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Main altarpiece of
the parish Church of Arnuero |
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Churches and
sanctuaries in Cantabria house a wealth of both
Renaissance and Baroque altarpieces. The evolution of
this art is similar to that in other provinces, although
often with a later chronology. In the Renaissance period,
some richly decorated plateresque works were made, such
as the main altarpiece of the
parish church of Arnuero. Later, the Romanist pattern
spread, coinciding with the beginning of the
Counter-Reformation, and contributed to the sobriety of
the design, suggesting Palladian patterns, and to the
austerity of the enormous sculptures among which it is
worth remarking the altarpieces of Guriezo and Cicero. At
that time, the workshops of Limpias, Cudeyo, Casar de
Periedo and Siete Villas appeared, which also worked
outside the region. The different patterns of the Baroque
altarpiece progressed through the second half of the 17th
century to the end of the 18th. From here onwards, the
altarpiece begin to lose its didactic and narrative
character according to the Eucharistic principles of the
Counter-Reformation, focusing rather on the now
free-standing tabernacle-sacrarium, such as the
altarpiece of the convent of San Francisco in Laredo.
Some of the most interesting sculptural ensembles were
built in Cantabria in the midst of the most ornamental
Baroque period, such as the Sanctuary
of the Bien Aparecida and the church of Las Caldas de
Besaya. From the second half of the 18th century, the
Baroque became more moderate, as in the main altarpiece of the church of San
Pedro Limpias. |
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