Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. A Graphical Analysis of the Construction of a Royal Pantheon

Abstract

King Philip II’s main intention in founding the Monastery of El Escorial was to build a burial site for his ancestors and their descendants, in compliance with the 1558 Emperor’s will and codicil. However, he died before it was completed after realizing that Juan de Herrera’s solution presented certain functional deficiencies. Therefore, between 1598 and its unveiling on March 15, 1654, several design proposals were put forward, all of which were documented graphically and in writing. Likewise, from this date to the present day, various interpretations and surveys have been carried out, all of which share a certain detachment from the actual construction, essentially because its rooms make up two groups of spaces that are difficult to connect to each other and the exterior: the Pantheons and the “Infiernos”. As a result, the symbolic core of the building is also the most obscure. Our aim is to investigate the evolution and situation of these spaces by reviewing and analyzing historical and more recent documentation available, both graphical and written and by making a new survey.