The main altar of the Cathedral of Astorga occupies the bottom of the chancel of the cathedral. The construction works lasted from 1558 (the year the contract was signed) to 1584. It's all in polychrome wood built following the architectural sculptor traces Gaspar Becerra . The sculptures are due to this same artist and his collaborators, highly esteemed sculptors working in the workshop Becerra who considered their master and who learned to run the new trends Mannerist-Romanists. The final polychrome work of Gaspar de Hoyos and Gaspar de Palencia . With this work, Becerra had the opportunity to showcase artistic innovations learned and assimilated in Italy where he worked with the sculptors of great stature Vasari and Volterra .
The organization of the altarpiece was a novelty introduced by this team of artists. The framework presented classical columns and pediments, considering a new system architecture that served as an example of the altarpieces of the second half of the sixteenth century, the use of ignudi and shafts of columns decorated with floral themes were an innovation that caught attention and was subsequently copied frequently. 1
The altarpiece is divided into three sections or floors and five blocks, and four grooves. In the main street are arranged in groups round bulk of the Assumption and the Coronation of the Virgin. All imagery is dedicated to the life of Christ and the Virgin, following a narrative program facilitated by the Chapter of the Cathedral and taking into account the mandates of the Council of Trent about it.