Where was the Spanish Ceiling made?
The Spanish Ceiling may have come from a palace in Illescas, a town located between Toledo and Madrid, in the central region of Spain. Ceilings designed and constructed during the 1400s in this region share many similar architectural and ornamental features with WAM's example. Unlike smaller, portable art which would have been created in workshops, ceilings were constructed and decorated in domestic, religious, and palace buildings depending on the status and identity of the individual who commissioned the project. These ceilings were incorporated directly into the architectural design of the building during the time of its construction--ceilings like this one were not added to an already existing room.
Vedanth Natarajan, Class of 2027, College of the Holy Cross
