Canción triste de San Vicente de Frías

Abstract

The sculpted portal of the church of San Vicente de Frías (Burgos, 13th century) was destroyed when the church tower collapsed in 1906. The fragments recovered at the time can now be found at The Cloisters in New York, where they were installed in 1932 as part of a reconstruction of the original portal. In recovering a site forgotten by the historiography of Spanish art, this article offers a historical and artistic analysis of the church and its sculptures, and the process whereby the portal was moved and rebuilt. It proposes a later date for the construction of the church –around the mid13th century– and describes the workshops that took part along with their possible influences. It also identifies the main aspects of the programme, highlighting an unknown cycle in the life of San Millán.