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A gilded and polychromed wooden altarpiece, 21 metres tall, filling the whole apse of the church beneath a ribbed vault. It is organised in a predella, two bodies and an attic, with three bays separated by twisted columns, and brings together sculpted saints and reliefs of scenes from the lives of Christ and Saint John the Baptist. In the central bay the Immaculate Conception occupies the first body, and Saint John the Baptist, the church's patron, the second.
History
The altarpiece was built between 1651 and 1656 under the direction of Bernabé Cordero, and its sculpture was by Domingo Martín de Zetarain. It has an octagonal plan and fills the whole apse. Earlier, in 1611, Ambrosio de Bengoechea and Domingo de Ureta were commissioned for the high altar; the work, carried out by Domingo de Goroa and Domingo de Ureta in 1621, did not meet the council's expectations, so it agreed another altar with Bernabé Cordero and the earlier one was removed. The gilding contract was signed in 1742, and Agustín de Conde's work was done between 1743 and 1745. It was restored in 1993 and 1994. Today it is in good condition, although damage caused by woodworm is visible.
- Place
- Hildako Gudarien Enparantza, Hernani
- Author
- Bernabé Cordero (direction); Domingo Martín de Zetarain (sculpture); Agustín de Conde (gilding and polychromy).
- Scanned
- 2025
- Technique
- Photogrammetry · camera
- Layers
- Form · Light · Colour
Sequence
@gorabilaz ↗«Infernuraino, euskal kulturaz hitz egitera joango banintz.»“All the way to hell, if it were to speak of Basque culture.”
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