The

Abstract

This article proposes a multidisciplinary study on a typology of altarpiece that prevailed in the Canary Islands during the second half of the 18th century: that is the so-called retablo de lámina, which differs from other prevalent types in previous and subsequent periods. For this purpose, three preserved examples in nearby churches in Icod de los Vinos, a northern town of Tenerife, have been analyzed. In this place, there was a significant development of this typology during the 1760s and 1770s, thanks to the artistic activity of the local painter Cristóbal Afonso (1742-1797), with whom it is possible to link the ornamentation and perhaps the definition of this specific type of altarpiece, which had a similar development in other locations in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and Fuerteventura. In addition to structural or constructive peculiarities, the deterioration that these works usually show has been analyzed.