Anales de Historia del Arte (Jan 2010)
Santa María de Palazuelos y las posibilidades de la hoja lanceolada
Abstract
The abbatial church of Santa Maria de Palazuelos (1215-1254 A.D.) is a paradigmatic case of the high efficiency obtained by medieval sculptors departing from a very simple capital style. The lanceolate leaves resembling water flowers are endowed with multiple possibilities despite their simplicity; due to their soberness and variability potential, they were the preferred choice in some Cistercian monasteries. The Palazuelos’ capitals artists learned how to obtain ornamental refinement and amenity from such an essential decorative element as is the lanceolate capital. 81% out of the 170 capitals preserved in this monastic temple were resolved by grand pointed petals that embrace the basket, turning back their tips in 33 cases of the 34 catalogued ones in the chromatic schema (chromogram) elaborated for the ongoing doctoral thesis.
