Hospital de los Venerables

Hospital of the Venerable
Location	Seville,  Spain Spain

The Hospital of the Venerable Priests of Seville, Spain, (popularly known the Hospital of the Venerable) is a baroque 17th-century building which served as a residence for priests. It currently houses the Velázquez Center, dedicated to the famous painter Diego Velázquez. It is located in the Plaza de los Venerables, in the center of the Barrio de Santa Cruz and close the Murillo Gardens, the Seville Cathedral and Alcázar.

History

In the year 1627 the Brotherhood of Silence (Sevilla) decided to protect the elderly, poor and disabled priests. To this end he rented a house where they were given shelter, assistance and maintained. This work continued until in 1673 the same brotherhood founded another, whose purpose would be to cover only the task that had been performing since 1627, and decided to build the Hospital.

It was founded by Canon Justino de Neve in 1675 in order to be the residence of the venerable priests. From that year dates the beginning of construction of the building, under the initial direction of the architect Juan Domínguez, from 1687 takes charge of the works the architect Leonardo de Figueroa, it being completed in 1697. The church It was built in 1689 and is dedicated to San Fernando. With the means provided by the founder brotherhood, charity and facilities of monarchs, the institution remained, but come 1805 the institution reached its limit, almost had no means to support themselves.

In 1840 the hospital became a textile factory hosted so were moved to one of the rooms of the Charity Hospital that enabled for them. Complaints of brotherhood founder got that in 1848, under a Royal Order, will be returned their property, the venerable priests returning to his old home. The Plaza de the Venerables is named since 1868.

The file was in a lamentable state of neglect, the director of the General Archives of the Archbishopric, Pedro Rubio Merino, moved all the way down to the file as a deposit. It consists of 103 bundles some with antique 1503, being classified as such documents into sections Rules and Bylaws, Chapter Agreements, welcome, Factory, Personal Correspondence Endowments, Bursar, assets, rights and obligations, justice, Accounting and Miscellaneous. This archival information contains both the management of the hospital as customs and aspects of Sevilla of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

Monumental set

Baroque building, consists of two floors where the temple and the residence itself, which ended with such a function in the 1970s about are located.

Patio

Fountain

It has a Seville courtyard (which can also seem like a convent cloister), with a stepped central fountain with circular steps that are decorated with tiles, is located at a lower level because of problems of water supply. Around the courtyard are galleries settled Tuscan arches on marble columns with Attic base, vignolesco model. The center stack was designed by Bernardo Simon de Pineda and performed by Francisco Rodriguez, the tiles of the first stage were performed by Melchor Moreno.

The east side of the courtyard was the lower nursing. It is a rectangular hall with central arches, the arches are decorated with plasterwork with symbols that can be related to the invocation of the Hospital of San Pedro, now used as an exhibition hall. Also noteworthy is the stairway is covered by an elliptical vault decorated with baroque plasterwork.

Upstairs there is another living identical features on the ground floor, known as high nursing, initially it was used as shelter in cold weather. He was connected with the church choir. In the southeast corner is the top lookout tower at the highest refectory, which is covered with armor of Mudejar style.

The former refectory and the Board of Councils of winter, on the top floor, have been conditioned to be respectively the library and the Cabinet of Prints. Another feature is the color that adorns contrasting white lime with red brick pilasters, architraves and cornices.

Church

The church has a single nave covered by a barrel vault with lunettes and arches. In it you can see mural frescos made by Valdes Leal. The chancel represent the invention of the Holy Cross, the ceiling of the sacristy are a small space with perspective (trompe); on each side of the presbytery there are paintings by Valdes Leal and his son Lucas Valdes on the right side is represented San Fernando delivering the mosque to the Archbishop and the left side is shown San Fernando before the Virgin of Antigua. The reliquaries polls found here are coppers and Flemish origin; paintings on marble and Immaculate Virgin and Child were made by Sassoferrato. The paintings that cover the vault and the walls were made by the son of the painter, Lucas Valdes. Simulate tapestries and represent the triumph of the Papacy.

In the altarpiece, dating from 1889, you can admire the Apotheosis of San Fernando, also the work of Lucas Valdes. On either side are represented San Clemente and San Isidoro, conducted by Virgilio Mattoni. The relief figures of John the Baptist and San Juan Evangelista are attributed to Martinez Montanes and date from the first half of the seventeenth century. It is also to highlight the central panel of the altarpiece of Jerome, which was originally attributed to Herrera "old", but later it was found dating from the mid-seventeenth century .

Figures of San Fernando and San Pedro, located under the choir, were made by Pedro Roldan.

In the altarpiece of the Conception is the figure of San Esteban, that although it is an anonymous work of the seventeenth century, is attributed to Martinez Montanes. The altars are the work of Juan de Oviedo. The pulpit, made with polychrome marble and rich woods is the work of Francisco de Barahona. Murillo who was a friend of Justino de Neve, also painted a work for the hospital, Immaculate Soult , one of his most famous works, today set out in the Prado of Madrid.

Besides the paintings, the sacristy has a drawers where sacred items are stored. Also notable are the pieces of jewelry that are preserved in the building. In the middle of the altar one can see the Virgin of Bethlehem. His works can also be seen around Christs of ivory XVIII century. The exterior facade of the church, that opens to the street Jamerdana, has at its bottom a portico with semicircular arcades. In the upper body a niche in the center and two small windows on the sides open.

Curiosities

In 1992, on the disc Barrio Santa Cruz (LP, MC and CD) an interpreted and composed by Rogelio Conesa piece called The Venerable (Tarantos) appears. The disc was produced by the Recording Gateway.

Restoration

Since 1991 the Hospital is home to the Focus-Abengoa Foundation (Fondo de Cultura of Seville), who restored it between 1987 and 1991. This also had to intervene Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo giving its authorization. The building was inaugurated by Queen Sofia on November 5, 1991, with an exhibition dedicated to Sevillian painting of the golden age.

It is also enabled as a cultural exhibition center, and it shows, conferences and seminars are held.

Research Center Velazquez

Velázquez Centre is an exhibition center that has its origin in July 2007, with the acquisition by the Focus Foundation Santa Rufina 'box' attributed to Diego Velázquez in the amount of 12.4 million euros.^[1] They have adapted some hospital stays for exposure of that box and what is the permanent exhibition of the Centre. The make up about a dozen works of art, as the imposition of the chasuble to San Ildefonso of Velazquez and the Portrait of Juan Martinez Montanes original Francisco Varela, both owned by the City of Seville. The Focus-Abengoa Foundation has provided another canvas attributed to Velázquez, one Immaculate Conception from the early seventeenth century. Other artists represented are Francisco Pacheco, Murillo and Italian Bartolomeo Cavarozzi. In 1840 the hospital became a textile factory hosted so were moved to one of the rooms of the Charity Hospital that enabled for them. Complaints of brotherhood founder got that in 1848, under a Royal Order, will be returned their property, the venerable priests returning to his old home. The Plaza de los Venerables is named since 1868.

The file was in a lamentable state of neglect, the director of the General Archives of the Archbishopric, Pedro Rubio Merino, moved all the way down to the file as a deposit. It consists of 103 bundles some with antique 1503, being classified as such documents into sections Rules and Bylaws, Chapter Agreements, welcome, Factory, Personal Correspondence Endowments, Bursar, assets, rights and obligations, justice, Accounting and Miscellaneous. This archival information contains both the management of the hospital as customs and aspects of Sevilla of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

References

External links

• Velázquez Centre - Focus-Abengoa Foundation

Coordinates: 37°23′06″N 5°59′24″W / 37.3851°N 5.9900°W / 37.3851; -5.9900