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(b Vacarisses, 1704; d Barcelona, Feb 14, 1782).

Spanish architect, engineer, and administrator, active in Peru. He was the second son of the Marquis de Castellbell and received military training at an early age. He served as Spanish governor in Chile (1755–61), acquiring a reputation there as a fortifications expert. In 1761 he was appointed Viceroy of Peru, where he launched a vast campaign of public works (see Peru, Republic of §III 1.). During his administrative term, which lasted until 1776, the city of Lima enjoyed a period of prosperity and splendour marked by the French Baroque taste favoured by the Spanish Court. The evidence strongly suggests that Amat was the designer of several monuments in Lima that were executed by the alarife (surveyor and inspector of works) Juan de la Roca, who may have also collaborated in the elaboration of some of the plans. Amat’s masterpiece was the church of Las Nazarenas (consecrated ...

(b Real de Pachuca, c. 1670; d Mexico City, 1738).

Mexican architect. He qualified as an architect in 1691. Between 1695 and 1709 he worked on the Basílica of Guadalupe, Mexico, which is mainly interesting for its broken lines and for the octagonal form used in the dome, in the section of the towers, and the lintels of the doors. His activities were concentrated mainly in Mexico City, where he worked as Maestro Mayor for the Inquisition and the cathedral. He was responsible for the churches of S Gregorio and S Bernardo, the church and convent of S Teresa la Nueva, the monastery of S José de los Carmelitas Descalzos, the church of El Amor de Dios, and the church, sacristy, and sacristy entrance hall of S Domingo, as well as the Palace of the Inquisition and Customs, all in Mexico City. He also collaborated on the churches of S Clara, Jesús Nazareno, S Francisco, S Miguel, and La Profesa, all in Mexico City, and worked on the Colegio Seminario of the cathedral. His non-ecclesiastical works include the S Juan del Río, Mariscala, and Alhóndiga bridges. He used a white stone from Chiluca and ...

(b Zamora, c. 1680; d Mexico City, 1748).

Spanish architect and sculptor, active in Mexico. Between 1702 and 1703 he worked in Madrid as a designer of stage machinery, later moving to Andalusia, where he produced the principal altar of the sacristy of Seville Cathedral in the Rococo style, completed in 1709 (destr. 1824). Ceán Bermúdez described it as having ‘four large estípites, pilasters, lots of angels prankishly tumbling about and a cornice broken and interrupted in a thousand places with tortuous projections and recessions, the whole topped by a huge arch’. In 1714 Balbás also carried out the plan for the choir-stalls of the church of S Juan in Marchena, carved by Juan de Valencia, equally playful in style and similarly using estípites. The same year he designed the lectern in the same church, though this was not constructed until 1735.

Around 1718 Balbás went to Mexico City to take charge of the ‘retablo del Perdón’ in the Chapel of the Kings at the Metropolitan Cathedral, using the ...

[Chili, Manuel ]

(fl Quito, 18th century).

Ecuadorean sculptor. An Indian nicknamed Caspicara (wooden face), he lived in Quito, and his name and work were discovered in 1791 by the doctor and journalist Eugenio Espejo. He was a pupil of Bernardo de Legarda. He is considered the outstanding sculptor of religious images in polychromed wood of the colonial period in Quito because of the delicacy, grace, and feeling that he gave to human expressions and his attention to the details of anatomy and the movement of his figures. The elegant but natural carving of the drapery adds a Baroque quality to his sculptures. The most outstanding of his works in Quito, all of unknown date, include the Four Virtues and the Holy Shroud in Quito Cathedral; St Francis, the Twelve Apostles, and the Assumption of the Virgin in S Francisco; and La Virgen del Carmen, St Joseph, and the Coronation of the Virgin in the Museo Franciscano in Quito. In certain of his works he grouped the figures as if in a painting, as in the ...

(b Mexico, c. 1646; d Mexico, 1716).

Mexican painter. He is thought to have been the teacher of such painters as Juan Rodríguez Juarez and José de Ibarra. His many works for the cathedral of Mexico City include (for the sacristy) the large-scale Assumption and the Coronation of the Virgin (both 1689) and the Entry into Jerusalem (1691). For the same cathedral he also painted the Vision of the Apocalypse, other versions of the Assumption and the Coronation of the Virgin (destr. 1967), and the groups of angels for the retables of the Angel de la Guarda and Angel Custodio. Other religious paintings by Correa are in the chapel of the Rosary in the convent of Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, and Durango Cathedral, which includes works based on models by Rubens. Some interesting works by Correa in Spain include a series of ten canvases dedicated to the Life of the Virgin (Antequera, Mus. Mun.) and the ...

Spanish family of architects, active in Mexico from 1690 to after 1750. It is assumed that José Durán, Miguel Custodio Durán, and Diego Durán Berruecos were related, although research to date has not produced any firm evidence. José Durán was responsible for the plan of the basilica of Guadalupe, which was built (1695–1709) by Pedro de Arrieta at the foot of the hill of Tepeyac, north of Mexico City. It is longitudinal in plan, with aisles, but centrally organized with a crossing dome equidistant from the sanctuary and the entrance. This dome presides over each elevation, framed by octagonal bell-towers at the corners. A possible stylistic source is the Basílica del Pilar (begun 1681), Saragossa, Spain.

Miguel Custodio Durán is associated with a series of works carried out in Mexico City. The most important of these is the church of S Juan de Dios (1729) on the north side of the Alameda Gardens. The main elevation is dished inwards in the manner of a ...

Guatemalan family of sculptors. Antonio Joseph de Gálvez was a master carpenter and mason. Few of his works are known. In 1720 he contracted with S Francisco, Santiago de Guatemala (now Antigua), to make the monumento (altar) used on Maundy Thursdays. He was in charge of the rebuilding of the monastic hospital of S Pedro in Santiago de Guatemala. His son Francisco Javier de Gálvez was also a master carver, whose surviving works show high ability. In 1747 Francisco Javier contracted to make the retable of the Crucifixion (untraced) in the Capilla de Los Reyes in Santiago de Guatemala Cathedral. In 1758 he was commissioned by the church of La Merced in Santiago de Guatemala to make two retables (Guatemala City, La Merced), one of Jesus of Nazareth and the other of Our Lady of Slavery. He also worked in the Real Palacio in the 1760s under the direction of ...

(b Villa de Guadalupe [now Guadalupe], c. 1727; d Mexico City, 1792).

Mexican architect. He is first documented as carrying out various repairs and inspecting the work of others in Guadalupe. By 1767 he had been appointed Maestro de Arquitectura by the municipality of Mexico City. Between 1770 and 1774, as Maestro Mayor, he worked in Mexico City on the estate of the Marqués of Oaxaca, the royal palace, the cathedral and the Inquisition Tribunal, the Santo Tribunal de la Fe. His most important ecclesiastical commission was the Capilla del Pocito (1779–91) in Guadalupe. Its unconventional plan is derived from Sebastiano Serlio’s interpretation of a Roman temple, with an oval central space (rather than Serlio’s circular chamber) surrounded by rectangular chapels and an octagonal sacristy; the building is approached by a small circular vestibule. The exterior shows this juxtaposition of spaces thanks to a large central dome with smaller domes set over the vestibule and the sacristy. The traditional polychromy of Mexican Baroque architecture is achieved here, as in his other work, through the use of white Chiluca stone, red ...

(b Cochabamba, c. 1665; d Potosí, c. 1730).

Bolivian painter. In 1693 he was working in Potosí, Bolivia, the Spanish empire’s largest city and most important centre of mining. He was highly esteemed and developed a characteristic style that emphasizes the facial features. His images of saints, mystics, and ascetics reflect the religious ideals of the Hispano-American Baroque. He signed many of his paintings and portrayed himself in some of them, for example the Last Judgement (1708; Potosí, S Lorenzo).

In his early works he depicted ascetic saints famed for their acts of charity, such as Fray Pedro de Alcántara and St Juan de Dios (both La Paz, Mus. N. A.), using grey tones. At the end of the 17th century he incorporated a wider range of colours into his paintings and began to work on a larger scale, as in the Last Judgement, which includes scenes of the Glory and Hell. This theme became popular throughout the Viceroyalty, with compositions of this type appearing in rural highland churches, such as those at Carabuco and Casquiaviri. Holguín later began his series of ...

(b San Miguel el Grande, now San Miguel de Allende, 1685; d Mexico City, Nov 21, 1756).

Mexican painter of African ancestry, listed as Spanish in the 1753 Mexico City census. He apprenticed with Juan Correa in Mexico City and, after 1716, was a journeyman in the workshop of Juan Rodríguez Juárez until 1728. Known in his lifetime as the “Murillo of New Spain,” his drawing style, subject matter, and use of color is equally influenced by the work of Peter Paul Rubens. A leading painter in New Spain throughout the 1730s, he produced portraits for at least three viceroys and numerous works for female convents, monasteries, colleges, and cathedrals. One of his earliest signed paintings, The Divine Spouse (1728), shows the reclining figure of Christ in a verdant garden inhabited by words and symbols taken from an emblem tradition. Appropriate for a convent setting and now in the Museo Nacional del Virreinato in Tepotzotlán, the intriguing composition prompted subsequent artists Miguel Herrera, Miguel Cabrera, José de Páez, and Andrés López to create their own versions. In 1731–1732 Ibarra produced four paintings for the cathedral in Puebla, confirming his mastery as an artist and fueling his prestige throughout the viceroyalty. Located on the choir’s outer wall, all four compositions show the apotheosis of a holy figure or religious devotion flanked by canons posing as saints (a portrait type known as ...

[Xuarez]

Mexican family of painters. Luis Juarez (b c. 1585; d Mexico City, c. 1638) painted in the Mannerist style of the Spanish painters settled in Mexico, such as Baltasar de Echave Orio and Alonso Vázquez, although his figures are softer than those of his teachers. He began working in the first decade of the 17th century. His signed St Teresa (Guadalajara, Mus. Guadalajara) dates from that time and his St Anthony of Padua and the Ascension (both Querétaro, Mus. Reg.) from 1610. In 1611 he was commissioned to make the triumphal arch for the reception of the Viceroy of New Spain, Fray García Guerra. During the 1620s he painted the retables in the church of Jesús María, Mexico City, and in S Agustín, Puebla. The finest of his numerous religious works are the Annunciation, the Agony in the Garden, the Visitation, the Archangel Michael, and St Raphael (all Mexico City, Pin. Virreinal); the ...

(b Quito, ?end of the 17th century; d Quito, May 31, 1773).

Ecuadorean wood-carver and painter. He was a pupil of José Olmos, and he set up his workshop in Quito facing the Franciscan monastery for which he worked. A versatile artist, he was also active as a gold- and silversmith, printer, and gunsmith. In 1736 Legarda carved his masterful Virgin of the Apocalypse or Winged Virgin of Quito (Quito, S Francisco), which was inspired by a painting by Miguel de Santiago. Legarda’s fine work reflects the mystical fervour of the legend it depicts. The twisting figure of the Virgin, trampling the head of a dragon underfoot, is balanced by her outspread arms and wings. Her face reflects the beauty of the mestiza, the mixed-race woman of Quito. Elsewhere in Quito, Legarda carved the Baroque altarpieces for the church of La Merced, the hospital and the churches of the Carmen Moderno and Cantuña, as well as the Crucifixion in this last church. In ...

(fl Braga, 1692–1717; d Braga, 1720).

Portuguese cabinetmaker and metalworker. The most outstanding characteristic of his documented works—all commissioned by religious institutions—is his use of pau preto (Brazilian rose-wood), either solid or thickly veneered on to chestnut, worked em espinhado (in a herring-bone pattern) decorated with parallel grooves, mouldings and, more rarely, with almofadados (pillow panelling). In the contracts signed by Marques with the chapter of Braga Cathedral and various convents and Misericórdia churches in northern Portugal he is referred to as the enxamblador da Cónega (joiner) responsible for executing both the woodwork and decorative metalwork of the furniture commissioned. The application of pierced and gilded brass plaques in the form of borders, rosettes in relief, enormous escutcheons and impressive handles is a constant feature of his work. He played an important role in northern Portuguese furniture-making for the uniformity of his production. He specialized in balustrades, for example those for the pulpit of the Misericórdia church in Vila do Conde (...

(b Santiago de Guatemala [now Antigua], July 15, 1694; d Santiago de Guatemala, Dec 15, 1739).

Guatemalan painter. A son of the master painter Tomás de la Vega Merlo (b c. 1659; d 26 April 1749), he was the most important Guatemalan painter of his generation and the one by whom there are the most identified works. In 1730 he married Lucía de Gálvez, daughter of the master craftsman Antonio Joseph de Gálvez. In 1737 he began a series of eleven paintings of the Passion for the church of the Calvario (six, in situ; five, Antigua, Mus. Colon.). Two were finished by an unnamed pupil in 1740, and the general quality of the series is not high, perhaps because of poor retouching. In his painting of St Ignatius of Loyola (Antigua, Mus. Colon.), which is probably based on an engraving, the saint is depicted preaching, against a graceful background of angels in the upper part. In the Capuchin church in Guatemala City is his ...

[Sp.: ‘mixed’ or ‘hybrid’] (Baroque)

Term first used in its art-historical sense by Angel Guido (1925) to describe the fusion of Baroque architecture with indigenous art forms in South America and especially the Altiplano or highlands of Bolivia and Peru from the mid-17th century to the late 18th. Mestizo is characterized by massive Baroque structure with finely dressed stone detailing in exuberant flat patterns reminiscent of embroidery or wood-carving. Motifs incorporating indigenous fruits and animals were used on portals, retables, and decorative friezes; mythological characters play indigenous musical instruments; and Pre-Columbian decorative details help to fill every available space with dense ornamentation.

The most notable examples of the Mestizo style are to be found in the central Andes, at Arequipa in Peru, and at Potosí in Bolivia. In the region of Arequipa the use of a porous volcanic rock gave rise to a school of plane-surface carving that tended to stress chiaroscuro. The whole façade of the Jesuit church of ...

(b Seville, 1699; d ?Buenos Aires, 1784).

Spanish architect, active in Argentina. In 1741 he joined the Franciscan Order in Buenos Aires. When he took his vows it was noted that he was a ‘mason–architect’, and he worked in this capacity in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Salta. From 1730 he designed the vaulting for S Francisco, Buenos Aires, following the plans of the original architect Andrea Bianchi, who had begun it c. 1724. The dome (1752) of Córdoba Cathedral is attributed to Muñoz. As has been noted, it is a majestic cupola reminiscent of those of Toro Cathedral in Spain or the Old Cathedral in Salamanca (Spain). Its corner turrets are designed in the Romanesque style, although its skilful interplay of curves and counter-curves, onion-shaped crown, and base strengthened by a balustered ring are derived from Piedmontese Baroque (Gallardo). In 1754 Muñoz was involved in the construction of S Roque Chapel, Buenos Aires, designed by ...

Term used to describe an exuberant architectural and sculptural style that developed in and around the city of Puebla, Mexico, in the 18th century. It is characterized by Baroque elements used in combination with ornate stucco, geometrically patterned red brickwork, and polychrome glazed tiles (Sp. azulejos), which were produced by flourishing local industries. The style developed in parallel with the growth of the city itself. As Puebla became wealthier and more important in the 17th century, increasing numbers of workshops were set up by ceramicists, many of them from Spain; Spanish artistic trends became more important, and these workshops came to exert a great deal of influence on the development of art in the city and surrounding villages. At the same time the growing wealth of the city financed the construction of religious and secular buildings that reveal their patrons’ and owners’ desire for luxury and display. Heavily ornamented mansions, as well as convents and churches designed in opulent styles reflecting the donations of affluent local merchants, farmers, and factory owners, all contributed to the evolution of an architecture rich in colour and imagination....

(b Cádiz, 1704; d Mexico, 1774).

Spanish architect, active in Mexico. In his earlier career he had served as Maestro Mayor at Cádiz Cathedral, but he moved to Mexico around 1731, where he initially worked at the Mint. He came under the influence of Jerónimo de Balbás, whose use of the estípite in Mexico Cathedral attracted his admiration. Rodríguez’s most important work was the Sagrario Chapel at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, for which he presented a plan in 1749. The two south and east façades of the chapel (which adjoins the cathedral) are conceived as stonework retables bounded by two side buttresses, framed in their turn by stretches of plain tezontle walling that dip down under a series of moulded copings to corner entrances. The retable panels comprise two superimposed rows of estípites in two planes, the rear set articulated by niches that house statues. The centralized plan of the church is in the form of a Greek cross, the interior elevations repeating those of the adjacent cathedral....

(b Potosí, 1693; fl c. 1725).

Bolivian architect. He followed a military career, but he was also known as a master architect. He constructed several churches in Bolivia and in 1725 returned to Potosí, where he undertook the construction of Belén Hospital and its church, which has a vaulted nave and transept. The splendid doorway, the work of indigenous sculptors, is in some ways similar to the doorway of the church at Pomata, Peru, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Both were influenced by Mestizo Baroque, with Pre-Columbian elements in their decoration, for example sun and moon motifs. Also in 1725, the priest Antonio de Molina commissioned him to execute the new church of S Bernardo, Potosí, with a vaulted nave and transept, and he is credited with the design of the church of S Benito, Potosí, which was the parish church of the Indians who were forced to work in the silver mines of Potosí. It has an interesting structure covered by 11 hemispherical domes....

(b Baar region, Switzerland, Sept 26, 1694; d March 1772).

Swiss architect and musician, active in Bolivia. He entered the Jesuit Order and in 1730 was sent to join the Jesuit missions to the indigenous Chiquito peoples of eastern Bolivia, in the Chaco rainforests bordering Brazil and Paraguay. In 1731 he organized the craft workshops in the mission of S Javier and began the construction of the church there. Like all the churches in that region, it is a timber structure with a rectangular ground-plan and a pitched roof. The plan is organized on the basis of five rows of timber columns, with the three central rows dividing the internal space into two aisles and the outer rows defining the enclosing walls and supporting the widely overhanging eaves. These churches were based on ancient Greek models and were adapted to the humid climate and forested nature of the region. Schmid also constructed the churches at S Rafael (1749–53) and Concepción (...