Picturing the Immaculate Conception in thirteenth-century Castile: the wall paintings of the Chapel of San Martín in the old Cathedral of Salamanca

Abstract

This article explores the history and early iconography of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception with particular reference to the subject as found in the thirteenth-century wall paintings of the chapel of San Martín in the Old Cathedral of Salamanca. It moves beyond this case study and looks at the theology, liturgy, iconography and changing approaches to the theme over time and space and suggests that it was a subject that worked on multiple levels and encompassed far more than has hitherto been believed. The role of the Crown of Castile during the initial stages of the development of this subject deserves special attention, as it received, adapted and created images to express both immaculist and maculist beliefs. Text is being published in two parts in two successive issues of Iconographica. The first part focuses on the history of the doctrine and its earliest representations and claims that the wall paintings in Salamanca are an outstanding example of one of the first formulas developed to express it, here called the Annunciation-type for the Meeting at the Golden Gate.