Sorrows for a devout Ambassador. A netherlandish altarpiece in Sixteenth Century castile

Abstract

This paper aims to determine when and why the Our Lady of Compassion altarpiece was located at the trascoro of the Palencia Cathedral. In order to understand the function it played from such location during the beginning of sixteenth century, emphasis is placed on the political and devotional context in which the production of the painting occurred. This article presents for the first time unpublished evidence related to the triptych’s donor, Bishop Juan Rodríguez Fonseca, such as his endowment signed in 1513 and his membership to a Netherlandish confraternity responsible for the rise of the devotion to this particular cult.