Luis Salvador Carmona (1708, Nava del Rey – 1767,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

) was a Spanish Baroque sculptor who came from a family of artists.

Biography

His parents were of modest means, but when he showed artistic aptitude, they sent him to

Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...

to study. This was followed by an apprenticeship in Madrid, at the workshop of the sculptor, Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ron. There, he established his style, participated in several commissions, and was able to open his own workshop in 1731. That same year, he married Custodia Fernández and they had four children. She died in 1759 and he married again; to Antonia Ros, who died barely two years later. His first commissions as a professional involved stone work at several public buildings and sculptures for the Royal Palace (1750-1753). At the Royal Court, he made acquaintances who were involved in planning the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acade ...

and, after its opening in 1752, he and

Juan Pascual de Mena Juan Pascual de Mena (1707 in Villaseca de la Sagra – 16 April 1784, in Madrid) was a Spanish sculptor in the Neoclassical style. Life and work When he was barely five years old, his family moved to Madrid. He began his studies there and s ...

were named the Lieutenant-Directors of sculpture. His popularity was widespread and he worked in several locations outside Madrid, including

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

and

Navarra Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. Although he had numerous assistants, it appears that they were closely supervised and that he provided the finishing touches to each work himself. Among those who trained with him were his son, Bruno, who accompanied several scientific expeditions as an artist, his nephews Manuel and

Juan Antonio Juan Ignacio Antonio (born 5 January 1988) is an Argentine former professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally ...

, who became well-known engravers, and the sculptor Francisco Gutiérrez Arribas. In 1764, he was forced to reduce his work load, due to a serious illness. Contemporary sources described him as being so beset by "melancholy" that he could make only the most feeble efforts. This condition was aggravated by increasing difficulties with his sight, which eventually resulted in blindness. In 1765, he was forced to resign from his position at the Academia, and he died two years later.

Selected works

*Sculptures for the

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate structur ...

(1743-1747), Parish church,

Segura Segura (, ; la, Thader; ar, شقورة, Shaqūrah, or ) is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain. It has its source in the Sierra de Segura. Course The river begins at Santiago Pontones ( province of Jaén), passes Calasparra, C ...

*''Divina Pastora'' (1747), Convent of

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...

, Nava del Rey *''Chris''t (1756), Convent of Capuchins, Nava del Rey *''Pieta'' (1760), New Cathedral, Salamanca *''Crucifix'', National Museum of Sculpture, Valladolid *''Flagellated Christ'' (1760), La Clerecía, Salamanca *''Virgin and Child'',

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

Sources

* Garcia Gainza, María Concepción. ''El escultor Luis Salvador Carmona'' (1990) * E. Lord, ''Luis Salvador Carmona en el Real sitio de S. Ildefonso de la Granja'', Archivo Español de Arte, XXXVI, 101, 1953. * J. J. Martín González, ''Escultura Barroca Castellana''. Fundacion Lazaro Galdiano, 1959. * F. J. Sánchez Cantón, ''Escultura y Pintura del s. XVIII'', Ars Hispaniae, XVII. Madrid, 1965.

External links

Commentary on his work
by María Concepción García Gaínza @ Arte Historia {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmona, Luis Salvador 18th-century Spanish sculptors 18th-century Spanish male artists Sculptors from Castile and León Spanish Baroque sculptors Spanish male sculptors 1708 births 1767 deaths