Tomb of Gabriel Ortiz de Caicedo and Ana de Arana

Tomb of Gabriel Ortiz de Caicedo and Ana de Arana

The renowned jurist Gabriel Ortiz de Caicedo obtained the patronage of the Chapel of the Conception in 1578. Shortly thereafter, he began work to enlarge the chapel and ordered the construction of an alabaster tomb there. It shows the praying figures of Gabriel Ortiz de Caicedo and his wife, Ana de Arana, set within a semicircular niche and kneeling before a crucifix as altar. It must have been made around 1594, as stated in the inscription on the cartouche. The couple are fashionably dressed, with simple clothing intended to demonstrate their social status, but without excessive sumptuousness or luxury, bearing in mind that this is a funerary monument. The ensemble is surmounted by a cartouche with an inscription in gold capital letters taken from Psalm 34 (33), 21 of the Bible: “The Lord preserves all of their bones, not one of them shall be broken”. The authorship of the tomb is unknown, but it was most likely commissioned by Gabriel Ortiz de Caicedo during one of his stays at court. The Christ and cartouche were probably made by Esteban Velasco, a renowned sculptor from Vitoria.