Jesús de Medinaceli or Jesús Cautivo y rescatado: the Madrid prototype and its sculptural versions in Seville and its province.

Since its medieval origins, redemptive activity has been one of the main institutional charisms of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity.[i]. As one of the most precious fruits of the fourteenth redemption undertaken by the discalced Trinitarian family, the sacred effigy of Our Father Jesus the Nazarene was rescued, which on 30 April 1681 had fallen into the hands of the King of Meknes, Muley Ismael, after his troops had reconquered the stronghold of Mámora, called by the Christians of San Miguel de Ultramar, in whose church it was worshipped. In mid-December, this and sixteen other images were taken to Tetuan, and from there they were transported to Ceuta, where they arrived on 1 January 1682. Their last destination, after passing through Gibraltar and Seville, was Madrid, in August of the same year; it was then that a sculpture of the Archangel Saint Michael was given to the monarch Charles II, another of the Virgin of the Rosary to his wife María Luisa de Borbón and a Saint Joseph to Queen Mother Mariana of Austria, the remaining works being distributed among the court nobility and various convents of the Barefoot Trinity. The monastery in Madrid received the painting of Jesús Nazareno, now called Jesús Nazareno del Rescate (Jesus of Nazareth, now called Jesús del Rescate), "in whose Church -says the Trinitarian Chronicle of the Barefoot Fathers, which we have been following. a magnificent Chapel was built, in which this Holy Image was placed in the year 1689, where it has worked countless miracles for the faithful, being the common devotion of all the individuals of this Court, at whose expense and alms the Chapel and the cult must be greatly increased". It concludes with a statement that is of great interest for our purpose: "Many transfers of this Prototype have been made and are venerated in various churches".[ii].

The significant iconographic transformation that this image underwent as a result of its profanation in Mequinez and subsequent liberation should be emphasised, as from being originally conceived as a Nazarene with the cross on his shoulders, it became, in the most eloquent manner, a Captive Christ, which was not difficult given the articulation of his arms. Since its enthronement in the Villa y Corte, the venerated sculptural simulacrum and its chapel came under the patronage of the Dukes of Medinaceli, thus justifying the extension and popularity acquired by its invocation as the "Captive Christ". "Cristo de Medinaceli" (Christ of Medinaceli). The owner of the Ducal House has been, since its foundation on 16th March 1710, the Elder Brother of the Royal Congregation of the Slaves of Jesus the Nazarene, erected to worship the image and attend its Good Friday procession, which had been taking place since 1697. On 8th June 1895, Mrs. Casilda Salabert y Arteaga, on behalf of her youngest son, His Excellency Mr. Luis Jesús Fernández de Córdoba y Salabert, Duke of Medinaceli, handed over the chapel of Jesus to the Capuchin Fathers, who took possession of it on 7th July. Its current temple, designed by the architect Jesús Carrasco-Muñoz Encina, was consecrated in 1930, and declared a minor basilica on 1st September 1973.[iii].

On numerous occasions the unquestionable Seville origin of the image of the Lord has been made clear. Various Capuchin historians - in permanent controversy with Trinitarian historiography on this point - affirm that it may have been around 1665 when the Nazarene was transferred from its convent in Seville to the mission they had been assigned since 1645 in the aforementioned North African fortress of Mamora.[iv]. Its stylistic and formal features are, in fact, in line with those habitually employed by many of the sculptors of the Sevillian school during the second decade of the 17th century. Its authorship has been linked mainly to Francisco de Ocampo and Luis de la Peña.[v]. Although it may seem more prudent to keep it anonymous until the production of some of the sculptors in the wake of Martínez Montañés is better known, I would like to point out that the treatment of his moustache and beard is very similar to that of the image of the Christ of the Prayer in the Garden in Morón de la Frontera, a documented work by Luis de la Peña in 1622-1623, before being subjected to several unfortunate interventions.[vi]. The fly under the lower lip of the Christ of Medinaceli has been conceived as two small locks of hair separated and with divergent tips, while in the aforementioned effigy from Moron and in other well-known Sevillian sculptures from the early 17th century, such as the Christ of Clemency by Martínez Montañés or the Jesus of Nazareth of the Brotherhood of Silence, they appear united at their source.[vii].

The Christ of Medinaceli is a polychrome wood carving.[viii]life-size (1.73 m.) and solemn, with his hands tied.[ix]He wears a wig on his head that hides the hair carved by the artist. The superimposed crown of thorns is an element that particularly links this figure of Christ to the Passionist theme of Ecce Homo. As has been suggested, it would be, "Strictly speaking, a Nazarene without a cross, whose iconographic key can be traced back to the Christ who is about to begin the Via Dolorosa".[x]. The configuration of his face, with its frown, narrowed gaze and half-open lips, manages to convey mixed feelings of pain and tenderness. Although he has always been worshipped in a purple tunic, his body is anatomised, with his hips wrapped in a light shroud and his arms articulated at the shoulders. On his chest he wears the scapular with the blue and red Trinitarian cross, a distinctive that links this image with the Order that redeemed it from the hands of the infidels.

Jesus of Medinaceli. Anonymous Sevillian work. Decade of 1620. Basilica of Jesús de Medinaceli, Madrid.

By means of sculptures, canvases and engravings, devotion to the Captive and Rescued Jesus spread very quickly throughout Spain, and even to Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Latin America and the Philippines. During the 18th century, there was hardly a church in the Trinidad Descalza that did not have a version of such a miraculous simulacrum on one of its altars. A similar process, although of much more limited scope, was recorded in the Capuchin temples from the end of the 19th century, due to the historical circumstances already mentioned. Many images of Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado or of Medinaceli were adopted or created expressly as the titular images of penitential brotherhoods, congregations or slaves, receiving the multitudinous and fervent accompaniment of the faithful through the most varied expressions of popular piety, almost all of a penitential nature: visits, masses and prayers during every Friday of the year - but especially those in March -, kisses, Lenten Stations of the Cross, Holy Week processions, and so on.

Bearing in mind the Sevillian origin and the initial journey of the effigy before its definitive arrival in Madrid, it is not surprising that it appeared all over Andalusia. The following pages will undertake an artistic study of the most significant sculptural versions which, while remaining faithful in their dedication and iconography to the original model - albeit to varying degrees - are located in the city of Seville and its province.

1. Parish Church of San Ildefonso. Seville.

One of the oldest surviving sculptural interpretations of the Madrid archetype in Spain is the one that is worshipped in the Sevillian parish of San Ildefonso, from the convent of the Discalced Trinitarians of Nuestra Señora de Gracia.[xi]. Since the 18th century, the piety of the people attributed to this venerated effigy numerous prodigies worked through her intercession, causing special impact those related to miraculous cures of children. We cannot resist transcribing at least one of them: "A lady who had great devotion to Jesus of Nazareth, gave birth in Seville to a blind child, who remained in this state for three years: all this time the mother spent in praying to this Divine Lord, until one day, carried away by her faith, she took her daughter in her arms, took her to the Church, and approaching the lamp that burned before the holy image, she anointed her eyes with its oil; and soon she recovered her sight".[xii].

            When the temple of the Barefoot Trinity was closed after the revolutionary events of 1868, the sculpture was deposited in the church of San Hermenegildo. In a session held on 7 February 1909 by the Governing Board of the Confraternity of the Sacred Scapular of the Holy Trinity, the sculpture was placed in the church of San Hermenegildo.[xiii]established in the parish church of San Ildefonso, it was agreed, at the proposal of its Spiritual Director, to take the image of the Captive there, as they believed they had some right over it due to the Trinitarian origin of the aforementioned Association. Once the appropriate ecclesiastical licences had been obtained, the transfer procession took place on the afternoon of 26 March, "attended by a large number of confreres with lighted candles, numerous commissions from the Brotherhoods of the Holy Crucifix of St. Augustine and the Knights of St. Hermenegildo and numerous devotees of the Lord, presided over by the Parish Priest of St. Ildefonso".[xiv]. The image, in the parish of San Ildefonso, became the altarpiece on the Gospel side of the transept.[xv]The desired objective of reviving his devotion among the Sevillians, who began to lavish him with offerings of silver lamps, altar cloths, oil, candles and countless votive offerings, was achieved. And what can we say of the crowded Friday visits that it continues to receive to this day; it is no coincidence that the Cautivo de San Ildefonso marks, as has been said on occasion, "one of the highest poles of the spirituality of Seville".[xvi].

As for the dating of the image, there are those who, echoing the indications of some printed sources, date it to 1690.[xvii]while others prefer to place its execution in the 18th century.[xviii]. I particularly think, in view of the morphological and expressive graphics, that the first of the proposed dates could be accepted, without rejecting a slightly later chronology. In fact, in this respect, we can provide a valuable documentary testimony, rigorously unpublished, referring to the premiere, in the church of the Discalced Trinitarians of Seville, of the chapel "of the effigy of Jesus the Nazarene".which took place on 15 February 1711.[xix]This inevitably points to an earlier date for the image that was to preside over that sacred precinct.

Jesus the Captive. Anonymous Sevillian work. Circa 1700. Parish Church of San Ildefonso, Seville. 

It is a life-size sculpture, with articulated arms, which was restored in 1910 by Carlos González Eiris.[xx]. The bust, hands and legs from the knees to the feet are perfectly anatomised. The most curious thing is that from the waist, the folds of a tunic have been carved, which descends to below the thighs, toned in brown. It could be speculated, given the unusual nature of the solution, that this garment was a reused element from some other sculpture, perhaps hagiographic, a hypothesis that seems to be reinforced by the fact that the bust does not form a single block with the torso, nor is it even assembled to it, but fits inside it by means of a thick rectangular section spigot, sewn with a nail and two iron plates screwed to the back. The head, of elongated proportions, is slightly tilted downwards and to the right. The hair, attached to the cranial vault, is worked with fine gouge incisions, exposing both ears, detached from the temples and conceived with realistic precision; all of this is designed to receive the wig of natural hair and the crown of thorns superimposed on it. He has glass eyes. The carefully crafted hands show the relief of his bone structure, as well as the tendons and blood vessels. The legs - the right leg is slightly more advanced and with the knee bent - and the feet have a much smoother modelling than the head and both hands, so that it is possible that a different, we could say later, authorship could be considered for the former. Both the arms - with a new system of ball-and-socket joints - and the base were replaced by José María Gamero Viñau in 1998, who also removed the metal components, restored the entire lime support and cleaned the polychromy.[xxi]. As stated in an old description of this image, "The sight of him is touching by his sorrowful attitude: his face, blood-red and bloody, causes singular fear and reverence as well as consolation, and instils sadness and compassion in souls, with the memory of his most bitter Passion in Jerusalem, and the renewal in his Image by the Mohammedans of Africa. The Lord is crowned with thorns, his hands tied under his chest with cords, which descend from his neck on both sides, and extend to near his feet: on the purple tunic, which recalls the one placed in Pilate's Praetorium, to receive the Cross and carry it to Calvary. The Holy Scapular that Jesus of Nazareth has on his chest, with its three colours of white, light blue and red, is the image of the Most Holy Trinity, as the Supreme Pontiff Innocent the Third said; and with the simple form of his Cross, it is the proper motto of the Discalced Trinitarian Fathers and Religious, Redeemers of Captives".[xxii].

2. Chapel of San José. Seville.

In the chapel of San José, a true jewel of Seville's Baroque style, once owned by the guild of carpenters of the white, and currently run by the Capuchin fathers, an image of the Captive and Rescued Jesus, of excellent workmanship, is venerated.[xxiii]. It is signed on the base by its author, the prize-winning sculptor Agustín Sánchez-Cid Agüero (1886-1955), one of the most qualified renovators of Sevillian plastic art during the first third of the 20th century, as his work is part of the Mediterranean classicism of his admired Arístides Maillol and José Clará.[xxiv].

The blessing of this effigy by Cardinal Ilundain on Thursday 2 March 1933.[xxv]This coincided with the completion of the rehabilitation process of this chapel, which had been set on fire by a mob of fiends in May 1931.[xxvi]. The sculpture is life-size (measuring 1.67 m.) and, according to Fray Diego de Valencina, was commissioned to replace an Ecce Homo that perished charred in the unfortunate event mentioned above. The same Capuchin monk will comment that "although dressed, it is all carved like the images of the Lord of the Great Power and of the Passion".and that it was paid for by a devotee who wished to remain anonymous. He also points out its explicit resemblance to the Christ of Medinaceli in Madrid, which it follows point by point in its characteristic iconography[xxvii].

Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado. Agustín Sánchez-Cid Agüero. 1933. Chapel of San José, Seville.

The journalistic chronicle of that ceremony describes this image as a "finished sculptural work, worthy, for its delicate workmanship, of the highest praise".commending that "It has such an expression of humility and serene suffering that it fills the soul of all those who contemplate it with deep and fervent emotions".[xxviii].

3. Parish Church of Nuestra Señora del Rocío. Dos Hermanas.

It was ex-combatants of the Civil War who, in 1939, founded the Royal Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament, Our Father Jesus Captive and Mary Most Holy of Hope, based from 1980 onwards in the parish church of Nuestra Señora del Rocío in Dos Hermanas. On 4 September 1939, the relevant contract was signed with the excellent sculptor Antonio Illanes Rodríguez (1901-1976).[xxix] for the creation of the effigy of the Señor Cautivo, the purchase of which cost 6,000 pesetas. Since 1951, he has made his processional procession through the streets of Nazareth on Palm Sunday, dressed in a purple tunic with a scapular with the Trinitarian cross, which also appears on the corporate coat of arms and on the penitential habit. His head, with its beautiful, noble features, reproduces a physical model usually used by Illanes during these post-war years, for example in the Nazareno de las Penas of the San Roque brotherhood in Seville. The hair is carved and there is no crown of thorns on it. Its base was restored in 1987 by the sculptor Salvador Madroñal Valle. It should be noted that between 1975 and 1986, Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo was accompanied by two sayones and a Roman carved by Antonio Eslava Rubio, until that last year when they were sold to the Cadiz brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Salud.[xxx].

4. Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de Consolación. Cazalla de la Sierra.

In the sad events of 1936, the image of Jesús Cautivo, which had been venerated in the parish church of Cazalla de la Sierra since at least the 19th century, was destroyed. It was a group of devotees who, in the immediate post-war years, set out to restore a new effigy to worship which, with the financial support of the town, they commissioned the Sevillian retablist and sculptor José Alarcón Santacruz. A parish group grew up around it, firstly, and from 1946 onwards, a penitential brotherhood that makes its procession on the afternoon of Maundy Thursday. From a strictly artistic point of view, this image of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado is of discreet interest, especially when its original hands were replaced by others that had belonged to the comforting Angel of the mystery of the Prayer in the Garden, of the Brotherhood of the Vera Cruz. It has a metallic crown of thorns that rests on the hair, carved with great volumetric simplicity.[xxxi].

5. Parish Church of San Miguel. Morón de la Frontera.

For decades, devotion to Jesús Cautivo in Morón de la Frontera revolved around a pictorial version in the parish church of San Miguel, which was even solemnly worshipped on the main altar. However, it was not until 1943 that this movement of popular piety was articulated around a Brotherhood of Penitence.[xxxii]. That same year, the sculptor Antonio Illanes Rodríguez was commissioned to make the image of the patron saint, who finished it in 1944 for its first processional procession on the afternoon of Palm Sunday. The visible areas of this sculpture are made of cypress wood, with pine being used for the rest of the body. In 1984 it had to be restored by Carlos Bravo Nogales who, in addition to the relevant conservation work, proceeded to repolychroming it. Although a silver crown of thorns is kept in the image's trousseau, it is not usually used; in fact, the flesh on its forehead is clean of wounds and traces of blood. As a happy naturalistic device, when the head is tilted slightly to the right, the carved hair falls freely and abundantly on that side. The Trinitarian cross encircled by a chain forms the corporate coat of arms, and as such appears at the centre of his banner.

6. Parish Church of Santa María. Ecija.

In the main parish church of Santa Cruz in Ecija there is an interesting 18th-century canvas that reproduces, in the manner of a trompe l'oeil "a lo divino", a sculpture of the Captive and Rescued Jesus in the central niche of an altarpiece, escorted by the small figures of Saint John of Mata and Saint Felix of Valois. The devotion that a group of Ecijan people professed to this pictorial representation, and the impetus of the archpriest Francisco Domínguez Fernández, justified the commission of a sculptural effigy from the accredited Sevillian goldsmith and sculptor Cayetano González Gómez (1896-1975).[xxxiii]The image was to go to the parish church of Santa María. The image was completed in May 1945, and the Diocesan Commission of Sacred Art ruled that it was "artistically discreet and not unworthy of public worship".This is not a very enthusiastic appraisal, which is in keeping with the mediocre interest of its technical workmanship. The 7,000 pesetas of its cost were contributed by popular subscription and paid to the artist in April 1946. Originally conceived for internal worship (it measures 1.72 m.), it took on a processional function after the foundation of a penitential brotherhood which has worshipped it since 1956, parading through the streets of Ecija on Palm Sunday.[xxxiv]. The crown of thorns is carved on the head, and the eyes are painted on the wood. It has a peaceful countenance, underlined by the attitude of its sealed lips. The sculptor Francisco Fernández Enríquez added a new body to it in 1998.[xxxv].

7. Parish Church of San Eutropio. Stops.

The Hermandad y Cofradía de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Nuestra Señora del Mayor Dolor (Brotherhood and Confraternity of Our Father Jesus Cautivo and Our Lady of the Greatest Pain) is located in the parish of San Eutropio de Paradas. Its history began in 1947, when a group of young Catholic Action members, brought together by the parish priest, decided to found a penitential corporation. The effigy of the Captive Lord is the work of the sculptor from Granada, Rafael Barbero Medina (1913-1990), who had been living in Seville since 1942.[xxxvi]The sculptor, who carved it in 1949 for a sum of 4,000 pesetas. The intervention of Manuel Pineda Calderón, who in 1963 increased the proportions of the torso, was important. More recently, in 1995, the sculpture was scientifically restored by María Antonia Rojas Márquez.[xxxvii]. Although his forehead is bruised and streaked with blood, he is not wearing a crown of thorns. Worthy of note, due to its rarity in this iconography, is the backward posture of the left leg, with the foot placed at a right angle to the right. The Trinitarian cross, on the scapular and on the corporate coat of arms, proclaims the unquestionable link of the image and of the brotherhood itself to the roots of this devotion.

8. Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación. Casariche.

The image of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado, which is worshipped in its own chapel in the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación in Casariche, as the patron saint of an ancient penitential brotherhood, is the work of the illustrious and prolific Sevillian image-maker Antonio Castillo Lastrucci (1882-1967), from whose workshop it was acquired in 1953 for 7,000 pesetas.[xxxviii]. The physical characterisation of his face corresponds, in all respects, to the routine graphics of its author, with the thick crown of thorns carved on his head. On his chest he wears the customary scapular with the Trinitarian cross, which also appears on the corporate coat of arms and on the penitential habit of the Nazarenes during the Holy Thursday station.[xxxix].

9. Parish Church of San Sebastián. Alcalá de Guadaíra.

The prolific Alcalá-born artist Manuel Pineda Calderón (1906-1974)[xl] he carved a cypress wood image of Our Father Jesus Captive and Rescued for his home town, donating it to the Brotherhood that was then being set up in the parish of San Sebastián.[xli]. It was blessed in March 1955.[xlii]The statue was carried in procession for the first time on Holy Wednesday of that year. On its pedestal there is a plaque with an inscription that reads as follows: "In memory of Rev. D. Manuel Sánchez Santiago".Pineda Calderón's friend and spiritual director, who was also the former parish priest of San Sebastián. He is life-size (1.80 m.), with a suitably anatomised body and unarticulated arms. His hair is carved and girded by a superimposed crown of thorns. The head is inclined to reinforce the resigned expressiveness of his face and the surrendered attitude of his hands, the whole sculpture being incarnated in brown tones.[xliii].

Jesus Captive and Rescued. Manuel Pineda Calderón, 1955. Parish Church of San Sebastián, Alcalá de Guadaira, Seville.

10. Parish Church of Santiago. Utrera.

In 1957, the Sevillian sculptor José Paz Vélez (1931)[xliv]a resident of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since the 1960s, executed two images of Jesús Cautivo for brotherhoods in Seville and Utrera, showing an unquestionable formal and iconographic resemblance between the two. The brotherhood in Utrera, which began in the parish church of Santiago in 1953, took up the baton from a defunct liturgical brotherhood, founded in the parish church of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1953. "in honour and reverence of the Holy Trinity, Redeemer of Captives with the title of the Captive Redeemer".erected in the chapel of Santa Marta, with a rule approved in January 1717. The sculpture by Paz Vélez replaced another, acquired in the Girona workshops of Olot in 1954, which is now deposited in the neighbouring convent of the Carmelites.[xlv]. The blood on the forehead seems to reflect the haematidrosis suffered during the Prayer in the Garden, as the effigy is venerated without a crown of thorns, although it does retain the evocative scapular with the Trinitarian cross.

11. Chapel of San Sebastián. Brenes.

In 1957 the Hermandad Sacramental y Cofradía de Nazarenos de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo was founded in the chapel of San Sebastián de Brenes, acquiring its titular image that same year from the aforementioned sculptor Rafael Barbero Medina. In fact, it was Víctor Torres Alcalá, then Mayor of the town, who paid the cost of the sculpture, donating it to the Nazarene corporation. The first penitential procession took place during the Holy Week of 1958.[xlvi]. The head of the Lord, of noble countenance and soft modelling, does not have a crown of thorns on the carved hair. Once again, the scapular with the Trinitarian cross is the main link with the Christ of Medinaceli.

12. Casa de Pilatos. Seville.

In the sacristy of the chapel of the Flagellation, the beautiful Gothic-Mudejar oratory of the ducal palace of Medinaceli, commonly known as the Casa de Pilatos.[xlvii]The image of Jesús de Medinaceli, a replica of the original from Madrid, was carved by the sculptor Juan Abascal Fuentes (1922-2003).[xlviii] in 1960. He was commissioned by the recently founded Pia Unión del Vía Crucis a la Cruz del Campo.[xlix]The cost of 25,000 pesetas was borne equally by all the penitential brotherhoods of Seville.[l]. Its blessing, on 5 February 1961, was given by His Excellency Mr. José María Cirarda Lachiondo, then Auxiliary Bishop of Seville, assisted by the royal canon chaplain Mr. José Sebastián y Bandarán.[li]. Since then, every first Friday in March, he presides over the Eucharist in the oratory, together with the relic of the Lignum Crucis, which precedes the celebration of the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross, which takes place inside the galleries of the main courtyard of the palace.

Jesús de Medinaceli. Juan Abascal Fuentes. 1961. Casa de Pilatos, Seville.

13. Parish Church of San Ignacio de Loyola. Seville.

In the parish of San Ignacio de Loyola, located in the Polígono de San Pablo district of Seville, and assigned since 1988 to the Order of the Holy Trinity, is the Fervent and Trinitarian Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament and Brotherhood of Nazarenes of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado, Nuestra Señora del Rosario Doloroso, San Juan de Mata and San Ignacio de Loyola, canonically erected on January 5, 2005.[lii]. The effigy of the Lord is the work of the accredited Sevillian sculptor Luis Álvarez Duarte.[liii]who sculpted it in cedar wood, using the technique of direct carving.[liv]. It was contracted in the month of July 1991 (Documents numbers 1 and 2) and its blessing took place in March 1992, the ceremony being presided over by the Episcopal Vicar of the Zone, D. Manuel de los Santos Sánchez-Barbudo. Manuel de los Santos Sánchez-Barbudo presided over the ceremony.

Jesus Captive and Rescued. Luis Álvarez Duarte, 1992. Parish Church of San Ignacio de Loyola, Seville.

This image is a clear departure in its plastic and iconographic resolution from the original 17th-century prototype, although it retains its invocation and the Trinitarian scapular on the chest. The beautiful head with its mournful expression, with abundant and moving head hair, corresponds to a physical model usually used by its author. It is important to note that there is no crown of thorns. Another distinctive feature with respect to its Madrid counterpart is its itinerant attitude, with the torso slightly bent and the right leg set back. The five secondary figures, also sculpted in cedar wood by Álvarez Duarte, which accompany him in his penitential station, were unveiled in Holy Week 2008. They represent the moment when Jesus appears before Herod (Lk. 23:6-10), where, in addition to the Tetrarch of Galilee, they include Caiaphas in his capacity as High Priest, a member of the Sanhedrin and two Roman soldiers.[lv].

14. Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves. La Algaba.

            The Brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado, María Santísima del Dulce Nombre and San Juan Evangelista has recently been founded in the parish of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves in Algeciras. Its first penitential procession, after being frustrated by inclement weather in 2005, took place on Holy Wednesday 2006, with the figure of Jesus Cautivo sculpted by José Manuel Bonilla Cornejo, accompanied by a Roman soldier and Pontius Pilate, works of the Algeciano sculptor Miguel Ángel, on the paso de misterio. The image of the Lord wore a white tunic on which the scapular with the Trinitarian cross stood out.

 

[i] Porres Alonso, Bonifacio: Freedom to the Captives. Redemptive activity of the Trinitarian Order. T. I. Redemption of Captives (1198-1785). Córdoba-Salamanca: Secretariado Trinitario, 1998. A brief synthesis in GARCÍA HERRERA, Antonio: "Los Trinitarios y las redenciones de cautivos" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of SevilleSeville, June 2006, pp. 419-421.

[ii] MADRE DE DIOS, Alejandro de la: Chronicle of the Descalzos de la Santísima Trinidad Redención de Cautivos. Third part. Madrid, 1707. Quoted by ÁLVAREZ DE LA FUENTE, Fr José: Pontifical Succession: a historical epitome of the lives, deeds and resolutions of the Supreme Pontiffs from St. Peter... to... Benedict XIII. Part eight. Madrid, 1746.

[iii] Among the abundant bibliography that has analysed the devotional, historical and artistic aspects of this image, the monographs by FERNÁNDEZ VILLA, Domingo: History of the Christ of Medinaceli. Madrid, 1982; PORRES ALONSO, Bonifacio: Jesús Nazareno Rescatado in the third centenary (1682-1982). Córdoba, 1982; CARROCERA, Buenaventura de: The image of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno or the Christ of Medinaceli: origin, history, devotion, cult. Madrid, 1988. On the Madrid Congregation of Jesús Nazareno, see SÁNCHEZ MADARIAGA, Elena: "Fundación y primera época de la Cofradía de Jesús Nazareno en Madrid" in Proceedings of the International Congress Cristóbal de Santa Catalina and the Brotherhoods of Jesús Nazareno. T. I. Córdoba, 1991, pp. 385-392. An excellent summary is offered in the works of GUEVARA PÉREZ, Enrique and CALLEJA MARTÍN, Pedro: Easter Week in Madrid. Madrid, 2000, pp. 143-158 and GUEVARA PÉREZ, Enrique and RIVERA VÁZQUEZ, Mariano: History of Easter Week in Madrid. Madrid, 2004, pp. 104-105 and 138. The effigy was restored in 1996 by Isabel Poza, Raimundo Cruz Solís and Cristóbal López Romero at the Instituto del Patrimonio Histórico Español in Madrid. Cf. AGUIRRE, Begoña: "El Cristo de Medinaceli, restaurado por primera vez en cuatro siglos" in El País. Madrid, 11 January 1997.

[iv] WITKO, Andrés: Jesús Nazareno Rescatado. Rome-Madrid, 2004, pp. 24-25. Echoes how "The Trinitarian authors are of a completely contrary opinion and confirm that there is a lack of sources to prove that the figure of Jesus the Nazarene, before being taken to Mamora, was the property of the Capuchins and that it came from their convent in Seville".

[v] HERNÁNDEZ DÍAZ, José: "La imagen del Santo Cristo de Medinaceli" in Archivo Hispalense. T. XVIII. Seville, 1953, pp. 221-222.

[vi] The contract is transcribed by LÓPEZ MARTÍNEZ, Celestino: From Jerónimo Hernández to Martínez Montañés. Seville, 1929, p. 86. HERNÁNDEZ DÍAZ, José: "Passionist images by the sculptor Luis de la Peña" in Calvary. Seville, 1947, n.p.

[vii] This morphological feature, common to several sculptures in Martínez Montañés's artistic environment, has been appreciated by ROMERO TORRES, José Luis: "La imagen procesional de Jesús Nazareno en tierras gaditanas" in The Advocacy of Jesús Nazareno. Proceedings of the National Congress. T. I. Pozoblanco, 2007, p. 198.

[viii] Cedar wood was used for the head and both hands, and pine wood for the rest of the body.

[ix] In the original prototype, the left hand rests on the right forearm, while the right hand lightly supports the left.

[x] GALTIER MARTÍ, Fernando: "Los orígenes de la orígenes de la iconografía de Jesús Nazareno" in The Advocacy of Jesús Nazareno. Proceedings of the National Congress. T. I. Pozoblanco, 2007, p. 30.

[xi] The most complete study of this convent and its church is by GARCÍA HERRERA, Antonio: "Aproximación histórico-artística al estudio del antiguo templo de trinitarios descalzos propiedad de la Hermandad del Cristo de Burgos de Sevilla" in 6th Symposium on Brotherhoods in Seville and its province. Seville, 2005, pp. 119-152. It was worshipped in the altarpiece located on the Epistle side of the transept, on whose side shelves were the carvings of Saint Agnes and Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and in the attic the carving of Saint Ferdinand. After the September Revolution of 1868, the altarpiece was given to the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Oliva in Salteras. Cf. TASSARA Y GONZÁLEZ, José María: Notes for the history of the Revolution of September 1868 in the city of Seville. Seville, 1919, p. 92.

[xii] Pious Novena to Jesus of Nazareth under the invocation of the Divine Redeemer Captive and Rescued whose image is venerated in the Parish Church of San Ildefonso in this city. Seville, 1928, p. 9. I owe knowledge of this print to the generosity of my good friend Juan Carlos Martínez Amores.

[xiii] We are aware of the existence of this Confraternity at least until 1928, when the fifth edition of the Novena composed by the canon of Seville Cathedral, José Roca y Ponsa, was printed. At that time its president was Ms. María Tixe de Isern, author of some Jozos a Jesús Cautivo also inserted in the printed version of the Novena.

[xiv] Pious Novena to Jesus of Nazareth under the invocation of the Divine Redeemer Captive and Rescued whose image is venerated in the Parish Church of San Ildefonso in this city. Op. cit., pp. 9-10.

[xv] By Bull of His Holiness Pius X dated 25 April 1909, this altar was added to the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

[xvi] MARTÍNEZ ALCALDE, Juan: "Las imágenes pasionistas que no salen (III)" in Diario ABC. Seville, 5 April 1987, p. 102.

[xvii] Pious Novena to Jesus of Nazareth under the invocation of the Divine Redeemer Captive and Rescued whose image is venerated in the Parish Church of San Ildefonso in this city. Op. cit., p. 5. WITKO, Andrés: Jesús Nazareno Rescatado. Op. cit., p. 56. Professor Guerrero Lovillo dated the image to the second half of the 17th century. GUERRERO LOVILLO, José: Artistic Guide to Seville. Seville, 1986, p. 136.

[xviii] MARTÍNEZ ALCALDE, Juan: "Las imágenes pasionistas que no salen (III)". GARCÍA GUTIÉRREZ, Pedro Francisco and MARTÍNEZ CARBAJO, Agustín Francisco: Churches of Seville. Madrid, 1994, p. 238. AA: Artistic Guide to Seville and its province. T. I. Seville, 2004, p. 150. GARCÍA HERRERA, Antonio: "Aproximación histórico-artística al estudio del antiguo templo de trinitarios descalzos propiedad de la Hermandad del Cristo de Burgos de Sevilla". Op. cit., p. 139.

[xix] Archive of the Sacramental Brotherhood of Santa María Magdalena of Seville. Minute Book 1709-1737. Cabildo 8-February-1711, f. 20r-v. The Trinitarian community proposes to organise a public procession on 15 February, "with the motibo of the premiere of his chapel of the effigy of Jesus the Nazarene and in thanksgiving for the good subsesos of this Monarchy and Victories of our King D. Phelipe quinto, and in atonement for the injury that the heretical enemies consented to His Sacramental Majesty".For this purpose, they requested the custody of the seat that belonged to the Hermandad Sacramental de la parroquia de Santa María Magdalena, which would be granted.

[xx] CASCALES MUÑOZ, José: The Fine Arts in Seville. T. II. Toledo, 1929, pp. 65-66.

[xxi] I would like to thank José María Gamero Viñau, sculptor and Dr. in Fine Arts, for his kindness in providing me with the report and graphic material of this restoration.

[xxii] Pious Novena to Jesus of Nazareth under the invocation of the Divine Redeemer Captive and Rescued whose image is venerated in the Parish Church of San Ildefonso in this city. Op. cit., pp. 5-6.

[xxiii] It is located on the foot wall, under a canopy and in front of a silver metal glow.

[xxiv] The life and professional career of Sánchez-Cid, as well as his contribution to 20th century Sevillian sculptural art, is summarised in BANDA Y VARGAS, Antonio de la: "Panorámica de la escultura sevillana en el siglo XX" in Homage to Prof. Dr. José Hernández Díaz. T. II. Sevilla, 1982, p. 759. SANTOS CALERO, Sebastián: "La renovación formal de la escultura sevillana" in Fine Arts Bulletin. 2ª Época, nº XVI. Sevilla, 1988, p. 130. BLÁZQUEZ SÁNCHEZ, Fausto: Sculpture in Seville at the time of the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929 (1900-1930). Ávila, 1989, pp. 130-131. BANDA Y VARGAS, Antonio de la: From the Enlightenment to the present day in "History of Art in Andalusia". T. VIII. Seville, 1991, pp. 290-291. SANTOS CALERO, Sebastián: "Sánchez-Cid Agüero, Agustín" in Dictionary of Athenians. T. I. Seville, 2002, pp. 395-396. The image of the Cautivo, as a work by Sánchez-Cid, is cited by VALENCINA, P. Diego de: The fire in the Chapel of San José. Seville, Imprenta Provincial, 1939, p. 32. MARTÍNEZ ALCALDE, Juan: "Las imágenes pasionistas que no salen (III)". GARCÍA GUTIÉRREZ, Pedro Francisco and MARTÍNEZ CARBAJO, Agustín Francisco: Churches of Seville. Op. cit., p. 467. LAFITA GORDILLO, María Teresa: The visual arts in Seville during the Second Republic. Seville, 2005, pp. 43 and 113.

[xxv] "A new effigy of the Captive Lord" in The Liberal. Seville, Friday 3 March 1933, p. 1.

[xxvi] "Academy of Fine Arts of St. Elizabeth of Hungary" in The Liberal. Seville, Saturday 4 March 1933, p. 1. At the general meeting held on 1 March, the following resolutions, among others, were passed: "To congratulate the Director General of Fine Arts on the completion of the restoration work on the beautiful chapel of San José, a national monument, which was set on fire by a mob of fiends in May 1931; this work has been carried out largely with the subsidy of the State; congratulations are extended to the young Sevillian architect Manuel Rodríguez Cano, who has directed it with singular skill and care".

[xxvii] VALENCINA, P. Diego de: The fire in the Chapel of San José. Op. cit., pp. 32-33.

[xxviii] "A new effigy of the Captive Lord". Op. cit., p. 1. "Today it has been blessed and placed to the left of the main altar, where tomorrow, the first Friday in March, solemn services will be dedicated to it. May Mr Sánchez-Cid receive, on the occasion of this new and seasoned fruit of his enlightened genius, the sincere expression of our praises". A few months later, on 15 November 1933, Agustín Sánchez-Cid was appointed a full member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Santa Isabel de Hungría in Seville.

[xxix] On this sculptor, who was able to combine figurative tradition with a certain plastic modernity in his work, and who was able to cultivate all kinds of techniques and tackle the most varied subjects, we can consult, among others, the works published by BANDA Y VARGAS, Antonio de la: "Evocación del escultor Antonio Illanes (1901-1976)" in Fine Arts BulletinSeville, 1977, pp. 93-105 and by RODA PEÑA, José: "Illanes Rodríguez, Antonio", in Dictionary of Athenians. T. I. Seville, 2002, pp. 227-228.

[xxx] This confraternity has a monograph. AA.VV.: Fiftieth Anniversary, 1939-1989. Real Hermandad del Santísimo Sacramento, Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y María Santísima de la Esperanza. Dos Hermanas, 1990. A synthesis by LÓPEZ GUTIÉRREZ, Antonio J.: "Real Hermandad del Santísimo Sacramento, Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y María Santísima de la Esperanza" in Misterios de Sevilla. T. IV. Seville, 1999, pp. 31-43.

[xxxi] HERNÁNDEZ GONZÁLEZ, Salvador: "Real, Ilustre y Fervorosa Hermandad y Cofradía de Nazarenos de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado, María Santísima de la Amargura y San Juan Evangelista" in Mysteries of Seville. T. III. Seville, 1999, pp. 380-389.

[xxxii] A monograph on this corporation has been published: Fiftieth Foundation Anniversary 1944-1994. Brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo and María Santísima de la Paz. Seville, 1994. A brief summary in PÉREZ GONZÁLEZ, Silvia María: "Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y María Santísima de la Paz" in Misterios de Sevilla. T. V. Seville, 1999, pp. 118-127.

[xxxiii] GARCÍA OLLOQUI, María Victoria: Goldsmiths from Seville: Cayetano González. Seville, 1992. Erroneously dates this sculpture in 1947, on pp. 304 and 343.

[xxxiv] MARTÍN OJEDA, Marina and GARCÍA LEÓN, Gerardo: "Ilustre y Fervorosa Hermandad de la Entrada de Jesús en Jerusalem, Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Nuestra Madre y Señora de las Lágrimas" in Mysteries of Seville. T. IV. Seville, 1999, pp. 90-99.

[xxxv] An accurate analysis of this image is offered by GONZÁLEZ GÓMEZ, Juan Miguel: "Escultura e iconografía de los siglos XIX y XX en Écija" in Ecija in the Contemporary Age. Proceedings of the 5th History Congress. Ecija, 2000, pp. 20-21.

[xxxvi] CARRERO RODRÍGUEZ, Juan: "La vida y la obra del imaginero Rafael Barbero" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of SevilleSeville, July 1990, offprint no. 7. DÍAZ VAQUERO, María Dolores: Contemporary Andalusian Imaginers. Córdoba, 1995, pp. 163-164 and 270-274.

[xxxvii] REMÍREZ MUNETA, Jesús: Hermandad de Ntro. Padre Jesús Cautivo y Nuestra Señora del Mayor Dolor de la villa de Paradas (Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus Cautivo and Our Lady of the Greatest Pain of the town of Paradas) on its silver jubilee anniversary. Seville, 1973. PASTOR TORRES, Álvaro: "Hermandad y Cofradía de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Nuestra Señora del Mayor Dolor" in Mysteries of Seville. T. V. Seville, 1999, pp. 248-259.

[xxxviii] The most complete study of this sculptor that has been published is by ROSA MATEOS, Antonio de la: Castillo Lastrucci. His work. Almería, 2004. The Cautivo de Casariche is listed on page 192.

[xxxix] GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, Manuel Jesús and Antonio Claret: "Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Nuestra Señora de los Dolores" in Mysteries of Seville. T. III. Seville, 1999, pp. 342-347.

[xl] The first biographical and artistic sketch of this sculptor, as well as the first complete cataloguing of his sculptural work, was offered by RODA PEÑA, José: "El escultor Manuel Pineda Calderón (1906-1974)", in 2nd Symposium on Brotherhoods in Seville and its province. Seville, 2001, pp. 231-261. A recent monograph has been published by GARCÍA GARCÍA, Juan Jorge: The sculptor Manuel Pineda Calderón (1906-1974). An approach to his religious work in Alcalá de Guadaíra. Seville, 2005.

[xli] The decree of canonical erection was signed on 13 January 1955. A historical-artistic summary of the Brotherhood in GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, Antonio Claret and Manuel Jesús: "Antigua y Venerable Hermandad Servita de María Stma. de los Dolores y Cofradía de Nazarenos de Ntro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Rescatado y Ntra. Mysteries of Seville. T. III. Seville, 1999, pp. 56-69.

[xlii] RODA PEÑA, José: "The sculptor Manuel Pineda Calderón (1906-1974)". Op. cit., p. 246.

[xliii] Provides a detailed description of the sculpture GARCÍA GARCÍA, Juan Jorge: The sculptor Manuel Pineda Calderón (1906-1974). An approach to his religious work in Alcalá de Guadaíra. Op. cit., pp. 66-68.

[xliv] A brief biographical sketch of this sculptor can be found in GONZÁLEZ GÓMEZ, Juan Miguel: "Imaginería de la Semana Santa de Sevilla en la segunda mitad del siglo XX" in The Brotherhoods of Seville in the 20th century. Seville, 1992, pp. 324-326.

[xlv] MAYO RODRÍGUEZ, Julio: "Pontificia e Ilustre Hermandad Sacramental de la Inmaculada Concepción y Ánimas Benditas y Cofradía de Nazarenos del Santo Cristo de Santiago, Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo y Nuestra Señora de las Lágrimas" in Mysteries of Seville. T. V. Seville, 1999, pp. 452-463.

[xlvi] GARCÍA MARTÍNEZ, Antonio Claret and Manuel Jesús: "Hermandad Sacramental y Cofradía de Nazarenos de Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo" in Mysteries of Seville. T. III. Seville, 1999, pp. 196-201.

[xlvii] On this chapel, built at the end of the 15th century, see the monograph by LLEÓ CAÑAL, Vicente: The House of Pilate. Madrid, 1998, p. 19.

[xlviii] The figure of Juan Abascal has been dealt with by GONZÁLEZ GÓMEZ, Juan Miguel: "La escultura de Juan Abascal Fuentes en Huelva e Hispanoamérica" in Proceedings of the 6th Andalusia and America Conference. T. I. Seville, 1987, pp. 275-313. DÍAZ VAQUERO, María Dolores: Contemporary Andalusian Imaginers. Op. cit., pp. 157-159 and 257-260. GONZÁLEZ GÓMEZ, Juan Miguel: "Imaginería de la Semana Santa de Sevilla en la segunda mitad del siglo XX". Op. cit., pp. 321-324. COVELO LÓPEZ, Juan Manuel: "The Monuments of Juan Abascal Fuentes in Seville" in Quantity SurveyorsSeville, March 2004.

[xlix] "Una imagen del Cautivo para el Vía-Crucis de la Cruz del Campo" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of SevilleSeville, July 1960, p. 10. "The Pía Unión de la Hermandad del Vía-Crucis a la Cruz del Campo, has commissioned the carving of an image of Nuestro Padre Jesús Cautivo, a copy of that of Medinaceli, from Madrid, which will surely be finished for next year's Lenten procession".

[l] Libro de Actas de la Pía Unión del Vía Crucis a la Cruz del Campo 1958-. Chapter of 5 February 1961, f. 9v. At that time there were 52 confraternities of penitence in the capital of Seville, each of which had to pay 480.75 pesetas to defray the cost of the aforementioned image. In the chapter meeting held on 28 January 1962 (f. 10v.) it is recalled that 39 brotherhoods still had to pay this amount.

[li] GONZÁLEZ MORENO, Joaquín: Via Crucis to the Cruz del Campo. Seville, 1992, pp. 87 and 192. Its authorship had already been mentioned by MARTÍNEZ ALCALDE, Juan: "Las imágenes pasionistas que no salen (III)". Op. cit., p. 103. The Pious Union of the Way of the Cross to the Cruz del Campo, basically made up of the Elder Brothers of the penitential brotherhoods and the members of the General Council of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods, is presided over by the head of the Ducal House of Medinaceli.

[lii] ROMERA DOMÍNGUEZ, Esteban: "Dos nuevas Cofradías de Penitencia para Sevilla" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of Seville, nº 552. Seville, February 2005, pp. 81-83. As a parish grouping, it received the title of Trinitarian by decree of the Minister General of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, Fray José Gamarra Mayor, dated 8 March 1991.

[liii] An accurate assessment of his artistic personality and professional career is offered by DÍAZ VAQUERO, María Dolores: Contemporary Andalusian Imaginers. Op. cit., pp. 99-105, 160-162 and 260-265.

[liv] The process of making this carving is recorded in a video filmed by Salvador Vélez, entitled "Divina Madera" (Divine Wood). See also FUERTES, José Mª: "Luis Álvarez Duarte. His last works. His great friends" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of SevilleSeville, June 1992, pp. 30-33.

[lv] ROMERA DOMÍNGUEZ, Esteban: "Cautivo y Rescatado. Presentation of the model of the mystery" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of SevilleSeville, November 2006, p. 723. MILLÁN, Rocío S. and JIMÉNEZ SAMPEDRO, Rafael: "Cautivo y Rescatado. First penitential procession to the Cathedral" in Bulletin of the Brotherhoods of SevilleSeville, April 2008, pp. 371-372.