Portrait of Juan Martínez Montañés
Encyclopedia
The Portrait of Juan Martínez Montañés is an unfinished 1636 portrait of the sculptor Juan Martínez Montañés
by Diego Velázquez
. It is now at the Prado. It was painted while its subject called on Velazquez during a trip to Madrid
between June 1635 and January 1636. The trip was to make a clay bust of Philip IV of Spain
as the modello
for the Florentine sculptor Pietro Tacca
's bronze equestrian statue of Philip (the statue now on plaza de Oriente in Madrid), which is what he is shown doing in the portrait, shaping the clay with a stick (though the bust itself is only in outline, since the painting is unfinished). The 36-year-old Velázquez's relationship with the 67-year-old Montañés was long-standing - Velázquez's tutor Francisco Pacheco
added painted colour to several of Montañés's major sculptures. Most of the painter's attention is on the face and hands, though he took great care over the rest of the portrait, highlighting the white cuffs agsint the otherwise entirely black costume with ease and fluidity.
Juan Martínez Montañés
Juan Martínez Montañés , known as el Dios de la Madera , was a Spanish sculptor, born at Alcalá la Real, in the province of Jaén. He was one of the most important figures of the Sevillian school of sculpture.His master was Pablo de Roxas. His first known work, dating 1597, is the graceful St...
by Diego Velázquez
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
. It is now at the Prado. It was painted while its subject called on Velazquez during a trip to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
between June 1635 and January 1636. The trip was to make a clay bust of Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
as the modello
Modello
A modello, from the Italian, is a preparatory study or model, usually at a smaller scale, for a work of art or architecture, especially one produced for the approval of the commissioning patron. The term gained currency in art circles in Tuscany in the fourteenth century. Modern definitions in...
for the Florentine sculptor Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity.-Biography:...
's bronze equestrian statue of Philip (the statue now on plaza de Oriente in Madrid), which is what he is shown doing in the portrait, shaping the clay with a stick (though the bust itself is only in outline, since the painting is unfinished). The 36-year-old Velázquez's relationship with the 67-year-old Montañés was long-standing - Velázquez's tutor Francisco Pacheco
Francisco Pacheco
Francisco Pacheco was a Spanish painter, best known as the teacher of Diego Velázquez and Alonso Cano, and for his textbook on painting that is an important source for the study of 17th-century practice in Spain...
added painted colour to several of Montañés's major sculptures. Most of the painter's attention is on the face and hands, though he took great care over the rest of the portrait, highlighting the white cuffs agsint the otherwise entirely black costume with ease and fluidity.