The Artistic Collection in the Bishop’s Palaces of Eastern Andalusia. Analysis and Development

Abstract

The study of bishops’ palaces, their architecture, urban development and historical significance has been scant, and their collections have not been extensively investigated either, partly due to the difficulty to view sources or to their nonexistence and loss. Nevertheless, these collections provide information to better understand the artistic production, particularly of the Baroque period during which the collections were created. Moreover they provide data concerning episcopal patronage, esthetic taste and other information which outlines one of the manners in which power seeks to show its magnificence. In this study the collections belonging to the bishop’s palaces of Eastern Andalusia, Spain —attending a series of artistic sources—, are analyzed in order to understand the iconography, techniques, palatial decoration and patronage of ecclesiastical power.