Vidrieras.- Catedral de Ávila

This year’s stained glass windows issue is devoted to the cathedral of Avila which are depicted in this souvenir sheet with a face value of 2,21 €.

This issue has been going on for several years and the windows of cathedrals from Toledo, León, Vitoria, Gerona and those from the Alcázar in Segovia and the Hospital Real in Santiago de Compostela have been depicted. This year’s issue features the windows of the Avila cathedral. The windows of this cathedral are the work of many artisans and anonymous craftsmen. In 1497 Arnao de Flandes, Juan de Valdivieso and Diego de Santillana worked on the first ones, followed by Hernando de Labia and Alberto and Nicolas de Holanda in the XVI century. In the XVII and the XVII centuries windows form anonymous authors were set up. However, it is Juan de Valdivieso, master craftsman who built the window that features in the souvenir sheet. The most important windows of this cathedral were made by him amongst which are worth mentioning the four main ones installed in the northern gable end of the main nave that represent Saint Ageda, Saint Inés, Saint Marta and Saint Catherine as well as those in the Capilla Mayor devoted to Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint John Evangelist and Santiago el Mayor. Valdividieso an artist that lived in Burgos, is considered to be one of the main exponent of the Hispanic –Flemish stained glass window movement. An influence he received from foreign craftsmen and which caused a change from the international gothic tradition. The import of Flemish artwork as well as the work of European artists in the cathedrals of Seville and Toledo introduced a new orientation in the Spanish stained glass windows of the end of the XV century and beginning of the XVI. The souvenir sheet issued by Correos is illustrated with a piece of the window from the XV century that depicts the face of Saint Paul, sideways, and it is located in the Capilla Mayor of the Avila cathedral. De esta hoja bloque se realizó una Prueba de color .