Juan Martínez Montañés, in full
Juan de Martínez Montañés (born March 16, 1568, Alcalá la Real, Jaén,
Spain—died June 18, 1649, Sevilla), Spanish sculptor who was
instrumental in the transition from Mannerism to the Baroque. His work
influenced not only the sculptors and altarmakers of Spain and Latin
America but also the Spanish painters of his century.
After studying in Granada under Pablo
de Rojas (1579–82), Montañés went to Sevilla (Seville) in 1587 and
established a studio that lasted until his death. He became known as the
“Dios de la Madera” (“God of Wood Carving”) and had 50 years of enormous
output and influence. He is remembered for his wood altars and altar
figures covered with polished gold and paint in various colours. They
are marked by an admirable aristocratic dignity, realistic yet
idealized. He set the style throughout Spain and Latin America with such
works as the statues of Christ on the cross, looking at the beholder; of
the child Christ; and of the Immaculate Conception (all at the Sevilla
Cathedral). The church in Santiponce, near Sevilla, contains his finest
altar (1610–13); his largest work is at San Miguel in Jérez de la
Frontera (1617–45).
