Author
Youssef de Hosmel (dressing and dyeing of the cross-section, slab and chests, 1335); Juan Lucas and Martin de Montalbán (respectively, designer and master of work on the tower – Illuminator, 1538).
Author Original
يوسف دي هوزمل تلبيس وصباغة المجاز القاطع والبلاطة والصدور ؛ خوان لوكاس ومارتان دي مونتالبان على التوالي، صاحب التصميم ورئيس العمل في البرج المنور،
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;es;Mon01;21;ar
Library Location
Teruel, Spain
Notes
Originally, the church of Santa Maria di Mediavilla was the first Mudéjar landmark in the city, a cathedral since 1587, and was elevated before that, in 1342, to the rank of the College of Cardinals. The tower resting on the base, built between 1257 and 1258, constitutes the oldest part of the building. This bell tower, like all its counterparts in Tiruel, also had an urban function. This tower, pierced by a broken arch extended in the form of a vault over projecting arches, allowed passage from one side to the other, and facilitated movement by following the road layout of the small central urban centre. It is a tower with a square design on the outside and hollow on the inside, located above a vault in the form of a Gothic arch, and divided into overlapping rooms. It was supposed to be accessed from one floor to another via a wooden staircase. The bell housing presents two superimposed series of openings with fully round arches, the number of which is doubled on the upper level. From the outside, the tower is divided into three bodies separated by arch pads. We must note the large frieze of arches, perfectly round, and the diamond-tipped decoration above one of the arches on the south side; We find direct precedents for this type of contract on the facade of the Al-Jaafaria Mosque in Zaragoza. The origin of the alfiz that frames the transverse openings is Islamic. But the most prominent aspect remains the green and manganese-glazed ceramics used as architectural decoration - a flat or a disk - in which the bodies and tiles form rhombuses, similar models of which were known in the previous Almohad period. The tiles and the ceiling of the central nave belong to the second phase of construction, the restoration of which revealed the presence of a previous Roman building. In order to raise the Roman slabs, some openings were closed and new ones opened, but while maintaining the difference in height between the side slabs and the middle slab, which is covered by a roof with a support and a band, in addition to strings with double joists resting on stone protrusions of a type that branches off from Almohad art. Its recent restoration has led to the reappearance of the original, bright and brilliant colors, where red, black, blue and green colors dominate. We also find in it an iconographic program in which the various social levels that were saved thanks to Christ's sacrifice were depicted, as we see in the crucifixion. In order to highlight these colours, the technique of watercolor on wood was used. Between April and September of the year 1335, Youssef de Housmel completed the paneling and painting of the cross-section and the pediments. The design of the current skylight, built by Martin de Montalbán during the summer of 1538, goes back to Juan Lucás, known as Botero. Naturally, this lighthouse replaces another one that preceded it, which was mentioned in a document in 1404 as a lighthouse “for the aforementioned church.” Its interior shape imitates the Islamic tradition, and it follows the style of twisted arches, which form stars with eight branches, a style common in Aragon and considered ideal for vaulting, and which can also be seen in Seu in Zaragoza.
Sample Text
Ángela Franco “Santa Maria Cathedral” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;es;Mon01;21;ar
