the school of andalusia—juan martinez monta?és—seville and its sculptors
the andalusian school of sculpture was an offshoot from the school of castile and aragon, though in some respects its history was different. the reason of its late development is not difficult to find. in southern spain the moorish influence was stronger and more enduring than in the north; and for all their secular buildings the spaniards adopted moorish designs and moorish methods of decoration. the alcázar of seville, in its original state before alterations, and the casa de pilatos, are very pure mudéjar monuments. there was no abrupt transition between the persian architecture and the classic style of the renaissance. it was in the churches alone that opportunity arose for the development of christian architecture. we find roman or gothic structures according to the epochs of their building. but even the churches retained the minaret in the form of clock-towers,{118} and other moorish features, as, for instance, the puerta del perdon of the cathedral of seville.
it was the erection of these christian edifices that brought the opportunity for the opening of studios of sculpture. native carvers arose, who at first drew their inspiration from the more advanced art of the north. then the fifteenth century opened with the building of the great cathedral of seville, an event which drew foreign artists to the southern capital from flanders and also from italy. these foreigners trained worthy native pupils, and from this time we may date the rise and importance of the sevillian school.
one of the first foreigners to arrive was lorenzo de mercadante, a breton, whose power speaks in the monument of cardinal cervantes, in the cathedral, the earliest perfect portrait-statue in southern spain. in the cathedral, which is a veritable museum of polychrome art, we find graceful and charming statues, which show the influence of mercadante. we may mention the beautiful virgen de madro?e (virgin of the arbutus flower) and the virgen del reposo; both statues are polychromed, but the latter work has been to a large extent ruined by injudicious restoration. these virgins are fine examples of the ideal treatment, expressing genuine beauty{119} with dignity and sweetness, which the native artists achieved in representing the mother of god. spain is the land of the blessed virgin.
to the teaching of lorenzo mercadante we owe the native artists nufro sánchez and maestro dancart, the earliest of the sevillian carvers, who were appointed master sculptors to the cathedral at an annual salary of 10,000 maravedis. their first work was the choir-stalls, which were begun in 1475 by sánchez, and finished by dancart in 1479. of this work professor carl justi says “its vein of invention and humour recalls the south german masters.”
four years later dancart was entrusted with the important work of erecting the grand altar of the cathedral (plate 134). he executed the design, but the work was carried out by his pupils marco and bernardo de ortega. the latter artist worked at the screen until his death in 1505, when the completion of the work was left to his son francesco and to his grandson bernardino. gomez oroco, george and alexis fernando aleman, and andres de covarrubias also worked at different parts of the screen. in 1519, when the work was completed, the canons, for some reason not known, employed a pupil of fernando aleman named moya to modify the design. he{120} was three years over the work, which he finished in the autumn of 1564. some years later two wings were added, and the screen was finally completed in 1564. this mixed authorship was a mistake, and has resulted in a want of continuity in the design which has marred to some extent the beauty and harmony of the work.
of more importance are the carvings of pedro millan, a pupil of nufro sánchez, who takes rank as the first really important master of the sevillian school. the date of his birth is unknown. we hear of him first in the year 1505, when he executed the statues for the cimborium of the cathedral, which unfortunately were destroyed when the copula fell on december 28, 1512. pedro worked in the style of the burgundian masters, and his carvings show a genuinely creative talent, united with a true study of nature. to him we owe the statues in terra-cotta known as the baptismo and the nacimiento, which are outside two of the cathedral doors. the heads and hands are most beautifully modelled and the draperies are skilfully handled to display the figures. the bas-relief inserted in the pointed spandrel between the first ribs of the flying-arch, which represents the adoration of the magi, is also the work of pedro millan. but his best-{121}known statue is the noble virgen del pilar, in the capilla de nuestra se?ora del pilar. m. marcel dieulafoy believes that this is an earlier work than the terra-cotta bas-reliefs. its importance is great on account of the polychrome, the original colours having been most carefully preserved. the flesh-tints are beautiful, delicate rose-shades on the cheeks, lips, and ends of the fingers. the robe shows reflections of pale gold, and the mantle, of the same tint, has arabesques of brown, while the veil is in full gilt. besides these works in the cathedral, there are two statues of pedro’s in private collections in seville, and one is a masterpiece. this is the small polychromed statuette of st. michael in the possession of don jose gestoso y perez. like most of this artist’s works, it is executed in terra-cotta. it bears the signature of pedro millan in gothic characters. the other statue group is a pietà, in which the virgin, mary magdalen, and st. john mourn over the body of christ. it is in the gallery of don lopéz cepero, y 7, plaza de alfaro. unfortunately it has been painted a horrible stone colour and quite disfigured. pedro millan also furnished the models for the small terra-cotta figures on the beautiful portal of santa paula, which were executed by niculoso of pisa, the{122} author of the curious altar in terra-cotta in the alcázar.
it was about this period that the italian influences of the renaissance began to be felt in andalusia. artists were attracted to seville by the growing opulence of the city. besides this, italian works of art were brought to decorate the palaces of the nobles. vasari, for instance, tells us luca del robbia sent several of his works to the spanish king for his southern capital, and he speaks also of a large bronze bas-relief, representing a fight between nude men, the work of antonio pallando, which had the same destination. but the old flemish traditions were very deeply rooted, and remained longer active here than in the northern schools of castile and aragon. thus a style arose that united the two sources of inspiration.
the oratory and screen of isabella la catolica in the alcázar are interesting examples of the expression of this double influence (plate 135). they are the work of francisco niculoso pisano, an italian artist who settled in seville, and whose work was of importance in directing the art of the sixteenth century; the altar bears his inscription, “francisco niculoso me fecit,” with the date 1503. the principal parts of the altar and also the screen are in very pure italian style, but the{123} panel above the altar, as well as some details of the decoration, show clearly the old spanish traditions founded on the flemish methods. this may be explained as m. marcel dieulafoy suggests, if we accept the theory that the italian master employed his colleague pedro millan to assist him in the execution of the work.
another foreigner who helped in the introduction of italian art to the native workers of seville was miguel, known as “the florentine,” who worked with the wood-carvers in the cathedral. afterwards, in the last years of the fifteenth century, miguel executed the tomb of mendoza, archbishop of seville. after the completion of this work, which gained much admiration, miguel was constantly employed by the chapter, and he remained working in seville until his death in the middle years of the century, when his position was taken by his son micer antonio florentine, an artist of even greater talent than his father. among miguel’s works are the statues of st. paul and st. john at either side of the puerta del perdon, and the bas-relief above representing christ turning the money-changers out of the temple (plate 136), and also the life-size terra-cotta statues on the enclosure of the capilla mayor.{124}
but the most famous of the italian sculptors of seville is pietro torrigiano, the disciple and rival of michael angelo. torrigiano was born at florence in the year 1470, and his work early proclaimed him a master. it is recorded that in a fit of rage he broke his rival’s nose with his fist, and as a result of this act of jealousy he had to flee from italy. for a time he adopted the calling of a soldier, but, angered at not gaining promotion, he again took up his chisel. we hear of him next in england, where he gained fame and wealth by his chapel of henry vii. in westminster abbey. but torrigiano’s roving disposition again sent him wandering, and he went to spain, first to granada, where he competed for the order to execute the tombs of ferdinand and isabella, but, being unsuccessful, he came to seville, in which city he finally settled. he died in 1522 in a dungeon of the inquisition, which vasari says was due to his smashing in a fit of rage a statue of the virgin, ordered by the duke of arcos, because he considered the payment insufficient. but cean bermudez, though he does not deny the story, states that torrigiano was charged with heresy.
the influence exercised in seville by this great italian was far-reaching, and his statues, though{125} few in number, were the models from which the native workers drew their inspiration. in style torrigiano closely resembled michael angelo. we owe to him the statue of the madonna (plate 137) and that of st. jerome (plate 138), which were executed for the convent of san jerónimo, but are now in the museum. the figures are in terra-cotta, and are splendidly modelled, and both are polychromed. the tints used are simple, and harmonious to the model. the face and hands of st. jerome are a brownish tone, as we should expect in one exposed to the action of the sun; the draperies are of a light red brown. the flesh tints of the madonna and her child are charming; she wears a rose-coloured robe with a mantle of light blue, grey lined, and with a gold border. to torrigiano we owe also the fine medallion in marble on the front of the church of la caridad, and another on that of the jesuits. m. marcel dieulafoy ascribes to torrigiano the statue of st. jerome, now at granada, in the church of santa ana. it is a fine piece of sculpture, but the polychrome has been destroyed through want of care.
after the death of pedro millan and torrigiano we find in seville a band of capable artists, though none are equal in merit to gregorio hernandez,{126} who at the same time was working in valladolid. at their head stands micer antonio florentine, who, on the death of his father miguel, took charge of his studio, and continued to direct the activities of the sevillian sculptors. the best known of his own works was the good friday monument for the cathedral which he designed, modelling its statues with his own hands. his contemporary, bartoloméo morel, was the author of the statue of faith triumphant which crowns the giralda tower (plate 139), and also of the celebrated tenebrario of the cathedral of which cean bermudez says “that it is of its kind the finest piece of sculpture in spain.” in this work collaborated pedro delgado, a capable artist, and the favourite pupil of antonio florentine. pedro delgado himself had many pupils. among them were juan bautista vasquez, one of the many artists who worked on the altar-screen of toledo cathedral, and juan giralte, a flemish carver, who seems to have executed much work, but whose history is unknown.
jerónimo hernandez was an artist of higher merit. though he was a pupil of pedro delgado, he drew his inspiration from torrigiano. this explains the attribution of the st. jerome of{127} the cathedral to the italian master. but this fine sculpture is undoubtedly the work of jerónimo hernandez. he was also the author of the beautiful jesus, and a resurrection in the possession of the dulce nombre brotherhood; of a lost work, a group of the virgen del rosario with the infant jesus in her arms and st. domenico and st. catherine kneeling at her feet; and of the altar-screen of the convent of san leandro. these statues prove that jerónimo hernandez was a carver of distinguished merit. in the altar-screen of san leandro he was assisted by juan de sancedo and vasco de pereyra, a celebrated portuguese painter, who carried out the painting and gilding of the statues.
a pupil of jerónimo hernandez was gaspar nicolas delgado, who also studied with his uncle pedro delgado. he gained a higher reputation than his masters, and in seville is accounted as one of the greatest sculptors. this estimate is misleading. his chief work, the st. john the baptist in the desert, which is in the chapel of the nuns of st. clemente though a bas-relief of real merit, the landscape especially being well represented, does not justify his position as a master. the merit of the work{128} has gained from the fine polychrome, which was carried out by the artist pacheco.
a third artist who worked at this period, and a carver of more personal talent, was capitan cepeda, a native of cordova, who, like torrigiano was in turn a soldier and artist. he served in italy and afterwards came to seville, being summoned there by the goldsmiths of the city for the special work of arousing a devotion for the crucified christ. with this object cepeda modelled the cristo de la expiracion which now stands on the altar of the small chapel of the museum. it is a work of spanish realism, finely executed, with every detail of sorrow expressed and accentuated by the violent attitude and gesture. again we would emphasise the fact that such a work can only be estimated truly by remembering the spanish religious spirit. cepeda represents in seville the style which juan juni made popular in the northern schools. like that artist, his interest rests in the individuality of his work, which is national and wholly spanish, while his contemporaries, jerónimo hernandez and gaspar nicolas delgado, followed the newer influences from italy.
the sevillian school had not yet produced a master. but the time was now ripe. in the{129} closing years of the century there came to seville the man who raised polychrome sculpture to its highest rank, and who was the greatest carver of spain. his name was juan martinez monta?és.
of the early life of this great artist we know almost nothing beyond the fact that he was the pupil of pablo rojas, a sculptor of cordova. we first have definite information about him in the year 1582, when he with his wife came to the monastery of dulce nombre de jesus at seville, where we learn they were granted free residence for life in recognition of an image of the virgin executed for the brotherhood. two years later, in 1590, monta?és was at work for the carmelite nuns. nothing further of the artist’s life is known until the year 1607, when he completed a jesus for the santísimo brotherhood of the cathedral. the record of this work proves that monta?és was then living in the arquillo de roelas with catalina salcedo y sandobal. thus he must have lost his first wife and again been married. he was at this time fifty years old. such is the scant record of the first half of this great artist’s life. in truth he came late to the fruition of his genius, for it was after these fifty years of living, when the work of most men is already accomplished, that{130} monta?és created the greatest of those works which are the glory of spain.
it is fitting to say a few words about his art. monta?és occupies the same position in the southern school that gregorio hernandez held in the north. like that master, he drew his inspiration directly from nature. he had the same respect for truth, the same simplicity, and, stronger even than these qualities, the same spanish religious sentiment and noble idealism. it is true that he used and made his own the methods of the italian renaissance, which were dominating the sevillian artists, and which he would seem to have imbibed from a study of the classical models in the casa de pilatos of the duke of alcala; but with this outside influence he retained a powerful personality. thus his work is entirely removed from the italian style, as it expressed itself in the peninsula with its fantastic mingling of christianity and paganism. in nobility of form and religious sentiment the statues of monta?és surpass all other works of their class. once again, and more emphatically than the carvings of any other artist, unless indeed we except gregorio hernandez, they give an answer to those who would discredit the beauty of polychrome statuary.
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from the year 1607 onwards, up to his death in 1649, monta?és carried out numerous orders for the churches, convents, and religious brotherhoods of seville; the greater number of these works still remain in the city. but of some it must be said that, though doubtless executed in the master’s studio and bearing his name, they were the work of his pupils. fortunately it is not difficult to distinguish these spurious pieces which have been fathered upon monta?és. we have in the archives of the churches an exact record, usually with dates, of most of his works. thus we are able to follow chronologically the evolution of his talent.
the earliest undertakings of monta?és after the execution of the infant jesus for the santísimo brotherhood were two portrait-statues of st. ignatius loyola and st. francis xavier (plates 140 and 141) which were commissioned in the year 1610 on the occasion of the beatification of the former saint, and which are now in the university chapel. of these idealised portraits professor justi writes that they are “marked by noble severity of character and pathos of expression.”
the period between 1610 and 1612 was occupied with an important work, the designing and carving of the altar-screen and statues for the old monastery of san isidoro at santiponce,{132} in the suburb of seville. monta?és is noteworthy as a carver of altar-screens, and in this he returned to the methods of earlier artists. seville owes to him three great retablos; those of santa clara and san lorenzo in the city itself, and the one at santiponce, which of the three is perhaps the most beautiful. it is in two registers with an attic. in the centre of the first portion stands the magnificent statue of st. jerome, one of the finest figures of monta?és; placed on the right and left are st. john the baptist and st. john the evangelist, and two bas-reliefs of the adoration of the magi and of the shepherds. the last group is especially beautiful. san isidoro, archbishop of seville and patron of the church, occupies the centre of the second register, while the bas-reliefs on either side represent the resurrection and ascension of christ. in the attic are figures of the cardinal virtues and an assumption of the virgin, which surmount a crucifix and two kneeling angels.
in this great work it seems certain that monta?és must have been aided by his pupils. the st. jerome, however, was carved entirely by himself. it was coloured by pacheco, who was for many years the collaborator of the sevillian master. the work is perfectly executed, indeed{133} it is impossible to say more of this magnificent polychrome than that it merits the praise which has been lavished upon it.
there are also in the church of santiponce the tombs of don alonso perez de guzmán el bueno and his wife do?a maria coronel, who founded the monastery. they are carved in marble and polychromed. cean bermudez attributes to monta?és the figure of the hero of tarifa. this is an error; both monuments are clearly by the same hand, and the style is not that of monta?és. but they are fine works, harmonious and simple, and the polychrome is very good indeed. it is unfortunate that their author is unknown.
the masterpiece of monta?és, and the work by which he is most widely known, belongs to the year 1614: it is the crucifix now in the sacristy of the cathedral (plate 142), but originally executed for the carthusians of santa maria de las cuevas, and given to the monastery with the stipulation that the figure was never to be removed. this statue, once seen, can never be forgotten. what impresses us is the dignity of the nude figures, wonderfully carved, without any violent attitudes, and the colouring, perfectly harmonious; it is the incomparable refinement, the sobriety with which the divine drama is repre{134}sented, that moves us so profoundly. monta?és expresses perfectly the deep religious feeling which animated spain in the seventeenth century. a passage in the arte de la pintura tells us that the polychrome was done by pacheco in the “mat tone” which he used with such splendid effect.
five years later, in 1619, monta?és executed the first of his christs of the passion for the cofradia de cristo del grand poder santísimo y madre de dios trespaso, an order founded in seville by the dukes of medina sidonia in the middle of the fifteenth century. the statue bears the name el se?or del gran poder (the being of great power). a good replica of this work belongs to the parish church of san ildefonso. the original statue is now in the church of san lorenzo. it is placed in a dark side-chapel, where it is difficult to see it in the unequal light of the candles. the christ bears the cross in an unusual attitude, the upper part resting upon his shoulders. the face has splendid dignity. but the statue has been disfigured by the barbarous custom of dressing the figure in elaborate robes entirely out of harmony with the subject. nobody sees the figure as it originally was, vigorously carved, and wearing nothing but a loin-cloth. these representations{135} of christ with the cross appealed strongly to the spaniards, and were greatly venerated. monta?és cared much for them, and we read that a replica of el se?or del gran poder, known as el se?or de la pasion, which he carved for the convent of la merced calzada, was more esteemed by him than any of his works. it is even reported that when in holy week the christ was carried in procession, he would wait to watch it pass, overcome with joy and surprise at what his hand had been able to create. this christ is now in the parochial church of san salvador, where is also a group of st. anne and the virgin attributed to monta?és.
as well as interpreting the story of christ’s passion, monta?és created statues of the virgin, whose dignity, beauty, and feeling won for him the popular admiration of his contemporaries. the worship of the mother of god had always made deep appeal to the religious heart of spain; then, in the year 1617, a papal edict was issued, at the earnest instigation of philip iv., declaring the immaculate nature of mary. no dogma had ever been accepted so readily, or believed in so fervently, in spain. the worship of the people in monta?és’ life was, in point of fact, practically centred in adoration of the virgin{136} mary; the many different religious orders, while venerating their respective founders and saints, were all united in their devotion to the virgin. art, still the servant of religion, was summoned to give expression to this passionate worship. every artist was engaged in depicting the virgin mother. in the north, the artists, working under the inspiration of the flemish masters, had delighted in representing those virgins of anguish where the mother mourns at the foot of the cross for her son. but now mary took a new form; she symbolises grace and beauty instead of the severity and asceticism of the older ideal. this was especially the case in seville, the joyous city of the south. here in exquisite images and paintings we see her young and happy, the sinless virgin-mother of the lord. monta?és in sculpture and murillo in painting were the great masters of this new ideal. they interpreted the favoured subject with that combination of naturalism and mysticism which found its way direct to the heart of the andalusian religionists. they share together the claim of being the creators of the spanish virgins.
seville contains several conceptions by monta?és. there is one in the cathedral, another of equal merit is in the segrario chapel of san julian.{137} the conceptions of santa clara and san clemente are also fine examples; they have greater merit than the better-known and much-praised virgin of the university (plate 143). it will suffice if we describe one of these conceptions.
monta?és was already old when in 1630 he executed the statue, which was the earliest of his immaculate conceptions, now in the cathedral (plate 144). her type is andalusian, and she is shown in the full bloom of her beauty. she appears to be meditating on the immaculate birth, and what we note especially is the dignity and grace of her attitude and the serene expression. the folds of the robe and mantle follow, but do not accentuate, the beautiful figure. angels hover around her feet, which are hidden by her robe, as is commanded by the church. the polychrome of the statue has been renewed, owing to damage having been done to the original painting by the removal of the vestments, with which, up to the year 1779, the figure was barbarously clothed. but the work has been carefully done, with due regard to the design of the primitive polychromists. the flesh tints are warm and glowing, and the hair is black with brown reflections. the robe is white over a red dress, of which only the sleeves appear, and is covered with a pattern of{138} gold inset around with a brown fillet. this black mantle is also enriched with a design of golden palm-leaves. we do not know who was the original painter of this work. it was not pacheco, for before 1630, the date of the conception, the father-in-law of velazquez had, after the lawsuit in 1622, severed his connection with monta?és, who wished to exercise a closer superintendence in the carrying out of the polychrome of his statues than pacheco would submit to. monta?és does not seem to have undertaken the polychrome himself; his works were too numerous to permit this. an interesting contract dated 1641, and relating to the colouring of the altar-screen of san miguel at xeres, names jacinto soto as the polychromist, and besides furnishes strict injunctions that he must accept and follow in the work the directions of monta?és. from this document we may assume that jacinto soto succeeded pacheco.
the consideration of these christs of the passion and the conceptions has carried us away from the chronological order of monta?és’ work. the years 1615 to 1622 were occupied with the execution of the screen of the high altar and four altars in the nave of the church of santa clara, of which the statues and the sculptures are the work of monta?és. the carvings are of great{139} merit, but unfortunately the screen of the high altar was redecorated after the death of the master and almost ruined. it has fine statues of santa clara, of the christ and god the father, as well as a conception, which formerly was on one of the side altars, four bas-reliefs and a number of statuettes, among which special attention should be given to the very beautiful group of angels, who carry the lamps of the holy sacrament. on the side altars are the figures of st. francis, st. john the baptist, and st. john the evangelist.
the third important altar of monta?és is that of the church of san lorenzo. it belongs to a later period of his art, having been undertaken about the year 1639. the statue of st. lawrence and the four bas-reliefs, though probably not entirely the work of the master, are carvings of excellent taste and distinction.
the carvings attributed to monta?és are very numerous, and, as we have stated already, it is necessary to make a distinction between his own work and that of his pupils. the statues of st. bruno, the virgin, and st. john the baptist (plates 145 and 146), which were executed for the carthusians of santa maria during the period between 1617 and 1620, and which are now in the museum{140} of seville, are examples of carvings which, though executed in the studio of monta?és, must not be accounted his personal work. probably their author was his favourite pupil solis, who for many years was the devoted collaborator of the master. this is also the opinion of m. marcel dieulafoy. the virgin is a very beautiful polychrome, which speaks of the high skill of the carver. the original colouring has been well cared for, and there is great delicacy in the rose-coloured robe and blue mantle, which is covered with flowers and a network design in gold. the child jesus wears a robe of pale blue relieved with delicate gold damasking.
in the museum is also the celebrated statue of santo domingo, which was brought from the high altar of the church of santo domingo de portacelci. it belongs to the year 1627. it is a fine work, but though much prized in seville, its merit is not so great as the st. jerome of santiponce, the statue with which it should be compared.
in the year 1635, when monta?és was at least seventy-five years old, an age when the activity of most men is over, he was called to madrid by the grand duke of tuscany, to execute an equestrian statue of philip iv. he modelled a masterpiece, but the mould being sent to italy to be{141} cast, was by some mischance lost. however, the master’s design served as a model for the sculptor pietro tacca, whose work now stands in the plaza del oriente, at madrid.
it was during this two years’ sojourn in madrid that monta?és renewed his friendship with velazquez, and sat for that incomparable portrait which is one of the masterpieces of the great painter.
the last work of monta?és was an altar-screen for the church of san miguel at cadiz. the commission for the work had been given as early as 1609, but monta?és had been occupied with the altar-screens of santiponce and other commissions in seville, and the work had been postponed. there was a second commission signed in 1613, but the work was not undertaken until much later, and was not finally achieved until 1640, after the visit to madrid. the statue of st. bruno which dominates the altar is very fine; the figure is seated, an unusual position for monta?és. the polychrome was executed by jacinto soto.
monta?és died in 1649. he left a number of able pupils, and though none inherited his genius, they carried on his work with merit, and sustained the high renown of the school of seville. it will be well to consider their works in a separate chapter.
