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Photograph by Frantisek
Zvardon.
All rights reserved.
|
Installed
at
the
end
of
the
south
ambulatory
of
the
Cathedral
of
Our
Lady
of
the
Angels
is
the
17th
Century,
gilded,
black
walnut,
Spanish
Baroque
retablo,
the
Spanish
word
for
"retabl."
A
retablo
is
a
shelf
raised
above
the
back
of
an
altar
to
support
ornaments,
pictures,
and
statues
from
sacred
history.
|
The
ornate
woodwork
can
be
traced
to
1687
when
Domingo
Angel,
a
wealthy
Burgos
silk-manufacturer,
had
it
installed
in
the
chapel
attached
to
the
Congregation
of
Saint
Philip
Neri,
at
Ezcaray,
Spain.
Indications
are
that
it
was
the
work
of
a
single
craftsman
who
began
his
work
in
1608.
The
chapel
was
dismantled
in
1925,
and
the
retablo
was
sold
to
a
New
York
art
dealer
to
raise
funds
for
the
impoverished
village.
It
was
acquired
by
Raymond
Gould
of
Pasadena
Shortly
after
its
new
owner's
death,
a
group
of
people
purchased
the
retablo
for
use
in
the
cathedral
then
envisioned
for
Los
Angeles
on
Wilshire
Boulevard.
However,
the
retablo
was
transported
to
Mission
San
Fernando
and
temporarily
stored.
On
June
18,
1941,
the
"Excaray
Chapel
Exhibit"
was
opened
to
viewing
by
the
public
at
San
Fernando
Mission.
In
a
brochure
issued
for
that
occasion,
James
A.
Tierney,
the
artist
who
supervised
the
installation
in
several
rooms
of
the
convento,
said
that
the
Excaray
items
had
"found
a
becoming,
if
not
a
permanent
home."
In
1953,
the
retablo,
restored
by
well-known
California
artist
Judy
Serbaroli,
was
installed
in
the
newly-erected
student
chapel
of
Queen
of
Angels
Seminary,
adjacent
to
the
mission.
It
remained
there
until
the
decision
was
made
to
place
it
in
the
new
Cathedral.
Measuring
about
twenty-six
feet
wide
and
twenty
feet
high,
the
elaborately
carved,
polychrome
and
gilded
retablo
depicts
a
crucifix
surrounded
by
saints,
with
the
Madonna
and
Child
overhead.
Four
twisted
columns,
each
carved
from
a
single
walnut
trunk
support
the
upper
part
of
the
central
retablo.
The
clusters
of
grapes
surrounding
the
columns
are
symbolic
of
the
Blood
of
Christ
in
the
Eucharist.
Preparation
for
the
installation
of
the
retablo
into
the
Cathedral
has
been
conserved
by
Griswold
&
Associates.
Technical
assistance,
research
services
and
$142,500
in
financial
support
were
provided
by
the
J.
Paul
Getty
Trust
under
the
direction
of
Brian
Considine,
conservator
of
decorative
arts
and
sculpture
at
the
Getty
Museum.
The retablo in the Cathedral serves as a reminder of the great history
in the Church of sacred art. As historian Monsignor Francis J. Weber remarks,
"It represents a skill of workmanship, a beauty of design, and
a lavishness of ornamentation that has passed from the modern scene."
