THE DISCIPLES OF MONTAÑÉS IN SEVILLE
It is the fate of the followers of a great master that their talent is
almost always expressed in imitation, rather than in original work.
Occupied with the glory that has been achieved, they forget that
personality is the only living quality in art; that, however capably
they may follow, they cannot reach the height that has already been
gained. Thus the result of imitation must always be decay.
But the renown of the Sevillian school was for a time maintained by a
band of really capable sculptors, who, had they lived earlier, before
Montañés instead of after, might have been masters and not merely
followers. We must now consider their work.
The sculptors most immediately connected with Montañés were Solis, of
whom we have spoken already; the Abbot Juan Gomez, one of his earliest
pupils; Alonso Martinez, an architect and master carpenter of Seville
Cathedral; Luis Ortiz, a sculptor of Malaga; and Alonso de Mena, who
came from Granada. These five men all worked as pupils in the studio of
Montañés, and to a greater or less extent adapted their talent to
copying the qualities of their master. Indeed Solis and the Abbot Juan
Gomez appropriated so well his style that considerable confusion as to
the authorship of their works has arisen.
Born in Jaen, Solis came to Seville in the year 1617, and assisted
Montañés in the execution of the statues of St. Bruno, the Virgin, and
St. John the Baptist for the Carthusians of Santa Maria de las Cuevas,
which are now in the Museum of Seville. It is probable, as we stated in
the last chapter, that the statues were carved by Solis from the wax
models of Montañés. La Justicia (Plate 148) and the Four Cardinal
Virtues, executed for the same monastery, and now also in the museum,
were the personal work of Solis: in this work he shows that, apart from
his power of imitation, he possessed talent of his own which entitles
him to recognition. It is a polychrome of real merit, well conceived and
well executed.
Even greater confusion has arisen with regard to the authorship of the
works of the Abbot Juan Gomez, of which Seville has numerous examples.
Even Cean Bermudez places among the original works of Montañés a Jesus
of Nazareth of the Convent of San Agustine, which to-day is in the
Priory Church, although the archives prove the Abbot Gomez to be its
author. This work is proof of the capability of the pupil. He does even
greater credit to his master in his life-size Crucifixion, executed in
1616 for the town of La Campaña. M. Marcel Dieulafoy says of this work:
“It is a faithful copy of those of Montañés, and like them extremely
beautiful.” Unfortunately the carving has suffered greatly from bad
restoration.
Alonso Martinez carved, with Francisco de Ribas, the altar-screen of the
Chapel of San Pablo in the cathedral, and it is to his hand we owe a
very beautiful polychromed figure of the Virgin (Plate 149). Alonso de
Mena, a sculptor whose fame has been overshadowed by his son Pedro, the
disciple of Alonso Cano, carved many works for the churches of
Alpujaras; in addition he executed for the Chapel of the Kings two large
buffets of which the folding doors are ornamented with eight excellent
medallions of the Queens and Kings of Spain.
To Luis Ortiz we owe the earliest of the cathedral stalls at Malaga,
which were carved by him in 1630 in collaboration with Josef Micael. He
was also the author of the altar-screen of the royal chapel of Nuestra
Señora de los Reyes. The two brothers Francisco Ruiz and Juan Antonio
Gixon were taught their art by Alfonso Martinez. Antonio Gixon was
professor, and later director, of the Academy of Seville, founded by
Murillo. Francisco Ruiz remodelled, after Montañés, the dying Christ
(Plate 150) which is in the church at Triana, a suburb of Seville. It is
a very beautiful carving, which bears comparison with the master’s
Crucifixion in the cathedral. The polychrome also is harmonious, equal
to the finest work of the masters of that art. Indeed the merit of this
unknown statue is surprising when the late period at which it was
undertaken is remembered.
But the art of sculpture still had strong life in Seville, and the
school was to produce another master to continue the traditions of
Montañés. Pedro Roldan was born in Seville in 1624, and he learnt his
art in the studio of Montañés, working afterwards in the Academy of
Seville. He is the pupil who did the master the greatest credit: he may
even be said to have surpassed him in the art of composition. No one
else among the Southern sculptors had his power of grouping a number of
figures. His two masterpieces--one in the parish church of the
cathedral, the other in the Hospital de la Caridad--are veritable
pictures in relief. They are the finest altar-screens in Seville, and
must be compared with the works of Gregorio Hernandez and Juni, the
masters of the Northern schools.
The cathedral altar-screen is a bas-relief representing the Descent from
the Cross. The Virgin supports the body of the Christ, and around them
are grouped St. John and several disciples, the Magdalen, and the holy
women. The figures are larger than life-size. In the background are the
two thieves outlined against the Temple, which is seen in the distance.
Around this central composition are beautiful angel figures carrying the
instruments of the Passion. Then on the base of the altar is outlined
the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
In the execution of this work Roldan was aided by Francisco de Ribas, a
master carpenter, who was the son of Gaspar de Ribas, the first
collaborator with Alonso Cano. Francisco Ribas began the altar in 1669,
when he contracted for the price of 88,000 reals, with the condition
that all the figures were to be carved by the hand of Roldan. We do not
know how much Roldan received for his work. He was always indifferent
as to the payments made to him.
The altar-screen of the chapel of La Caridad is even finer than that of
the cathedral. The subject (Plate 152) is the Burial of Christ. The
figures placed around the Divine Body, which is being lowered into the
tomb, are splendidly grouped, and there is great unity in the
composition of the scene. The polychrome was carried out by Juan de
Valdés Leal, while Murillo aided that painter with his counsel and
possibly with his brush. The architect Bernardo de Puieda contracted for
the work, receiving for it 12,500 ducats. Of this sum 11,000 ducats went
to Valdés Leal, but we have no knowledge as to the amount appointed to
Roldan, though a contemporary writer remarks that “it was very little.”
This is what we should expect, for we read of Roldan as being entirely
engrossed in his art. He lived in a country house outside Seville, where
he enjoyed the beauties of nature, only going to the city when
compelled. Then he rode on a small donkey, and occupied his time while
journeying in making small models in clay or wax, which he always
carried with him.
Besides his large altar-screens Roldan executed many small bas-reliefs,
which give further proof of his talent. The best examples are in the
Cathedral of Jaen. These bas-reliefs are carved in marble, and, like his
larger works, are remarkable for the beauty of their composition. The
subjects are the Flight into Egypt, the Marriage at Cana, and Christ’s
Argument with the Doctors, which are in the interior of the church set
over the principal doorway. Then on the exterior of the building are
statues of St. Ferdinand, the Doctors, and the Evangelists.
Some of Roldan’s sculptured statues in Seville have been attributed to
Montañés. This has been the case with the striking Ecce Homo of the
Hospital de la Caridad. To complete Roldan’s work we must mention his
groups of the “Pasos,” which he carved for the Holy Week procession. In
these he appealed most forcibly to the people of Seville. Christ’s Agony
in the Garden is the best known; it is as fine as any of the “Pasos” of
Montañés.
Roldan left a daughter, Doña Luisa, known as Roldana, who has the honour
of being the one renowned woman sculptor of Spain. She was born in the
year 1556, and was trained by her father, assisting him in his work. She
inherited his talent, with less strength but more grace. Legend states
that a statue of St. Ferdinand carved by Roldan was refused acceptance.
The daughter retouched the work, and gave it more life, when it was
received by the purchaser without knowing it was the same statue.
Probably the story is untrue, but it proves the estimation in which
Roldana was held by her contemporaries. Roldana married a king’s
chamberlain, and went to reside in Madrid, where her works and also her
person gained admiration. In 1695 she was appointed sculptor to the
Chamber. But she died in 1704, when still young, only four years after
her father.
Roldana’s best work is the Virgin, known as Nuestra Señora de las
Augustias, which is at Cadiz (Plate 153), where it is greatly esteemed.
This praise is deserved. The group is cleverly composed, and is
remarkable for the originality displayed in the placing of the figures;
the body of the dead Christ rests between the knees of the Virgin
instead of across them. The Christ is excellent, the Virgin is less
good; but the angels who hold up the arms of the Divine Sufferer are
very beautiful. The way in which they are grouped is masterly. The
Escorial has one work by Roldana, a statue of St. Michael, who is shown
dancing, and is dressed in the armour and Roman costume of the century
of Louis XIV. This statue is less noteworthy.
Roldan had, besides his daughter, one pupil who deserves mention, Pedro
Duque Cornejo. He was the last sculptor of the Sevillian school. Among
his contemporaries he gained great success, and for twenty-five years he
was sculptor to the Queen’s Chamber--a success which his works certainly
do not merit. All his carvings suffer from exaggeration and an
overloading of ornament and gilding--the faults of the decadent period
in which he lived. He executed many commissions for the Cartuja del
Paula at Seville. He carved in mahogany the stalls of Cordova Cathedral,
and also the fine Silleria, which was brought from the Cartuja of
Seville to the Coro of Cadiz Cathedral. Cornejo died in 1757, and was
buried with princely state in Cordova Cathedral.