Castile, Spain
Church of San Juan Bautista de Baños
One of the oldest churches on the Iberian peninsula, rebuilt in paper. Torn ochre fragments stand in for the Castilian plain while the horseshoe arch is left as clean drawing.
- Medium
- Collage and ink
- Place
- Baños de Cerrato, Spain
- Artist
- Gerald Allen Knowles
- Paper
- Museum-grade matte, pigment inks
Made to order and shipped worldwide. Sizes and framing options are shown at checkout.
About this drawing
San Juan Bautista de Baños was consecrated in 661, which makes it one of the oldest standing churches on the Iberian peninsula. It sits low on the Castilian plain with almost nothing around it — a small, thick-walled building that has outlasted every civilisation that passed it.
Collage was the only honest method here. The church is made of reused Roman stone; the drawing is made of reused paper. Ochre fragments, printed matter and kraft stand in for the plain and for the rubble walls, torn rather than cut so the edges stay soft the way weathered masonry does.
One element resists the paper entirely. The horseshoe arch over the entrance is left as pure line — a clean, measured piece of drawing surrounded by texture, because that arch is the whole reason the building matters architecturally and it should not be allowed to blur into collage.
It reads as contemporary and graphic from across a room, then resolves into careful observation up close. That double life is what makes it the most flexible piece in the travel work.
Where this print hangs well
Warm ochres make this a good fit above a sideboard, in an entrance hall, or in a home office — anywhere a wall can hold something with texture.
It sits particularly well against clay, olive, deep green or plain white walls. Use a wide mount so the torn edges have room to do their work.
For sizing, framing and light, see the print buying guide.
