A Microscope of European’s Art Works: Spanish Sculpture
Gallery Talk: Across the Mediterranean: Renaissance Sculpture in Spain
Location: Metropolitan Museum
I went to Metropolitan Museum of Art for a gallery talk on Renaissance sculpture in Spain on September 21, 2007. I learned a lot about Spanish sculpture during the Renaissance period from Vivian Gordon, my tour leader. There was lots of information to be absorbed in a gallery talk that only lasted for less an hour. We covered many Spanish art works, such as Orpheus, Saint John The Baptist, and The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Joachim. The Spanish sculpture was a microscope of European’s art history. Sculptors from Italy, Netherlands and other European countries all had come to Spain to work, and had influenced the Spanish sculpture’s style more or less. I noticed trace of the Italian style in several Spanish sculptures as Gordon indicated. Just as I expected and noticed in the title of this gallery talk, Renaissance sculpture in Spain resembles characteristics of art works across the Mediterranean.
The Holy Family with Saints Anne and Joachim, the first main sculpture on the second floor, is sculptured and painted by Diego De Pesquera, who is a native Spanish sculptor. This panel came from a retable made for the parish church of Los Ojíjares, and was dedicated to Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin. The surface is amazingly intact. According to Gordon, the relief displays a Spanish technique called estofado, in which gilding and polychrome interact in vibrant patterns. Brocaded fabrics are imitated with particular skill. Spanish sculptors usually put a gilded cover over their works, and then mixed the gild with colors. They use this technique to resemble Ancient Spanish clothes materials, making the drapery all real and appealing to the viewers. Pesquera clearly was aware of developments in Italian Renaissance art, and was largely influenced by Michelangelo, a prominent Italian painter and sculptor. There is an attractive naturalism, which was prevailing in other northern Europe countries during the Renaissance, in the healthy wriggling infant. The elegantly mannered attenuation of the Virgin and Saint Anne is also equally striking. And the nobleness that is shown in the characters draws a parallel to the Renaissance art works, which also emphasize on magnificence of the religious figures.
The second art piece that caught my attention was Saint John The Baptist sculptured by Juan Martinez Montaues, a native of Seville. Montaues is known for his many retables, which populate the churches with magnificently polychromed wood figures; thus earn himself a title of the God of Wood Carving according to my tour guide. As indicated in the caption, this piece of sculpture comes from the convent of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción which dates from about 1625–35. It has for its compositional precedent Montañés’s own Baptist of the main altar in San Isidoro del Campo at Santiponce, made between 1609 and 1613. However, this statue in the museum is a fuller and more emotional charged figure that features naturalism. I later learned that, in fact, it has been called Montanes’s most beautiful single figure. It exemplifies the contained spirituality and sober realism of the Andalusian school. The austere expression and sharp colors give me the impression of actuality and conviction.
The trip was an enriching experience to me. I learned about some of the techniques Spanish sculptors used to create their art works, and the history of Spanish sculpture. Artists from other parts of the European countries largely influenced Spanish sculptures. Overall, the trip was a good experience because it allowed me to look at sculptures in person, which was essential for understanding and appreciation of art works that are three-dimensional.