Altarpiece of Archbishop Sancho de Rojas

Juan Rodríguez de Toledo's Altarpiece of Archbishop Sancho de Rojas, dated around 1415 and now in the Museo del Prado, is a major monument of early Castilian painting produced for one of the most powerful ecclesiastical patrons in Spain. Archbishop Sancho de Rojas of Toledo was a key figure in the political and cultural life of Castile under John II, and this elaborate altarpiece was both a devotional commission and a display of his social prominence. Rodríguez de Toledo was the leading court painter in Castile during this period, and the altarpiece reflects the Hispano-Flemish blend of influences that distinguished Castilian from Catalan and Valencian painting.

Rodríguez de Toledo employs the gold ground of the Gothic tradition with figures that show a new solidity and spatial awareness absorbed from Flemish models. The archbishop's donor portrait in the lower register is notably naturalistic. Rich colors — deep reds, blues, and golds — dominate the palette.