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 A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

. In 1727, he collaborated with his father in the work at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.

Major works

Ventura's career was remarkably prolific. Between 1749 and 1753, he built the church of San Marcos in Madrid. In 1752, he was named the director of architectural studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. In 1750, he was commissioned with finishing and remodeling the basílica del Pilar of

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 ...

. Earlier plans by Felipe Busiñac, Felipe Sánchez, and Francisco Herrera the Younger had not satisfied the demands of the municipality, a convenient distance from the river and proper alignment with the icon and other buildings. In the cathedral of Cuenca, Ventura was asked to construct a ''Transparente''(a glass-roofed altar complex) similar to that made by Narciso Tomé in the Cathedral of Toledo. Between 1755 and 1767, he decorated the interior of the church of the Royal Monastery of la Encarnación, in Madrid. Then at his peak of influence, the Bourbon monarchs of Spain,

Fernando VI Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

and Carlos III began to favor foreign architects such as the French Jacques Marquet and the Neapolitan Francesco Sabatini (nephew of Luigi Vanvitelli). However, ensconced in 1766 in a role similar to buildings commissioner for the Council of Castile, Rodríguez played a role in many works. Buildings or renovations needing official approval came to his purview, and often underwent his scrutiny and change.Artículo de Doña Cristina Pina Caballero en Biblioteca Universitaria Digitum
/ref> He aided in the design of the Convent of the Philippine Augustines of

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, the college of surgery in Barcelona (1761, home today of the academy of Medicine), the town hall of Haro (1769), and his projects for a new National library and the factory of glass at La Granja. Rodríguez helped design the Palacio de Liria (1770); Palacio de Altamira (1773–1775) (now the European Institute of Design); the Palace of Infante Don Luis; the Palacio de Almanzora in Almería; and the Palace at

Arenas de San Pedro Arenas de San Pedro is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2006 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 6,682 inhabitants. Its seal Seal may refer to any of the following: ...

(he also built the Royal Chapel for the Convent/Sanctuary of San Pedro de Alcántara). He helped remodel the Palacio Municipal de Betanzos. Rodríguez was named Maestro Mayor del Ayuntamiento of

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 ...

in 1764. Among other works are portions of the plaza mayor de Ávila, the Hospital General de Madrid, the facade of the catedral de Toledo, the Sagrario (1761–1764) of the Cathedral of Jaén, the main retablo for Cathedral of Zamora (1765–1776), which replaced the one by Joaquín Benito Churriguera (brother of José Benito), that had been damaged by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the ermita de San Nicasio in Leganés (1772–1780, the baths at Caldas (1773), the sanatorium at Trillo (1775), the jail at Brihuega, and the church at Larravezna. He designed the facade of the cathedral of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

in Neoclassical style. He created the present church at the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos; for this project, he almost destroyed all traces of earlier Romanesque constructions. He replaced Lucas Ferro Caaveiro, the original architect, in the rebuilding of the Abbey of San Juan Bautista de Corias in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

. Rodríguez was unable to complete several important commissions, the

Puerta de Alcalá The Puerta de Alcalá is a Neo-classical gate in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid, Spain. It was a gate of the former Walls of Philip IV. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Bu ...

(finished by Sabatini en 1764), the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid (also Sabatini in 1768), Also in Madrid, the refurbishment of the main plaza

Puerta del Sol The Puerta del Sol (, English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous ...

and the construction of the adjacent Real Casa de Correos postal service headquarters, both completed by Jaime Marquet between 1760 - 1768. The church of La Encarnación (1785) in Santa Fe (Granada) was completed by his pupil Domingo Loys de Monteagudo. Of his works, the church for the Convento de San Norberto of the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

order, no longer exists. It was torn down by

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

, also known as ''Pepe Plazuelas'', who was zealous in opening up plaza spaces in Madrid. The first two architects, Silvestre Pérez and Juan Antonio Cuervo, both disciples of Ventura Rodríguez, refused to carry out the destruction of the church. He died in

1785 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Burmese Konbaung Dynasty annexes the Mrauk U Kingdom of Arakan. ** The first issue of the '' Daily Universal Register'', later known as ''The Times'', is published in London. * January 7 &nd ...

. A station of the Line 3 of

Madrid Metro The Madrid Metro (Spanish: ''Metro de Madrid'') is a rapid transit system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the 14th longest rapid transit system in the world, with a total length of . Its growth between 1995 and 200 ...

is named Ventura Rodríguez. Palacio-infante-don-luis-panoramica-120818

References

External links

Scholarly articles
in English about Ventura Rodríguez both in web an
PDF
@ th
Spanish Old Masters Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Ventura 18th-century Spanish architects Spanish neoclassical architects 1717 births 1785 deaths