The Provincial Historical Heritage Commission of the Junta de Andalucía has authorized emergency interventions in the Real Alcázar of Seville due to the deterioration suffered by the complex. The restoration and conservation actions will focus on the paintings in the Grutesco Gallery, and the murals in the Mercurio Pond garden have been under restoration for more than a year.
The work will focus on preventing the detachment of coating strata and pictorial layers from the niches decorated with mural paintings by Diego de Esquivel. The paintings have undergone various restorations over the years, so much so that at the beginning of the century they were completely restored.
Mercury Garden (Becerra, 2014).
The Grutesco Gallery
At the beginning of the 17th century, the architect Vermondo Resta, then Master Master of the Alcázar, carried out various transformations in the Almohad urban wall, thus converting the defensive military structure into a two-level promenade that allowed an elevated view of the Royal gardens. Alcazar.
The Gallery is located inside the Alcazar and extends from the Mercury Pond to the Labyrinth Garden. We can appreciate a mannerist style – late 16th century – with the simulation of the rock emerging from the wall. In this way, and following the trend of grotesque work, architecture merges with nature.
The ornamental decoration of this face of the wall is made with courses of different types of stones, forming a series of boxes and niches in which characters and scenes from classical mythology, angels and exotic birds are painted fresco. The area corresponding to the Mercury Pond is one of the most unique places, as it houses the paintings of Diego de Esquivel. The lower part houses the niches for the frescoes and the upper part is composed of a central semicircular opening and two rectangular ones on its sides.
View of the Grutesco Gallery from the Ladies Garden (Becerra, 2014).
(Becerra, 2014).
The balcony of the Mercury Pond was opened to visitors in 2022, as was the Grutesco Gallery, which had already been restored in 2014. The comprehensive restoration of the Mercury Pond began a little over a year ago with the emptying of the pool with the aim of putting the jets into operation and recovering the structure of the hydraulic system.
On the other hand, construction will begin on a replica of the bronze sculpture of the Roman god, a Renaissance work by Diego Pesquera cast by Bartolomé Morel. The Morel Bronze will be the subject of conservation and restoration work in the future.
References
Calf, P. (2014). Reales Alcázares of Seville, -X. The Gallery of Grotesques. Leyendasdesevilla.blogspot.
Guisado, P. (2016). INTERVENTION IN THE GRUTESQUE GALLERY OF THE REAL ALCÁZAR OF SEVILLE.
Parejo, J. (2024). Urgent action on the paintings in the Grutesco Gallery. Pressreader.com.
Parejo, J. (2024). Emergency intervention in the paintings of the Grutesco Gallery of the Alcázar of Seville. The Seville Diary.
