Portal de Turismo de Castilla y León

Dates

23 June to 31 December 2025

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Currently

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The diocese of Zamora preserves a significant number of oil paintings on copper plates, either individually or in series. This combination of technique and medium emerged in Renaissance Italy, but it was primarily the Flemish masters of the 17th century who cultivated this type of artistic expression and increased its standardized production, satisfying demand with an interesting commercial system. Works of this type were also produced in Spain, although they are less well-known and less sought-after.

Painted coppers do not require a large amount of paint layer, and the pigments, not being absorbed by the support, maintain their intensity and saturation better, producing the characteristic vibrant and pleasing enameled colors.

From a conservation perspective, metal plates offered hardness, consistency, durability, and stability against external biological agents; however, they were vulnerable to mechanical accidents, which eventually caused dents, cracking, and loss of the paint layer. They were often framed in black carved ebony or other ebonized wood, smooth or curled, like the characteristic flammenleisten (wavy sections).

As "cabinet" works, that is, small and medium-sized, they were easily transportable. They were usually intended for domestic use and for display in private spaces. It is very likely that some of those in parish churches and religious communities were donated by individuals.

As for iconographic representations, narrative themes from the Old Testament and the Gospels, both canonical and apocryphal, and hagiographic figures abound. Many of them are inspired by prints by prestigious engravers, who in turn copied paintings by great masters.

José Ángel Rivera de las Heras

Doctor in Art History

Event email : museo.diocesano@diocesisdezamora.es

Event website : https://www.diocesisdezamora.es/delegaciones/ver-museo-diocesano-24

Advance registration is required to attend the event.