in 2021, led to a debate that has been going on for almost five years and aims to last forever. The Archbishopric of Burgos then announced that it had entrusted the artist Antonio López with the design of , at a cost of 1.2 million. The contract involves three sculptural bronze gates with the faces of God, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, replacing the current entrances, made of sober elm wood, in operation for more than 200 years. The controversy, between criticism from heritage groups and cultural entities, has led to a singular measure: the exhibition starting this Saturday of the three pieces inside the cathedral before their installation so that they can be evaluated by both civil and ecclesiastical authorities as well as citizens. .
The ecclesiastical authorities reasoned the decision to install new doors with several criteria: from strictly patrimonial to economic. The Archbishopric cited the “little artistic value” of the current doors, which in 1790 replaced the original Gothic-style ones. Then they cost 3,918 reales and 25 maravedíes, a much lower investment, for the time, compared to that of the current project, financed 87% by the Cabildo and 13% thanks to the contribution of about 50 private entrepreneurs. When they were removed, they claimed, they would be preserved elsewhere in the expansive church. The ecclesiastical authority alluded to a “very important economic return” for the city because many visitors might want to contemplate it, also for free, from the Plaza de Santa María, the cathedral’s namesake.
The Archbishopric also claimed that with the new doors the property continued the tradition of “being enriched with artistic contributions, as has happened over the centuries,” and defended “the satisfaction of all public entities” participating in the process. The City Council granted 700,000 euros in 2021 for the VIII Centenario Foundation to undertake improvements in this Gothic jewel, declared.
These slogans from the Archbishopric have not convinced those who have opposed the project from the beginning. The critical platform Puertas No, forceful since the controversy began, has recently issued a statement recalling that it garnered more than 80,000 signatures against the doors and celebrates that they are not going to be located yet. “The platform congratulates and applauds the Heritage of the Government of Castilla y León, the Icomos [Consejo Internacional de Monumentos y Sitios, por sus siglas en inglés] and to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, who did not admit its placement due to logical criteria of compliance with the law and common sense regarding respect for heritage,” they add.
The association denies that the Cabildo has hidden itself “in the name of a famous artist, as if for that reason alone the protected heritage character of the cathedral was erased by magic and its installation was the beginning of a new era of tourist prosperity.” The group condemns the fact that, according to the sketches, the images of God, Jesus Christ and the Virgin are captured on the doors, something that they see as inappropriate and very large compared to the façade: “Such a proposal is very disrespectful of the delicate aesthetics of the cathedral, without the forced project being in tune with the essential character of the temple or its spiritual dimension. Everything is artificial.”
Critics have suggested that the money “could well have been used to maintain and restore the doors of the entire temple and the roofs and vaults of the temples that sink every winter in the province.”
The archbishop, when presenting the exhibition plan, has insisted on the objective of arranging them as planned: “The people of Burgos and visitors will be able to admire them no longer by hearsay, how reckless it is to judge without knowing, no longer from very unfortunate simulations. Their vocation is that they end up being placed in the place for which they were created and for that we will take the steps, seeking loyal adherence to this project, consensus and dialogue with those who must intervene on this path, carrying out the necessary administrative steps.”
The vicar general, Carlos Izquierdo, has detailed that this study will be carried out by experts in art, architecture, theology or history, after urging the Board, competent in Heritage, for the doors to be exhibited in the cathedral museum for now. “We want to see the reaction. There are many artists who want to come, we will collect that information and make a project,” Izquierdo said: “Until now they were simulations, especially the [puerta] central, because the [dos puertas] we have had them for a long time. We have to do a study with experts and with that impact report we will go to UNESCO and the Board.”
Miguel Ángel Cajigal, member of Icomos and art historian, known as The Barroquist, He censures the Cabildo’s commitment to the new doors because “the cathedral of Burgos is a world heritage site of exceptional value. When people think of a Gothic cathedral, they think of Burgos or León; it has elements from different periods, but an enormous unity that means it must be protected.” Cajigal recalls the conservation risks that the temple went through in the past and that were resolved thanks to the “gigantic effort” and the World Heritage title. “I am not against contemporary interventions, but the doors are not good, they do not have the artistic elements corresponding to a monumental door of a church: small figuration without stealing prominence from the façade or the traditional ornament,” he explains, adding that “they distort the assessment of the façade, they do not dialogue.”
Global protection seeks to prevent “happy ideas,” the expert exemplifies, that “seriously adulterate.” Cajigal opens up to debate “about how not to fossilize the monuments, but it is protected, the Board has said that the doors should be in the museum because they do not fit.” The member of Icomos accuses the Archbishopric of stubbornness, risking the Heritage status: “It’s as if someone said that a contemporary work should be put there. I love Antonio López as a painter, but not as a sculptor, I don’t think he needs to get involved in sterile controversies.”
