Altarpiece fragment. Spanish school of the 16th... Lot n° 11

Fragment of an altarpiece. Spanish school of the 16th century. Carved, polychromed and gilded wood. Measurements: 18 x 29 cm; 21 x 42 cm (frame). Original fragment of an altarpiece from the 16th century, carved in polychrome and gilded wood. It shows several figures worked in relief with Roman-inspired motifs, conserving their original polychromy. The term 'altarpiece' has not received the correct definition in Spanish Dictionaries and Vocabularies that the Renaissance and Baroque culture gave to this work of religious art, considered today to be the most important piece of liturgical furniture in the Christian church. In the final stretch of the 15th century, at the height of Hispano-Flemish painting, the Sevillian Antonio de Nebrija introduced this word in his "Dictionarium ex hispanensi in latinum sermonem" and, after deriving it from the Latin word "retrotabulum", defined it as a painting that adorns the back of the altar. The contemplation of the altarpiece aroused in the faithful a host of sensations aimed at exalting and invigorating their religiosity as believers.