FACADE OF OBRADOIRO IN SANTIAGO OF
COMPOSTELA
The Facade of Obradoiro, which
is a work of art from the Baroque period, was built by Fernando Casas Novoa in
Santiago of Compostela, between 1738 and 1750. The Catholic Church commissioned this facade.
This beautiful building has a great use nowadays. As you should know, an old tradition tells that this cathedral is the sepulcher of the apostle Saint James. This transformed the building in one of the principal places of pilgrimage in Europe during the Middle Ages. At present, it is also an important place of pilgrimage and every year that the 25th of July (Day of Santiago) is Sunday, there is a Jubilee Year, many pilgrims go to the cathedral and there is an important mass.
The main material used in this work of art was the gray
granite, which was the main material used in the Baroque architecture. Glass
was also used in this work.
The Facade of
Obradoiro has really big large windows that allow light to illuminate the
old Romanic facade, and it is between the Bell’s
Tower and the Carraca’s Tower. In
the middle of the facade, the apostle Santiago is represented, and below him
his two disciples, Athanasius and Theodore, all of them dressed as pilgrims. In
the middle there is also a glass case, representing Santiago’s sepulcher, and a
star between angels and clouds. On the right tower, María Salomé (Saint James’s
mother) is represented and on the left tower, Zebedee, his father. This work is
in a square, the Square of Obradoiro, this
is why the facade was called in this way. The cathedral has really big proportions, it is 74 metres high.
The Facade of
Obradoiro is a Baroque work of art because the images represented on it
give a lot of movement to the building. It also has curved lines, games of
lights and shadows… The images of the building are also very realistic and
perfect.
One curiosity is that the coins of 1, 2 and 5 cents have the Cathedral of Santiago drawing in one of
their sides.
Sources used in this projectc:
1 comment:
Hello,
The picture of the man you included doesn’t belong to Fernando Casas Novoa. Photography wasn’t invented until the 19th century. The man you included is Roberto Novoa, a doctor. Please, eliminate this picture. There are no portraits by Casas Novoa. There is another important mistake about the commissioner: it was the Catholic Church. Roberto Varela is the conselleiro of Culture of the present Galician government. The information about him is related to the restoration, not to the construction of the Obradoiro, so erase this information or include it at the end of your explanation, as additional information.
I’ve checked the sources you used and I think you could have done a more complete description of the façade. You’ve focused mainly in the sculptures, but you could have explained the organization of the façade in a better way.
- The commissioner of this work was Roberto Verela, who decided to assign/give 2.5 million euros
-As you should know, an old tradition tells that this cathedral is the sepulcher of the apostle Saint James
- Nowadays/at present, it is also an important place of pilgrimage
- In the middle of the facade, the apostle Santiago is represented, and below him his two disciples, Athanasius and Theodore, all of them dressed as pilgrims. In the middle there is also a glass case, representing Santiago’s sepulcher, and a star between angels and clouds. On the right tower, Mary Salome (Saint James’s mother) is represented and on the left tower, Zebedee, his father. This work is in a square, the Square of Obradoiro, this is why the facade was called in this way . The cathedral has really big proportions, it is 74 metres high.
- The Facade of Obradoiro is a Baroque work of art
- One curiosity is that the coins of 1, 2 and 5 cents have the Cathedral of Santiago drawing in one of their sides.
Your mark is 8. Bye.
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