El cuadro «La muerte de Juliano el apóstata», del pintor granadino Juan de Cieza, y la cantiga nº15 de Alfonso X

Abstract

Thc picture entitled «The Death of Julian the Apostate», painted i:>y Juan de Cieza Flores, is to be found in the staircase leading from the Patio de los Mármoles to the upper cloister of the Hospital Real (Granada), and is the main wallcanvas on display.
The theme is an unusual one for Granada baroque painting and can be explained by the fact that this was a work originally comrnissioned for the Basilios Monastery of Granada, which no longer exists.
All the figures included in the oil-painting formed part of an ancient legend, the most famous representative of wich is the 15th of Alonso the IOth's Cántigas de Santa María.
This «cantiga» is written in Galician it is a «virelai», and is structured in long verses with interna) rhyme in which the poet praises the Virgin Mary, Queen of ali the Saints. Toe text is contained in the Marian Songbook of King Alfonso the Wise. In the present article wee discuss the historical facts and compare them with the legend which grew up, and we also investigate the source of the legend used by the king.