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Lot Essay
This group of choir stalls is reputedly by, however more likely inspired by Rodrigo Duke, who is best known as the Maestro Rodrigo Aleman (b.1470-1542), because of his family's German origins. He is credited with bringing the Gothic style to Spain in the late 15th Century in his designs for the cathedrals of Toledo, Ciudad Rodrigo, and Plasencia. His work, which was also informed by a sense of realism and Moorish art, had a large impact on Spanish architecture of this period and was widely copied.
The carved panels in this group with figures below pointed arches, and the winged gargoyles between each seat are exemplary of this interpretation of the Gothic style, while geometrically patterned inlay to the seatbacks show the incorporation of Moorish influences.
This particular group of choir stalls is purportedly from a convent in Malaga, according to records held by French and Company, Inc, at the time the stalls were sold to The Nelson Atkins Museum in 1942, however there are no records of Aleman ever having worked in the south of Spain.
The carved panels in this group with figures below pointed arches, and the winged gargoyles between each seat are exemplary of this interpretation of the Gothic style, while geometrically patterned inlay to the seatbacks show the incorporation of Moorish influences.
This particular group of choir stalls is purportedly from a convent in Malaga, according to records held by French and Company, Inc, at the time the stalls were sold to The Nelson Atkins Museum in 1942, however there are no records of Aleman ever having worked in the south of Spain.