Capilla de San José

Located in the city of Seville, the construction of the Capilla de San José was promoted by the corporation of the carpenter's who, after a meeting in town council, decided in 1746 to extend the old temple by building a new main chapel which was much deeper and had a transept, a niche and retro-choir. The people of Seville played an active part in its construction, and still do to this day, with their donations and alms.

Work finished in 1766, with the incorporation of a section at the foot of the old church and the construction of the new main façade. All that remains from the demolished chapel is the Mudéjar wood panelling at the entrance.

In fact, the current chapel is the result of two building periods which took place during the 18th century. The first, of which only the nave, a side doorway, the two Solomonic altarpiece columns and the mural on the vault remain, completed between 1698 and 1717, and the extension which took place from 1746 to 1766, when the rest of the chapel was completed. For this reason the Capilla de San José appears as a strong Baroque unit which makes it one of the most significant examples of Seville Baroque.

Despite its reduced size, it is one of the churches in the city with most Baroque ornamentation. It features the main altarpiece with images by Duque Cornejo, as well as different reliefs depicting the wedding of the Virgin with Saint Joseph.

The beautiful main doorway deserves special mention, as it is really monumental considering the small size of the church. It is built of brick and tiles in the same Baroque style as the rest of the temple. The façade is crowned with a two-sided red-ochre bell gable in sharp contrast to the predominating orange tones of the rest of the façade.