Granada proper began in 1504, and the monastery relocated at that time. The principal architect and sculptor was Diego de Siloé; others involved as architects or sculptors included Jacopo Torni
Jacopo Torni
Jacopo Torni , also known as Jacobo Fiorentin, L'Indaco, and Jacopo dell'Indaco, was an Italian painter. He was a student of Domenico Ghirlandaio , and the brother of painter Francesco Torni...
(from Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
), Juan de Aragón, Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger
Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger
Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger was a Spanish sculptor, active in the late 16th century and early 17th century, son of Juan Bautista Vázquez the Elder, and a member of the Sevillian school of sculpture.-Life and work:...
(Vázquez el Mozo), Pedro de Orea, and Pablo de Rojas, the last three associated with the Granadan school of sculpture
Granadan school of sculpture
The Granadan school of sculpture or Granadine school of sculpture—the tradition of Christian religious sculpture in Granada, Andalusia, Spain—began in the 16th century and constituted a clear tradition of its own by the 17th century...
.
The Hieronymites are an Augustinian
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
order. The monastery church follows the usually plan for churches of this order, a Latin Cross with an elevated choir at the foot and the altar behind a wide staircase. The mannerist
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
altarpiece of the main chapel is considered the point of departure of Andalusian sculpture as such; it is mainly the work of Pablo de Rojas. The richly decorated Renaissance interior features coffering, scalloping and sculptures, and is a late work of Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
. The iconographic program highlights the military and the heroic grandeur of the Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba known as The Great Captain, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, Andria, Montalto and Sessa, also known as Gonzalo de Córdoba, Italian: Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova was a Spanish general fighting in the times of the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars...
, known as the Gran Capitán ("Great Captain"), who is buried in the crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
with his wife, Doña Maria de Manrique.
The monastery has two cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
s, each built around a garden. The older of the two has more genuinely Renaissance decoration: seven arcosolia
Arcosolium
An arcosolium is an arched recess used as a place of entombment. The word is from Latin arcus, "arch", and solium, "sill" ....
in the style of chapels, richly adorned in classical style, configure a funerary space that was originally intended to receive the Grand Captain's remains into the monastery. The second cloister, now the enclosure of the monastery's community of monks, was the residence of the Empress Isabella of Portugal
Isabella of Portugal
Isabella of Portugal was a Portuguese Princess and Holy Roman Empress, Duchess of Burgundy, and a Queen Regent/Consort of Spain. She was the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon. By her marriage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella was also Holy Roman Empress and Queen...
on her wedding voyage after her marriage to Charles I of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).
As of 1513, the church was under construction under the leadership of Jacopo Torni 1513. Upon his death in 1526, the task devolved to Diego de Siloé. The main chapel was completed in 1522 and the bodies of the Grand Captain and his wife were moved from the Casa Grande of the Convent of Saint Francis.
Although occupied again today by the same order of monks as at the time of its founding, the monastery has undergone many vicissitudes, including invasion by the French in the Napoleonic era
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. The Hieronymites were expelled and the monastery eventually became a near-ruin. The State undertook a restoration of the building in 1916–1920, hiring the architect Fernando Wihelmi for the job. The slender tower of the church had been demolished by the French, who used its stones to build the bridge known as the Puente Verde, which crosses the River Genil
Genil
The Genil River is the main tributary of the river Guadalquivir in Andalusia, Spain. The Roman Singilis, its modern name derives from the Moorish rendering of the Roman name: Sinyil, Sannil, and Sinnil. The source of the Genil is in the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of its highest peak Mulhacén....
, linking the Paseo de la Bomba to the Avenida de Cervantes. Only in the 1980s was the tower re-erected; the project was completed in 1989.
The gateway that separates the grounds of the monastery from the Calle Rector López Argueta is, indeed, original to the monastery, but had disappeared in the 19th century and was only returned to its position in the 1960s after being found abandoned in a courtyard of in the Vega de Granada
Vega de Granada
The Vega de Granada is a comarca in the province of Granada, southeastern Spain. According to the 2007 census , the comarca has a population of 500,121 inhabitants.- Municipalities :* Albolote* Alfacar...
. The sculpture of the Virgin of Sorrows on the gate is not original.
From the beginning of 2004 until March 2005, the main altarpiece underwent restoration work under the aegis of the Minstry of Culture; during this time, the altarpiece was covered by a giant blow-up photo of itself.