Spanish Baroque Sculpture: Fernández, Montañés, and Salzillo
The Castilian School
The most prominent figure is Gregorio Fernández, an author of Galician origin who worked in Valladolid. He was the creator of highly successful iconographic types, such as the Reclining Christ, the Crucified Christ, and Immaculate Conceptions.
Features of his work include high pathos and excessive naturalism, achieved through artificial crystal tears, hairs, wounds, and dripping blood.
Notable works include the Altarpiece of the Cathedral of Plasencia and the Baptism of Christ.
In Madrid, monuments to the kings feature imported Italian works. For example, the equestrian work of Felipe III is by the Mannerist Giambologna, and that of Philip IV is by Pietro Tacca, where Martínez Montañés and Velázquez worked. Galileo performed the mathematical calculations for the latter.
The Andalusian School
Martínez Montañés worked in Seville and was nicknamed “the god of the wood” by his contemporaries. His style is serene Baroque; hence, his works show calmness and balance. His Immaculate Conceptions and Crucified Christs are more human than those of Gregorio Fernández, as seen in the Cristo de la Clemencia and the Santiponce altarpiece with St. Jerome and the Adoration of the Shepherds.
Juan de Mesa was his disciple, and he developed a personal style that blends balance and pathos, as in the Christ of the Agony.
Alonso Cano is the chief representative of the Andalusian school in Granada, characterized by classicism, grace, and delicacy, as shown in the Granada Inmaculada lectern.
Pedro de Mena was his disciple but moved away from his teacher to recreate characters with deep mysticism, as in the Penitent Magdalene.
By mid-century, serene and balanced forms declined, replaced by a more dynamic sense of sober realism influenced by Bernini. José de Arce, Pedro Roldán, and his daughter Luisa Roldán (called “La Roldana”) are their representatives.
Baroque in Murcia: Francisco Salzillo
Francisco Salzillo y Alcaraz was a Spanish sculptor, regarded as the most representative Spanish sculptor of the eighteenth century and one of the greatest of the Baroque period.
Salzillo was devoted exclusively to religious themes, and his style evolved during the eighteenth century, reflecting a transition to Rococo and Neoclassicism. These changes were also reflected in the workshop he inherited from his father, the sculptor and sculptor, Nicholas Salzillo.
His life was spent entirely in the city of Murcia, which today has a museum dedicated to his work.
Over the years, his work gained fame, and he received many commissions from churches and convents in Murcia and surrounding provinces, including Alicante, Albacete, and Almería.
Productions
The most outstanding productions of his early years, when he took over his father’s workshop, include the Holy Family of San Miguel. The scene is treated as a familiar one, with the protagonists creating a domestic atmosphere. Salzillo, immersed in the aesthetic of his time, makes everyday situations stripped solemn scenes of ritual used in a successful contrast between palatial elegance and a strong sense of popular culture. He displays a taste for complicated fabrics and rich colors. The soft, rounded forms are accentuated in the central figures. The entire assembly is treated with meticulous naturalism, taking care of every detail.
The Italian influence is seen in works of this period, such as the images of San Francisco and Santa Clara in the Capuchin convent. The movement and expression of their hands would become major Baroque elements in the field of spirituality and mysticism.
From 1765, we can speak of a more industrial production. Since 1776, there has been a shift in Salzillo’s production, including some notes of Neoclassicism.
Many brotherhoods came to Salzillo when he had become an undisputed master in the art of sculpture in the Kingdom of Murcia.
The Bethlehem crib, made from 1776, is one of the most representative works of Francisco Salzillo. It consists of 556 figures of 25-30 cm made in clay, wood, and cardboard.
Based on the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Salzillo narrates the biblical story of the birth of Christ from the Annunciation to the Flight to Egypt, combining the religious scenes with other popular characters or manners, being a true reflection of many traditions of the time.