Capilla de San Blas

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Capilla de San Blas (Chapel of Saint Blaise)
Catedral de Toledo (Toledo Cathedral)
Calle Cardenal Cisneros
Toledo, September 2022

“The Chapel of Saint Blaise was commissioned by Archbishop Tenorio as well. Built on the lower level of the cathedral grounds, and entered from the Cloister itself, it is roofed by an octopartite vault in a reminder of the chapel's purpose as a burial chamber. The starting date of its construction is debated, although the period from 1389 to 1398 is generally accepted. It is certain that the building was finished shortly before the death of Archbishop Tenorio on 10 May 1399. The archbishop prepared a written consecration to Saint Blaise, leaving the manuscript behind at his death; his will stipulated the rents to be collected for the maintenance of the chapel, and required the cathedral Chapter to take over its management. The chapel is situated about twenty-three feet below street level, the archbishop having ordered the ground outside the building raised with fill, a circumstance that in the long run caused many problems with humidity, which had a devastating effect on the artworks of the lower interior walls. This decision was made after construction was well along due to the cluttered impression the building gave the eye. The chapel is decorated in two different parts. First, from the cornice to the ceiling, the Apostles' Creed is represented in fourteen scenes in the manner of the dial of a clock. At the lower part beneath the cornice is a painting of the Final Judgement and scenes of the Lives of the Saints. The authorship of the works is not clear, even though it remains attributed without a doubt to Florentine painters, among whom are mentioned as very probably the artists: Gherardo Starnina and Nicolás de Antonio. Deterioration caused by excessive humidity and some badly done restorations have damaged the paintings closest to the floor, in some cases irremediably. At the beginning of the 21st century, a profound conservation-restoration of the paintings of the Chapel of Saint Blaise was inaugurated to stabilise the frescoes and restore the splendour of their original colors, with the exception of those unsalvageable fragments on the lowest portions of the walls. A second undertaking is nearly finished—the elimination of the water seeping through the walls from the street Hombre de Palo, which could damage the collection again.” (Toledo Cathedral, Wikipedia)