Juan García de Castañeda, Felipe de Ureña and the Plan of the Principal Altarpiece of the Sanctuary for Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos (1758-1763)

Abstract

On April 8th, 1758 master carpenter and joiner Juan García de Castañeda (Felipe de Ureña’s son-in-law) and Francisco del Rio, chaplain of the San Juan de los Lagos Sanctuary met in order to formalize the agreement to create the principal altarpiece for the town’s new Sanctuary. This research assesses the importance of Ureña and García de Castaneda’s workshop in Aguascalientes and considers how, and through whom, its fame spread throughout Northern and Western New Spain. It also considers the relationship they established and how it was that García de Castañeda took charge of the commitment to build a retable of such importance as that of San Juan de los Lagos in the State of Jalisco. Finally, the article presents the altarpieces’ original plan (now disappeared) and analyzes its content.