The altarpiece of the chapel of Guarenas and the altarpieces of the side chapels of the Church of San Jacinto de Caracas

Abstract

The following paper presents an approach to the possible original location of an altarpiece that, according to tradition, belonged to the Church of San Jacinto convent in Caracas in the XVIII century, in order to document and register Venezuelan cultural heritage and to continue the process (initiated in 2011 as part of a previous investigation) of virtual restitution of architectural assets already disappeared through the digital techniques currently available. The altarpiece, located since the XIX century, after the demolition of the convent, in the Chapel of La Candelaria in Guarenas – a town located in the outskirts of the capital – is made up of the fragments of three other ancient altarpieces, the greater of which must have been located in one of the aisles of the disappeared Caracas temple. The proposed methodology studies the geometry and shape of the piece to establish hypotheses regarding its initial location within the virtual space of the Chapel of the Rosary in the XVIII century Church of San Jacinto. Then, after reviewing perspective and digital techniques such as Augmented Reality, which allow us “in situ” verification, this process is completed with the bibliographical revision that confirms its relation with other altarpieces.

Postprint (published version)