Juan Bautista Vázquez el Viejo (1510 in Pelayos, province of Salamanca Castile and Leon – 12 June 1588 in Llerena,

province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz () is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in the so ...

, Extremadura, Spain) was a Spanish sculptor.

Biography

Born in Pelayos ( province of Salamanca), as a small child he moved with his family to

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...

, where the lived adjacent to the main market square. He first learned his art there in the studio of

Vasco de la Zarza Vasco de la Zarza (died 1524) was a Spanish Renaissance sculptor. He flourished between 1499 and 1524, and worked mainly for the Cathedral of Avila and convents of the same city, but also performed works in Ampudia, Cuéllar, Olmedo and Toledo. ...

. It is believed that he then went to Italy, where his style became more elegant. In 1554 he moved to

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

, where he executed various works for the Cathedral, the church of

Santa María la Blanca Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

, and the church of Almonacid de Zorita ( province of Guadalajara), among others. In 1558, Francisca Blázquez, widow of sculptor Isidro de Villoldo, brought him back to Ávila to complete the figures of the main

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

of the Charterhouse of Seville, which Villodo had left unfinished at his death. In 1561 he moved to Seville to complete the altarpiece. He settled there, putting together an important studio with collaborators including his brother-in-law and carver Juan de Oviedo the Elder, Miguel de Adán, Gaspar del Águila, and

Jerónimo Hernández Jerónimo (European Portuguese and Spanish) or Jerônimo (Brazilian Portuguese) may refer to: * Jerónimo (name), a given or surname, Jerome in English ** Jeronimo (singer) (born 1990), Dutch pop singer and actor * Jeronimo (band), German band of ...

. This studio would play a major role in establishing and consolidating the Sevillian school of sculpture. They made major contributions to the second phase of the main altarpiece of the

Cathedral of Seville The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...

, as well as the Church of Saint Mary in

Carmona Carmona may refer to: Places Angola * the former name of the town of Uíge Costa Rica * Carmona District, Nandayure, a district in Guanacaste Province India * Carmona, Goa, a village located in the Salcette district of South Goa, India ...

(1563), the decoration of the galley (1570), the Church of Saint Matthew in Lucena (1572), the Church of Saint Mary in Medina Sidonia (1575); he also sculpted the Virgin of the Fevers ( es, Virgen de las Fiebres) in Seville's Church of Saint Mary Magdalene. He married three times: to Andrea Hernández, sister of Juan de Oviedo the Elder; to María de Bonilla, daughter of the Sevillian painter Juan de Zamora; and to Isabel de Valdés. He died in Llerena (

). His work was continued by his son Juan Bautista Vázquez the Younger.

References

* Jane Turner (Editor). ''Grove Dictionary of Art'' (1996, 34 vols.). * José Hernández Díaz. ''Andrés de Ocampo''. * Jesús Miguel Palomero Páramo. ''El retablo sevillano del Renacimiento: Análisis y evolución (1560–1629)''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez, Juan Bautista The Elder 16th-century Spanish sculptors Spanish male sculptors Spanish Renaissance Renaissance sculptors 1510 births 1588 deaths Catholic sculptors