Hospital de Tavera
The Hospital de Tavera (also called Hospital de San Juan Bautista , Hospital de Afuera or simply Hospital Tavera ) is a former hospital in the lower town of Toledo , the capital of the province of the same name in the Spanish autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha .
history
The Hospital de Tavera was founded by the cardinal and inquisitor Juan Pardo de Tavera (1472–1545) in the 1540s. The original architect was Alonso de Covarrubias (1488–1570); but soon - the reasons for this are unclear - other architects, including Bartolomé Bustamante (1501–1570), continued his work. However, work on the large structure was not completed until 1603.
architecture
facade
The three-storey facades are kept simple and largely unadorned on all sides; embossed stones frame the round and rectangular windows in the two stone-facing basement floors; the upper floor, however, is plastered. The portal with its semicircular arch is marked by two pillars, which end in stone torches in the level above. In between there is a large balcony window with the coats of arms of the founder attached to the side: a cardinal coat of arms (left) and a secular coat of arms (right) with the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece . In a wall niche above there is a statue of John the Baptist , to whom the entire building is dedicated.
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Indoor
The hospital has two large, adjacent courtyards, separated by a central aisle, each surrounded by two-story arcades with monolithic columns. The arcade arches of the lower level are more richly profiled; in the spandrels there are hemispheres made of bluish marble. The arcades on the upper level are secured by a balustrade . The comparatively slender columns have Ionic capitals ; the gussets are only filled with flower medallions with bas-reliefs. The contrast between the white plastered walls and ceilings of the building and the brownish color of the natural stone arcades is noteworthy.
church
The church of the hospital complex only has immaculate rectangular windows ; In the corners of the aisles there are four towering masonry obelisks, which end with spherical attachments. The single-nave architecture of the interior is dominated by a crossing dome with a lantern top ; in the spandrels ( pendentifs ) of the base of the dome there are four shields with the evangelists . A masterpiece is the altar retable made of dark wood , which takes up the entire back wall; The capitals of the columns covered with gold leaf and several white figures of saints stand in beautiful contrast .
museum
The entire building complex now serves as an archive and museum . Here you can find works by El Greco , Ribera , Tintoretto , Luca Giordano , Tizian , Frans Snyders and Jacopo Bassano alongside tapestries and furniture from the 17th and 18th centuries. The marble tomb for the builder comes from Alonso Berruguete . In 1608 El Greco was commissioned to make three altarpieces, which ultimately - with the exception of a "Baptism of Christ" - ended up in various museums.
meaning
The Hospital de Tavera, located in the lower town of Toledo, is one of the little-visited attractions in the city. Its largely unadorned architecture makes it a forerunner of the Herrera style , which reached its climax with the Escorial .
Others
The Hospital de Tavera was the location of scenes from several feature films, including:
- Viridiana , director: Luis Buñuel (1961), actors: Silvia Pinal , Francisco Rabal , Fernando Rey a . a.
- Tristana , directed by Luis Buñuel (1970), actors: Catherine Deneuve , Fernando Rey, Franco Nero a . a.
- The Three Musketeers , directed by Richard Lester (1973), actors: Oliver Reed , Raquel Welch , Michael York a . a.
- La conjura de El Escorial , director: Antonio del Real (1988), actors: Julia Ormond , Fabio Testi u. a.
- The Bridge of San Luis Rey , directed by Mary McGuckian (2004), actors: Robert De Niro , Kathy Bates , Harvey Keitel and others. a.
Web links
- Hospital de Tavera - sectional drawings + tooltips (English)
- Hospital de Tavera - short information
- Hospital de Tavera - Altarpieces El Greco (English)
Coordinates: 39 ° 51'56 " N , 4 ° 1'27" W.