Lorenzo Mercadante

Lorenzo Mercadante or Lorenzo Mercadante de Bretaña was a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

sculptor active in the second half of the 15th century. Between 1454 and 1467 he worked in 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 ...

, where he executed the sepulchre of Cardinal

Juan de Cervantes Juan de Cervantes (c. 1380 or 1382 in Seville, Spain – 25 November 1453, buried in Seville Cathedral) was a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Cervantes studied at the University of Salamanca and obtained a doctorate in civil and canon law ...

(1458) and the decoration of the portals of Christ's Birth and Baptism (''Nacimiento'' and ''Bautismo'', 1464–67). By using fired

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

he achieved a great naturalness and softness in his figures. His style influenced Sevillian sculpture in the last part of the Late Gothic era, and represented the transition to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. Other outstanding works of his, all in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, are a

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

now in the

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (, English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Ma ...

in Barcelona, another Saint Michael discovered in 1999 in

Sanlúcar la Mayor Sanlúcar la Mayor is a municipality in the province of Seville, southern Spain. The municipality is the location of the Solucar Complex. Gaspar de Guzmán, Count of Olivares was created Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor ( ...

, and a

Virgin and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

, originally in

Fregenal de la Sierra Fregenal de la Sierra (originally Frexnal or Frexenal) is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. Geography Fregenal de la Sierra is located in the Sierra Suroeste comarca (county), among the small hills and ravi ...

, now in the

Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla The Museum of Fine Arts of Seville ( es, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla) is a museum in Seville, Spain, a collection of mainly Spanish visual arts from the medieval period to the early 20th century, including a choice selection of works by arti ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercadante, Lorenzo Andalusian culture 15th-century French sculptors French male sculptors