José Ramírez de Arellano, also José Ramírez Benavides, ( 1705 – March 27, 1770), was a Spanish

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architect and sculptor.

Early life

Ramírez was a member of a family of artists from

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. He was the son of the sculptor Juan Ramírez Mejandre, and brother of sculptor Manuel Ramírez de Arellano and painter Juan Ramírez de Arellano. He was a director of the first Academy of Drawing of Aragon, founded by his father in 1714, where he was assisted by prominent artists of Zaragoza, as José Luzán who taught

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

in his first apprenticeship.

Career

Interior iglesia del hospital de Ntra sra de Gracia

In 1740, Ramírez was appointed Sculptor to the King (

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

). In 1751, he was commissioned to manage the works of

Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar () is a Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Pillar, praised as "Mother of the Hispanic Peoples" by Pope ...

, where he met several renowned artists of that time who were hired to assist in its construction, including the painter

Antonio González Velázquez Antonio González Velázquez (1723–1793) was a Spanish late-Baroque painter. Biography Velázquez was born in Madrid into a family of artists; his father Pablo González Velázquez and brothers Alejandro González Velázquez, Alejandro and Lui ...

(commissioned to paint the dome above the temple), and

Ventura Rodríguez Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (July 14, 1717 – September 26, 1785) was a Spanish architect and artist. Born at Ciempozuelos, Rodríguez was the son of a bricklayer. In 1727, he collaborated with his father in the work at the Royal Palace of Ar ...

, who delegated almost entirely to Ramírez the building of the tabernacle. From 1752, he moved his home and workshop to

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

which was run by him and his brother Manuel.

Later years

In 1755, Ramírez married Michelle Heras Diego and with whom he had three children who reached adulthood. He became the Royal Academician of 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 centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

in 1758. He died in Zaragoza in 1770.

External links and references

Ramirez Family in the Great Aragon Encyclopedia (''Spanish'')
1705 births 1770 deaths 18th-century Spanish sculptors 18th-century Spanish male artists 18th-century Spanish architects Artists from Zaragoza Spanish Baroque sculptors Spanish male sculptors {{Spain-sculptor-stub