Juan Martínez Montañés
Juan Martínez Montañés (March 16, 1568 – June 18, 1649), known as el Dios de la Madera (the God of Wood), was a Spanish
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
Other works were the great altars at Santa Clara in Seville and at San Miguel in
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 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 painted by Diego Velázquez, 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
- ^ Its iconography was laid out in minute detail in the contract, which survives.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Montañes, Juan Martinez". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 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).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- Euroweb Gallery: illustrations
- Marie Louise Adelaide Handley (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Velázquez , an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Juan Martínez Montañés (see index)