Medieval Art and Politics

We owe to the mysterious Master Fruchel, who, in all probability, was part of the entourage of the Count of Burgundy, in charge of the repopulation of this very important part of the Castilian Plateau, which is Ávila and its community, not only the grandeur of a royal architecture, such as the Basilica of Saint Vincent, but also one of the most significant and at the same time, most disconcerting works of a style such as Gothic: the Cenotaph of the Holy Martyrs.

A work that, in addition to posing a singular mystery, showing, in its shell-shaped Mandorla - let us remember that this idea was also appropriated by the great Renaissance artist, Sandro Botticelli, in his work 'The Birth of Venus' - a Christ in Majesty, with disconcertingly Aryan features, where there is also another mysterious element, such as the no less controversial theme - and the occasion, given the dates in which we are, fits us like a glove - of the journey of the Magi from the East and their peculiar dream, where an angel, possibly Gabriel, appeared to them to warn them of Herod's perverse intentions.

But the main plot shows that aspect, human and unfortunately malevolent, about the animosity that existed around a race, the Jews, who were indiscriminately accused of the worst crimes, creating a black legend around them, which would culminate in successive diasporas and confiscations of property.

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