«Aquella segunda fábrica que ha de estar en lo interior de la otra»: los proyectos de tabernáculo para el sagrario de la catedral de Sevilla y su realización efímera en 1662

Abstract

Upon termination of the Sacrarium of Seville Cathedral, there was a plan to construct a large tabernacle at its head, for which various projects and materials were considered. In 1662, the selected design by the architect Sebastián de Ruesta was executed only temporarily in conjunction with the magnificent celebrations organized for the inauguration of the temple, including sculptures probably by Francisco Dionisio de Ribas. The unsatisfactory outcome of this ephemeral construction resulted in the decision not to build the definitive tabernacle, which would have been the first in Andalucian Baroque style. Although the designs for the project have not survived, it is nevertheless possible to reconstruct them hypothetically, based on descriptions of the work. The superintendent and canon of the temple, Alonso Ramírez de Arellano, played an essential role in the planning of this tabernacle. It is also interesting to consider the interpretation of the structure given by its architect as that of a building inside another.