Exhibiting Historical Art: Out of the Vault: Stories of People and Things

Spanish Baroque Sculpture

Throughout the seventeenth century, Spanish art was isolated from the rest of the world. However, the eighteenth century changed this as the accession of the Bourbon dynasty resulted in many foreign artists flocking to Madrid to decorate the new royal palaces. These new artists caused Madrid to become a center of Baroque sculpture and art. It was also during this time that Spain began to interact more with other cultures and art. Decorative pieces rose in demand among churches and households. However, these pieces stayed within traditional forms of representation. Commissions for this kind of work ranged from prominent households to royal families and monumental churches. Decoration was a necessity for this kind of culture as people strained for emotional and religious pieces. This is especially seen in alter pieces in churches across Spain. These works of art contained columns, sculptures, and reliefs, amongst many decorations, to create a sense of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. These alters were so highly decorated that viewers got lost in the message of the piece.

The sculptor Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ron demonstrated this kind of work throughout his life. His depictions of agonizing saints with extreme realism is representative of the common art movements occurring across Spain. This is known as the cruelty of martyrdom, which is seen in the majority of Villabrille’s works.  His sculptures were characterized by the more traditional form of representation of Catholic figure heads.