“The Splendor of the Portal of Glory of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela: Research, Conservation, and Discoveries” 02-08-2017 at RCC – 6:30 p.m.

Join us:
“The Splendor of the Portal of Glory of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela: Research, Conservation, and Discoveries”by:Francisco Prado-Vilar is Scientific Director of the Andrew W. Mellon Program for the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and Director of Cultural and Artistic Projects at Harvard’sReal Colegio Complutense

This lecture offers an overview of the remarkable discoveries produced in the context of the Santiago Cathedral Project – a project of research and conservation focusing on the magnificent 12th-century western narthex of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, also known as the Portal of Glory, which is sponsored by the Barrié Foundation, in collaboration with the Santiago Cathedral Foundation, and several other international and Spanish institutions such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Harvard’s Real Colegio Complutense, the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute, and the Galician Government.

Salient among the results in the area of conservation is the first complete sequencing of the various layers of polychromy applied to the Portal of Glory over the centuries, as well as the identification of the historical events that could have prompted some of the re-paintings, such as coronations and knighting ceremonies. It has also been possible to realize the first complete reconstruction of the iconographic program of the dismantled exterior façade of the Portal of Glory, which was once decorated with a group of sculptural masterpieces that have remained until now anonymous and forgotten in small museums and private collections.  To learn more…

 

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 – 6:30 p.m.

At
Real Colegio Complutense
26 Trowbridge St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Refreshments follow