Juan Martínez Montañés (March 16, 1568 – June 18, 1649), known as el Dios de la Madera (''the God of Wood''), was a Spanish
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 ...
, born at
Alcalá la Real
Alcalá la Real is a city in the province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2024 INE figures, the city had a population of 21,581.
Geography
Alcalá la Real is situated from the provincial capital, Jaén, and from Granada, on the slopes of L ...
, in the
province of Jaén. He was one of the most important figures of the
Sevillian school of sculpture, and is known for developing the
encarnación sculpting technique.
Biography
Juan Martínez Montañés was born on March 16, 1568, in Alcalá la Real, Jaén, Spain. His master was Pablo de Roxas.
His first known work, dating to 1597, is the graceful
St. Christopher in the church of El Salvador at
Seville
Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
. His ''Boy Christ'' (dated 1607) is in the
sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.
The sacristy is us ...
of the
cathedral of Seville. His masterpiece, the great altar of
St Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known for his translation of the Bible i ...
at San Isidoro del Campo,
Santiponce, near Seville, was contracted in 1609 and completed in 1613. Montañés executed most of his sculpture in wood, which was
gessoed, polychromed and gilded.
Other works were the great altars at Santa Clara in Seville and at San Miguel in
Jerez, the
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...
and the realistic figure of Christ Crucified in ''Cristo de la Clemencìa'', commissioned in 1603,
[Its ]iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
was laid out in minute detail in the contract, which survives. in the sacristy of Seville cathedral (''illustration''); the figure of
St John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
, and the
St Bruno (1620); a tomb for Don Pérez de Guzmán and his wife (1619); the highly realistic polychromed wood head and hands of
St Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the So ...
(1610) and of
St Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...
in the university church of Seville, where the costumed figures were used in celebrations.
Montañés achieved great fame in his lifetime; he died in 1649, leaving a large family. His works are more realistic than imaginative, but this, allied with an impeccable taste, produced remarkable results. In 1635, in preparation for the bronze equestrian statue of
King Philip IV by
Pietro Tacca, Montañés went to
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and spent seven months there modelling a portrait of Philip IV. The work was sent to Tacca in Florence as primary reference for the King, and the statue was finished in 1640. During his stay in Madrid he had his
portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...
painted by
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...
, whose tutor had worked for him.
He had many imitators, including his son Alonzo Martínez, who died in 1668. His students included
Juan de Mesa.
References
* This work in turn cites:
**B. Haendeke, ''Studien zur Geschichte der spanischen Plastik'' (Strassburg, 1900)
**F. Gomez, ''Historia de la escultura en España'' (Madrid, 1885).
External links
Euroweb Gallery:illustrations
*
''Velázquez '' an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Juan Martínez Montañés (see index)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez Montanes, Juan
1568 births
1649 deaths
People from Alcalá la Real
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish Baroque sculptors
Spanish male sculptors
16th-century Spanish sculptors
17th-century Spanish sculptors
Spanish woodcarvers
Catholic sculptors