The chapel dedicated to Luis de Lucena may be found in Guadalajara. It was once known as Nuestra Seora de los ngeles or de los Urbina (Spain). It was commissioned around the middle of the 16th century by humanist Luis de Lucena and was originally annexed to the church of San Miguel until its demolition in 1887.
After the state purchased it in the early 20th century, architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco oversaw its restoration in the next decade. It has since been used as a storage facility by the Provincial Monuments Commission for the safekeeping of artwork, artistic artefacts, and archaeological finds. The plasterwork of the Orozco chapel, the recumbent statues of Juan Sánchez de Oznayo and his wife, and some pieces of the graves of the Counts of Tendilla were not properly shown until the end of the century, when they were given the interpretive components they deserved.
The chapel's construction and decoration both feature deep symbolism, leading to a bold aesthetic programme: a Mannerist licenza set within the contemporary debate on the design, shape, and dimensions of the ancient, vanished Temple of Solomon.
The cylindrical crenellated bastions, the ashlar base, the arrangement of the bricks at the top (resembling the weaving of the shoe baskets), the loopholes, and the windows set in an eaves of difficult geometry give the building an air of fortification from the exterior. These latter homes even have a Davidic psalm carved into the limestone gutter.
Beyond the exercise in mannerism, all of these features and the building materials connect this holy site more closely to the fortress churches of the French Midi than to the Hispanic Mudéjar architecture.
The interior also features some unusual layout and design choices, with the Mannerist eccentricity mimicking that of the late Michelangelo. Doric and Ionic capitals, combined in the frieze of the single entablature with cherubs' heads, highlight this skill. A small tower with a tribune, like the ones on the outside, can be found in the back, and it contains the spiral staircase that leads to the upper level of the building.
Particularly impressive is the graphic artwork of the vaults. These represent Old Testament stories from Exodus and Deuteronomy, describing the account of Moses, and from I Kings, with four scenes dedicated to Solomon, which, in a prophetic sense, predict the arrival of the Messiah, together with the figures of prophets and sibyls and allegories of virtues. 1 Although the work has been often credited to Romulo Cincinato, an Italian artist who travelled to Spain to contribute to the ornamentation of the Escorial convent and the mural paintings of the Infantado house, its actual creators remain a mystery. Recently it has come to light that in 1548, its promoter, Dr. Luis de Lucena (who died in 1552), and the artists Pietro Morone and Pietro Paolo da Montalbergo, whose presence in Spain that same year is documented, signed a contract in Rome.
The Provincial Monuments Commission has been using this church, which it purchased from the Urbina family, as a temporary storage facility for art and archaeological artefacts that have been salvaged. The pieces on show now are a direct result of this salvage operation.
First, the Mudejar plasterwork from the vanished Orozco family chapel, an ornate ensemble from the late 15th century with clear parallels to those in the Tránsito synagogue in Toledo, were salvaged in 1924 from the church of San Gil before it was destroyed. After being relocated to the Urbina church, the plasterworks were put into storage on the second floor, where they remained until 1960, when they were smashed to pieces by vandals.
Recliner sculptures by Juan Sánchez de Oznayo and Menca Néz from the 16th century are also notable. Both of these works, as well as several others of a more modest size on display, were taken from the walls of the San Esteban church in 1949 before its demolition.
Last but not least, the tombs of the Counts of Tendilla, originally from the church of Santa Ana de Tendilla but rescued in 1939 from the burned mausoleums in the church of San Ginés.