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

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 second part completes the iconographic analysis of the wall paintings in Salamanca through the study of the Crucifixion represented in the lower register in connection with the overall immaculist program. This part also explores the background that made possible the creation of such an ensemble in Castile in a context of great reluctance towards the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, as proved by Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa María.