Description

This sculpture in-the-round of Isabella I of Castile (Isabella the Catholic) reproduces the full-length effigy of the queen, bearing her crown. She wears a dress with a striking collar, drawn in at the waist by a wide girdle that sits above the folds of the skirt, which reveal a gentle contrapposto of the feet. Her shoulders are covered by a cape, which she gathers up with left hand, her right hand holding the royal sceptre. 

Her face is framed by a headcloth, and her hair hangs loose to either side. We see she is an adult woman, with rounded features and a full face, similar in aspect to those portrayed by Domenico Fancelli in the Tomb of the Catholic Monarchs in the Royal Chapel of Granada.

The piece rests on a plaster block of the same polychrome appearance as the sculpture itself, imitating bronze. In its current location, the work is displayed on a large granite pedestal. 

History of the piece

Both sculptures are copies of the effigies of the Catholic Monarchs produced by brothers Miguel and Antonio Marín Torres for the Provincial Exhibition of Fine Arts, Industry and Agriculture. The event was organised on the occasion of the visit of Queen Isabella II to Granada, in 1862. The works were awarded the gold medal in their category. Their originals now belong to the heritage collection of Granada City Council.

Replicas of the two sculptures were specially made to go on display in the Arrayanes Courtyard during the gala dinner in honour of Isabella II, and were subsequently transferred to the premises of the Granada Provincial Government, which had organized the Fine Arts Exhibition. Finally, they were relocated to the Hospital Real Rectorate building, where they were discovered in storage in around 1980. It was at this point that the figures were placed in their present location. 

Both sculptures were restored in 2017.