Alonso González de Berruguete (Alonso Berruguete) (c. 1488 – 1561) was a Spanish

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He is considered to be the most important sculptor of the

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, quotes and science inspired b ...

, and is known for his emotive sculptures depicting religious ecstasy or torment. Born in the town of

Paredes de Nava Paredes de Nava is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. It is the birthplace of Renaissance painter Pedro Berruguete. Some paintings by him can be seen in the predella of the local church of Santa Eulalia ...

, Berruguete studied art under the tutelage of his father, the painter

Pedro Berruguete Pedro Berruguete (c. 1450 – 1504) was a Spanish painter whose art is regarded as a transitional style between gothic and Renaissance art. Berruguete most famously created paintings of the first few years of the Inquisition and of religious i ...

. Following his father's death in 1504, Berruguete travelled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to continue his study of art, spending most of his time in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It is here that he studied sculpture under the Italian master,

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

. His paintings produced in Italy showed a

mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

influence, with his art being compared with contemporaries such as

Jacopo Pontormo Jacopo Carucci (May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557), usually known as ''Jacopo da Pontormo'', ''Jacopo Pontormo'', or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School. His work represents a profound sty ...

and

Rosso Fiorentino Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 in Gregorian style, or 1494 according to the calculation of times in Florence where the year began on 25 March – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "Red Florentine" in Italian) ...

. Berruguete returned to Spain in 1517, and in 1518, was appointed to the position of

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

and sculptor by Charles V of Spain. From this point in his career forward, Berruguete concentrated on sculpture. Works of his include an altarpiece at the Irish college in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

(1529–1533), choir stalls at the

Cathedral of Toledo , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

(1539–1543) and a tomb for the

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

Juan de Tavera at the hospital that Tavera founded, the hospital of St. John the Baptist in Toledo (1552–1561).

Wood sculpture

After his training in Italy he went back to the Spanish tradition of making wood sculptures, which included the altarpieces at the church of

San Benito el Real, Valladolid The Church of the Monastery of San Benito el Real is a parish church and former Benedictine monastery located in the city of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. History The church was erected at the site of the old Royal Alcázar of Valladol ...

. "The exaggerated movements of his figures became a mannerism with his followers

Andrés de Nájera Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

Esteban Jordán Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend t ...

Inocencio Berruguete Inocencio or Inocêncio may refer to: Surname Places * Dom Inocêncio, municipality in the state of Piauí in the Northeast region of Brazil * Frei Inocêncio Frei Inocêncio is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast ...

and others..." Alonso de Berruguete three figures in wood

From October 13, 2019 – February 17, 2020, over 40 of Berruguete's painted wood sculptures were on display in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as part of an exhibition titled ''Alonso Berruguette: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain''.

References

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' entry
1480s births 1561 deaths People from the Province of Palencia Spanish architects 15th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters 16th-century Spanish painters 16th-century Spanish sculptors Spanish male sculptors Court painters Renaissance sculptors Catholic sculptors {{Spain-sculptor-stub