retable

The centuries-old retablo of the Main Altar of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in Cebu City, Philippines.

A retable is a framed altarpiece, raised slightly above the back of the altar or communion table, on which are placed the cross, ceremonial candlesticks and other ornaments.

Retablo of the Iglesia de Nostra Señora de la Asuncion, Tarancón.

The "Grand Retablo," a contemporary piece created in Spain in 2007 and located in Southern California's Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano.

Foreign usage of the term, as in French, is different, and where the word is kept with this foreign application, the distinction should be observed. The Medieval Latin retrotabulum (modernized retabulum) was applied to an architectural feature set up at the back of an altar, and generally taking the form of a screen framing a picture, carved or sculptured work in wood or stone, or mosaic, or of a movable feature such as the Pala d'Oro in St Mark's Basilica, Venice, of gold, jewels and enamels. The foreign retable is, therefore, what should in English be called a reredos, though that is not in modern usage a movable feature.

See also

• Reredos

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.