MESA, Juan de - b. 1583 Córdoba, d. 1627 Sevilla

Juan de Mesa y Velasco, Spanish sculptor and architect. He entered the workshop of Juan Martínez Montanés in Seville in 1606. Like his master, de Mesa’s works were realistic rather than imaginative in form, his sculptures closely replicate the human form. This was in line with the Catholic Church’s aesthetic program for the visual arts following the Council of Trent, which sought to make the arts accessible to the poorly educated by using realistic forms.

Processional effigies make up the bulk of de Mesa’s extant work and are still objects of devotion. These works include Cristo del Amor, Cristo de la Buena Muerte and Jesus del Gran Poder. He was the creator of several of the effigies that are used in the procession during the Holy Week in Seville.

His early death, coupled with the large gaps in his biography, has led to speculation that he suffered from a chronic disease such as tuberculosis.

Christ the Almighty

In de Mesa’s work, predominantly processional sculpture, the authenticity of anatomy and the emotional force anticipate the realism of the Seville school. This is exemplified by his most celebrated devotional image, that of Christ the Almighty in the basilica del Gran Poder in Seville (the Iglesia de Jes�s).