A Gothic‑Renaissance Synthesis in a Diego de Riaño Vault

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explain the design and construction processes employed in the ribbed vault prolonged by translation which Diego de Riaño (†1534) built in the antesacristy of the church of Santa María in Carmona. The vault represents an outstanding synthesis between the Late Gothic diagonal ribs and severies and the emerging systems that adopt the form of orthogonal grids and tend towards a unitary volumetric composition. The work reflects the coexistence of two different architectural languages in Andalucía in the first half of the sixteenth century, a transitional situation which, in our view, Riaño deliberately embraces in his design. Based upon rigorous photogrammetric mapping, this paper analyses the formal and geometric characteristics of this exceptional work. The analysis conducted reveals that this was not simply an experiment with form, because beneath their singular appearance the geometric designs point to the investigation of new solutions.