MONTAÑÉS, Juan Martínez

Montañ�s was the greatest Spanish sculptor of the 16th century, known as “the god of wood” on account of his mastery as a carver. This bust belonged to the reliquiary made for a small bone of one of the companions of Saint Ursule who suffered martyrdom in Cologne.

In celebration of St. Ignatius Loyola’s beafification in 1610, Montañ�s carved a statue of the saint, founder of the Society of Jesus. It was painted by Pacheco. As can be verified by the plaster death-mask, which is still preserved, the head is a very lifelike portrait. True to his own gentle temperament, however, Montañ�s softened the energetic visage of the former soldier, who had conceived of his order as a militia, and gave him an expression of pity. The statue decorates the chapel of Seville University, for which Montañ�s at a later date also carved a St. Francis Borgia as a counterpart.

The period from 1605 to 1620 is generally regarded as the most important in Montañ�s’s career; it was during this time that he produced, among other works, the St Jerome for the central niche of the high altar of the convent of San Isidoro del Campo at Santiponce in Seville, a work which would normally have been seen only from the front. However, the figure is carefully modeled in the round as it was intended to be removed for processions. The anatomical accuracy of the piece is of high quality: the tensed arm with its realistic musculature and the veins showing beneath the skin are scrupulously detailed.

Juan Mart�nez Montan�s carved numerous wooden statues that were painted and integrated into large altar screens called ‘retablos’ (retables) for churches. The present standing figure of St John the Baptist is connected by documents to a retable in the Sevillan Convento de la Nuestra Señora de la Concepcion. The right hand of the figure reaches across his body to point, certainly toward a missing Lamb of God on the altar of the monastery church.

A Baroque element gradually made its appearance in the style of Montañ�s, and his most beautiful works are those executed in his youth. They are also more clearly stamped with his individuality, for, as time went on, his success obliged him to make use of assistans. The Santiponce Altarpiece is his masterpiece. He signed the contract for it in 1609 and completed it in 1613. In it, carvings of different saints and various scenes from the Gospel are grouped around a statue of St. Jerome. The Adoration of the Shepherds is one of the most beautiful of his classicizing compositions, with its angels and shepherds fervently gathering around the figure of Jesus in a deep silence inspired by the mystery of the divine Infant.

This polychromed wood Christ on the Cross is one of the most elevated expressions of the Christian theology. Commissioned in 1603, it dates from Montañ�s’ early years. The contract with Montañ�s survives, and in it are laid down in minute detail the smallest particulars of the iconological theme that the artist was to follow. The Christ was to be attached to the cross by four nails, as described in the Revelations of Saint Bridget, and he must be represented as “alive, just before dying, with his head leaning towards the right and looking at a faithful believer kneeling at his feet…” Impassioned with all Christological themes, the Spanish people imposed on their imagemakers the task of evoking the various moments in the agony of the Crucifixion; this image conveys Christ’s supreme mercy for sinners.

The face of the most perfect of men retains all its serene beauty in the hour of his suffering. Lowered with infinite tenderness towards the sinners, his eyes express a profound sadness, his open mouth seems about to utter the words of forgiveness. The real torment of God, who was sacrificed for man, was not his bodily pain but the tragedy of so many souls led astray in sin. The Spanish image-makers carved these works with great piety: for them, to sculpture a figure of Christ was not only to produce a work of art, but to offer a prayer; Montañ�s used to take communion before setting to work.