Six metres high and weighing 600 kg: the Gallery’s Solomonic columns

These are the first objects to be placed in their place of exhibition within the visit route, on Floor -1 of the Royal Collections Gallery, which is dedicated to the cultural heritage of the House of Habsburgs. Four 17th-century columns, almost 6 metres high and weighing 600 kg, made from 8 assembled planks of pine wood from the forests of Valsaín, in Segovia. They were carved by two essential figures of the Spanish Baroque: José de Churriguera and Francisco Herrera el Mozo. The columns have been lovingly restored over the last 5 months so they may be exhibited. And it is this process that has given them back their characteristic lapis lazuli blue, a true rarity, since such columns were often completely gilded. They were initially part of the high altar of the church of the Hospital Virgen de Montserrat, in Madrid's Antón Martín plaza. The church was demolished in 1903, but the altar was dismantled so it could be preserved. The columns then found a home at the Royal Palace in Madrid and from this summer onwards, visitors can see them on display at the Royal Collections Gallery. More information here: http://bit.ly/3Kohjss