Museo Nacional de Escultura (National Museum of Sculpture)

Located near Plaza de San Pablo, this museum displays a magnificent collection of gilded polychrome sculpture, an art form that reached its pinnacle in Valladolid. The figures were first carved from wood, and then painted with consummate skill and grace to assume lifelike dimensions. See especially the works by Alonso Berruguete (1480-1561), son of Pedro, one of Spain's great painters. From 1527 to 1532, the younger Berruguete labored over the altar of the Convent of San Benito -- a masterpiece now housed here. In particular, see his Crucifix with the Virgin and St. John in Room II and his St. Sebastian and the Sacrifice of Isaac in Room III. Works by Juan de Juni and Gregorio Fernández are also displayed. After visiting the galleries, explore the two-story cloisters. The upper level is florid, with jutting gargoyles and fleurs-de-lis. See the chapel where the confessor to Isabella I (Fray Alonso de Burgos) was buried -- and be horrified by the gruesome sculpture Death.

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