Asset Overview
Reconstructed Portal, early 13th century, Spanish.
Church of San Vicente Mártir at Frías, Burgos. Castile-León, Spain.
[The Cloisters Collection, MET, New York.](shorturl.at/hmyCF)
The main portal of the church of San Vicente Mártir was nearly destroyed in 1879, when the nearby tower fell. Here, eighty fragments have been used to reconstruct the monumental doorway. Some of the stones were recycled from earlier buildings. Two openings at the sides of the installation allow a glimpse of the earlier carving. The rich imagery includes biblical subjects (such as the Flight into Egypt) and moralizing subjects, as well as human heads and animals.
![](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/472386/959857/main-image)