Recensione a Montañés, maestro de maestros, catalogo della mostra a cura di Ignacio Cano Rivero, Ignacio Hermoso Romero e María del Valme Muñoz Rubio

Abstract

The critical review, recent restorations and an excellent photographic campaign have allowed a new reading of the work of Juan Martínez Montañés, the greatest wood sculptor of the Andalusian Renaissance. The Seville exhibition and its catalog explored themes such as the role of the wood arts in 16th and 17th century Andalusia, the contextual meaning of the art of the retable and the importance of polychromy in Montañés’s sculpture. Some attributions appear less convincing and a summary biographical profile that would have facilitated the reading of the essays and catalog entries is missing. This paper takes its cue from the theme of the exhibition to compare the Italian and Spanish critical tradition on polychrome wood sculpture. In Spain the high consideration for this sector of artistic production has always kept it at the center of the interests of the client and critics, unlike what has happened in Italy.