Estipite

The estipite column is a type of pilaster used in buildings in the Mannerist and Baroque styles,[1]a moment when many classical architectural elements lost their simple shapes and became increasingly complex, offering a variety of forms and exuberant decoration.

[5] Manuel Toussaint defines estipites as: “A supporting member, square or rectangular in section, and formed of multiple elements: pyramids and truncated prisms, parallelepipeds, superimposed foliage, medallions, garlands, bouquets, festoons.

For example, decorations of vegetation and cherub heads take the place of the Corinthian capital in Capilla del Sagrario for the Cathedral of Segovia by Jeronimo de Balbas.

[7] In Richard W. Amero's thesis, The California Building: A Case Of The Misunderstood Baroque, he claims that Michelangelo is the first one to use an estipite pilaster in the Laurentian Library (1526).

His work Retablo de los Reyes in the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral (1718–37)  was the first building to showcase estipites in the New World.

The era of estipites only lasted till 1783 with the establishment of Academia de San Carlos, an architecture school in New Spain.

However, in this short period of time 1736, the completion of Retablo de los Reyes, till 1783, many buildings in New Spain (Mexico) had facades or alters with estipites.