Transept Altarpieces

At each end of the transept stand two imposing altarpieces designed by the architect Pedro Arnal in the late 18th century. They house original paintings of Saint Jerome, Patron of the City of Córdoba, and Saint Peter, the first Pope, commissioned by Bishop Moscoso from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. Both the plans for the altarpieces and the paintings arrived in Córdoba at the end of that century.

Magnificent sculptures of the four Evangelists flank the paintings: Saint Mark and Saint Luke accompany Saint Jerome, while Saint Matthew and Saint John accompany Saint Peter. These wooden carvings, with golden diadems and colored feathers, were already in place by 1805. They are the work of Esteban Sampzon, a renowned artist who in 1780 described himself as "a sculptor by profession and an Indian from China" (the term used at the time for people who came from Asia). By 1788 he was living in Córdoba, was married, and held the rank of lieutenant in the Mestizo Battalion.