9. Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was the pantheon of the Pujadas de Velozpe family. Its floor plan is similar to that of the other chapels, although it is less deep. The doorway follows the common scheme of the collegiate church, like a triumphal arch, perfectly framing the altarpiece that is kept inside.

The structure of the doorway is raised on plinths of alabaster and black stone, with a carved plaster structure that gives it a sober and elegant appearance. Two Tuscan-style pilasters with fluted fronts flank the entrance arch, supporting an entablature with a frieze of triglyphs and metopes. Above this is a split curved pediment with scrolls framing the coat of arms of the commissioning family.

The altarpiece, which fits in with the aesthetic prevalent around 1625, has been attributed to the Calatayud-based master builders Jaime Viñola and Antonio Bastida, as well as to the sculptor Francisco del Condado. On the altarpiece bench there are three reliefs representing the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Visitation. Since the end of the 18th century, the central section has housed a niche with a free-standing carving of the Immaculate Conception, replacing a delicate canvas of the same devotion that is kept in the Museum of the Collegiate Church.

Above the bench rise double Corinthian columns, the lower third of which is cut away and the rest twisted, projecting from the central body to support an entablature. At the ends of this entablature rest the two parts of a broken curved pediment, with allegories of Faith and Hope leaning against each one. These virtues flank the arms of the Pujadas family, protected under the effigy of an unidentified Holy Bishop.

The Immaculate Conception that presides over the central niche was made of polychromed wood and shows Mary as a teenager. Traditionally it has been attributed to Félix Malo, a sculptor from Huesca who settled in Calatayud and who was the author of the altarpiece in the chapel of Saint Joseph. The carving evokes the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head, following the description of Saint John in the Apocalypse. A halo with twelve stars and a metallic crescent moon at her feet were added to the carving.

Next to the entrance to the cloister, a large canvas attributed to Francisco Vera Cabeza de Vaca, from Calatayud, dated around 1637, shows the Triple Generation. In it, God the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, surrounded by adoring angels and musicians, preside over the scene. On the lower level, the earthly Holy Family, with Saint Joseph, the Virgin, the Child, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, is depicted in a country setting with a city glimpsed in the background, identified by some authors as a view of Calatayud.