Artwork

Cathedral, Santiago, Spain, Portico de la Gloria, Sculpture on South wall

Cathedral, Santiago, Spain, Portico de la Gloria, Sculpture on South wall is a photographic photography by the Impressionist artist Charles Thurston Thompson. It dates from 1867 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The image captures the south‑wall sculptural program of the Portico de la Gloria at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.

About this work

This photo shows the South wall carvings at Santiago’s cathedral. Charles Thurston Thompson took it in 1867 while traveling in Spain. The image was meant to help artists and scholars study the carvings up close.

Thompson worked as the Victoria and Albert Museum’s first official photographer. He spent years making reference photos like this one.

Look up Thompson, Charles Thurston next.

Overview

The image captures the south‑wall sculptural program of the Portico de la Gloria at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. Taken in 1867 by Charles Thurston Thompson, the photograph serves as a detailed visual record of the Romanesque stonework, allowing close study of its intricate figures and ornamental motifs.

Subject & Meaning

The carved reliefs on the south wall form part of the cathedral’s celebrated Portico de la Gloria, a theological tableau that depicts the celestial hierarchy and biblical narratives. The composition reflects medieval conceptions of salvation, with Christ, the Virgin, apostles and saints arranged in a structured, symbolic order.

Technique & Style

Thompson employed the wet‑collodion process, the prevailing photographic method of the 1860s, to produce a sharp, high‑contrast image on glass plate. The resulting photograph emphasizes the depth of the stone carving, rendering the play of light and shadow that defines the relief’s three‑dimensionality.

History & Provenance

As the Victoria and Albert Museum’s inaugural official photographer, Thompson documented museum objects and European monuments during a dedicated campaign in Spain and Portugal. After his death in 1868, a selection of his Santiago de Compostela plates was bound by the Arundel Society and distributed to art schools and the public; four such volumes remain in the V&A’s collections alongside loose plates that were sold or circulated through the museum’s sales stall.

Context

The photograph was produced at a time when photographic reproductions were becoming essential tools for artists, architects and scholars who could not travel to remote sites. By providing a reliable visual reference, Thompson’s work supported the 19th‑century movement to document and disseminate historic architectural heritage across Europe.