Altar of the Kings

work by Balbás

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July 17, 2026

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The Altar of the Kings is a significant work by the Spanish architect and sculptor Jerónimo de Balbás. Balbás is credited with introducing the Churrigueresque style, also known as Ultrabaroque, to Mexico. This style is characterized by the use of the estípite column, a decorative element that is square or rectangular and adorned with elaborate, often vegetation-like, ornamentation.

Balbás began work on the Altar of the Kings for the Chapel of the Kings in the Cathedral of Mexico City around 1718. This project was instrumental in popularizing the estípite in Mexico, where it became a hallmark of the highly ornate Mexican Baroque architecture. Balbás also designed other altars within the cathedral and contributed to various architectural projects in Mexico City. His son, Isidoro Vicente Balbás, continued his father's legacy, further developing the Churrigueresque style, notably in the altar of the Church of Santa Prisca y San Sebastián in Taxco.1

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Jerónimo de Balbás
…he began work on the altar for the Chapel of the Kings in the Cathedral of Mexico City. This project introduced the estípite to Mexico, where it quickly spread and became a standard element of the Churrigueresque style of Mexican Baroque architecture, an overwhelmingly decorative and ornate style. The altar…
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…he began work on the altar for the Chapel of the Kings in the Cathedral of Mexico City. This project introduced the estípite to Mexico, where it quickly spread and became a standard element of the Churrigueresque style of Mexican Baroque architecture, an overwhelmingly decorative and ornate style. The altar…
Read More

Latin American architecture
Eighteenth-century architecture in Mexico
The cathedral’s Altar of the Kings (1718–37), by Jerónimo de Balbás, began a formal type that would be applied until the end of the 18th century in Mexico. The altar, which covers the entire end of the central nave of the cathedral, is a vertical composition that…
Read More
The cathedral’s Altar of the Kings (1718–37), by Jerónimo de Balbás, began a formal type that would be applied until the end of the 18th century in Mexico. The altar, which covers the entire end of the central nave of the cathedral, is a vertical composition that…
Read More