Bartolomé Ordóñez
Encyclopedia
Bartolomé Ordóñez was a Spanish
Renaissance
sculptor.
indicates that he was an hidalgo
born in Burgos
, and that he had a sister named Marina in that city. Assuming this is correct, he would have grown up amidst the first flowering of the Spanish Renaissance
, where such pioneers as Andrés de Nájera were working, under the influence of Gil de Siloé, who had studied in Italy
, and Domenico Fancelli
, who was from Italy.
In 1515 he established a studio in Barcelona, accompanied by three Italian marble sculptors, who came with him: Simón de Bellalana, Victorio Cogono and Juan Florentino. Even then, we know nothing of his actual work for the next two years. The cathedral chapter commissioned him 7 May 1517 to construct the choir stalls and the marble retrochoir of the Cathedral of Barcelona. A few months later, he and Juan Petit Monet were commissioned to create a group of sculptures representing the Entombment of Jesus for the Hospital de la Santa Creu; that piece does not survive. The embellishment of the choir was in preparation for a session of the Order of the Golden Fleece
over which Charles I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) was to preside in the cathedral in March 1519. This first documented work by Ordóñez involved collaboration by the Italian assistants in his studio, Monet, and, because of the magnitude and urgency of the work, expert woodcarvers, probably Siloé among ther, but the unity of style and the uniform excellence shows that Ordóñez was a strong leader. The upper portion of the choir portrays scenes from the Old Testament
—the Embarcation of Noah
and the Sacrifice of Isaac—and the New Testament
—Christ on the Road to Calvary, the Deposition of Christ
,That is, the placement of the body of Jesus either on a slab (as in this portrayal) or into the arms of his mother immediately after the Descent from the Cross. and the Resurrection—as well as the Four Evangelists
and the Seven Virtues
. All are notable for their quality, and also for the iconographic originality in the presentation to the Virgin Mary of the prophet
s redeemed from Hell by the risen Christ.
This work on the Cathedral of Barcelona was executed in two stages. After the stage just described, Ordóñez made a documented visit to Naples
beginning 11 December 1517, during which, together with Diego Siloé
, he worked in the Caracciolo di Vico chapel of the church of Saint John Carbonara. Despite some conflicting traditional attributions of this work, a 1524 letter written by Pietro Summonte certifies beyond possible error that both Spaniards worked on the chapel, and although the letter refers only to the altarpiece, in view of similarities to the architectural organization of the retrochoir of the Cathedral of Barcelona the marble sheathing and architecture of the circular chapel (later echoed by the Guadix Cathedral
) can probably also be attributed to Ordoñez. The altarpiece includes an excellent relief representing the Adoration of the Magi, with a delicate pyramidal composition reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci
, very balanced, and a perfect, nearly painterly, technique. This may not be Ordóñez's only work in Naples: he is believed to have designed and executed funerary monuments of Galeazzo Pandone in the Church of San Domenico Maggiore
and of Andrea Bonifacio Cicaro in the Church of Saints Severinus and Sosius.
Upon returning to Barcelona at the beginning of 1519 he married Catalina Calaf. His stay in Barcelona was not prolonged: in autumn of the same year, he left for Carrara
. However, during this time he worked on the marble sculpture of the retrochoir of the Barcelona Cathedral; he did not complete this work, which was eventually finished in 1562 by Pedro Villar. This was organized as a Doric colonnade
crowned by a balustrade, raised over an unadorned base; the sculptures were located in the spaces between the columns. Richly adorned, this work shows aspects coinciding with the Caracciolo chapel. Ordoñez composed reliefs representing the profession of faith by Saint Eulalia before the judges (showing a strong influence from Michelangelo
) and the moment of her martyrdom, in which the flames, far from consuming her chaste, naked body, turn against the executioners. The representation related to Saint Severus
is also his, but the images of Saint Olegarius
and Saint Raymond of Peñafort
date from the 17th century.
Other possible works of his in Spain are the alabaster
relief Holy Conversation in the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona, poorly finished, and the Resurrection in the retrochoir chapel of the Cathedral of Valencia. On 1 May 1519, he undertook a contract for work previously contracted to Domenico Fancelli
: the tombs of Philip I
and Joanna
of Castile in Granada
and of Cardinal Cisneros in Alcalá de Henares
, and according to his last will, those of some of the Fonseca family. He traveled to Carrara
, with the intent of returning to Barcelona, but upon the death of his wife he started a new studio in Carrara; he worked feverishly there, but he himself died the following year.
He left the tomb of Joanna and Felipe for the Royal Chapel of Granada
nearly complete. His work was much superior to that of Fancelli, whom he no doubt inspired into changing his style when he returned to the side walls of the tomb over which, in a platter, with Saint John the Apostle
, Saint John the Evangelist
, the Archangel Michael, and the Saint Andrew
at the corners, are the recumbent forms of the monarchs depicted with idealized faces. Each section of the main body of the tomb is decorated with reliefs; the most notable by Ordóñez are the Nativity
, the Adoration of the Kings, the Agony in the Garden
and the Descent from the Cross
, but there are a plenitude of other figures and ornamental elements.
The tomb of Cardinal Cisneros, which was left incomplete, is of inferior quality; the recumbent figure of the Cardinal was completed, austere and realistic with the air of a portrait. This tomb, made for the Chapel of the Complutense University of Madrid
, is similar to—but smaller than—the royal tomb; the roundel
s are filled by the doctors of the Spanish Church and the patron saints of the monarchs are replaced by the Latin Fathers of with emblems of the liberal arts situated in the niches.
The tombs of the Fonsecas in Coca
, province of Segovia, are of less artistic interest, an exchange of pieces between the two principal tombs made it difficult to distinguish the work of Fancelli from that of Ordóñez until the definitive clarification of attributions by Manuel Gómez Moreno, attributing to Ordóñez the tombs of Alonso de Fonseca and his mother, as well as those of Archbishop of Seville Alonso de Fonseca and Bishop of Burgos Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca
; the latter being perfectly documented as the work of Ordóñez or his studio. The Virgin and Child and Saint John (originally in the Monastery of Saint Jerome in Zamora
, now in the Cathedral of Zamora) are according to Gómez Moreno, mentioned in the inventory of his studio by the Fonsecas.
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
sculptor.
Life and work
Little is known about Ordóñez before the last five years of his life. His willWill (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
indicates that he was an hidalgo
Hidalgo (Spanish nobility)
A hidalgo or fidalgo is a member of the Spanish and Portuguese nobility. In popular usage it has come to mean the non-titled nobility. Hidalgos were exempt from paying taxes, but did not necessarily own real property...
born in Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
, and that he had a sister named Marina in that city. Assuming this is correct, he would have grown up amidst the first flowering of the Spanish Renaissance
Spanish Renaissance
The Spanish Renaissance refers to a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries...
, where such pioneers as Andrés de Nájera were working, under the influence of Gil de Siloé, who had studied in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Domenico Fancelli
Domenico Fancelli
Domenico Fancelli was an Italian sculptor who worked primarily in Spain, where he was one of those who introduced Renaissance art. His most notable works are the tomb of Cardinal Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, in the Cathedral of Seville, and the tombs of the Catholic Monarchs in the Royal Chapel of...
, who was from Italy.
In 1515 he established a studio in Barcelona, accompanied by three Italian marble sculptors, who came with him: Simón de Bellalana, Victorio Cogono and Juan Florentino. Even then, we know nothing of his actual work for the next two years. The cathedral chapter commissioned him 7 May 1517 to construct the choir stalls and the marble retrochoir of the Cathedral of Barcelona. A few months later, he and Juan Petit Monet were commissioned to create a group of sculptures representing the Entombment of Jesus for the Hospital de la Santa Creu; that piece does not survive. The embellishment of the choir was in preparation for a session of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
over which Charles I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) was to preside in the cathedral in March 1519. This first documented work by Ordóñez involved collaboration by the Italian assistants in his studio, Monet, and, because of the magnitude and urgency of the work, expert woodcarvers, probably Siloé among ther, but the unity of style and the uniform excellence shows that Ordóñez was a strong leader. The upper portion of the choir portrays scenes from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
—the Embarcation of Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
and the Sacrifice of Isaac—and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
—Christ on the Road to Calvary, the Deposition of Christ
Descent from the Cross
The Descent from the Cross , or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion . In Byzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the...
,That is, the placement of the body of Jesus either on a slab (as in this portrayal) or into the arms of his mother immediately after the Descent from the Cross. and the Resurrection—as well as the Four Evangelists
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
and the Seven Virtues
Seven virtues
In the Catholic catechism, the seven catholic virtues refer to the combination of two lists of virtues, the 4 cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, restraint or temperance, and courage or fortitude, and the 3 theological virtues of faith, hope, and love or charity ; these were adopted by the...
. All are notable for their quality, and also for the iconographic originality in the presentation to the Virgin Mary of the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s redeemed from Hell by the risen Christ.
This work on the Cathedral of Barcelona was executed in two stages. After the stage just described, Ordóñez made a documented visit to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
beginning 11 December 1517, during which, together with Diego Siloé
Diego Siloe
Diego Siloe or Diego de Siloé was a Spanish Renaissance architect and sculptor, progenitor of the Granadan school of sculpture. He developed the majority of his work in Andalusia.-Biography:...
, he worked in the Caracciolo di Vico chapel of the church of Saint John Carbonara. Despite some conflicting traditional attributions of this work, a 1524 letter written by Pietro Summonte certifies beyond possible error that both Spaniards worked on the chapel, and although the letter refers only to the altarpiece, in view of similarities to the architectural organization of the retrochoir of the Cathedral of Barcelona the marble sheathing and architecture of the circular chapel (later echoed by the Guadix Cathedral
Guadix Cathedral
The Guadix Cathedral, Cathedral of Guadix, or Cathedral of the Incarnation is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Guadix, province of Granada, Spain. Construction of the building began in the 16th century and was completed in the mid-18th century...
) can probably also be attributed to Ordoñez. The altarpiece includes an excellent relief representing the Adoration of the Magi, with a delicate pyramidal composition reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, very balanced, and a perfect, nearly painterly, technique. This may not be Ordóñez's only work in Naples: he is believed to have designed and executed funerary monuments of Galeazzo Pandone in the Church of San Domenico Maggiore
San Domenico Maggiore
San Domenico Maggiore is a church in Naples, southern Italy, located in the square with the same name. The square is one of the most interesting in Naples and is on the street popularly called "Spaccanapoli" in the historic center of Naples...
and of Andrea Bonifacio Cicaro in the Church of Saints Severinus and Sosius.
Upon returning to Barcelona at the beginning of 1519 he married Catalina Calaf. His stay in Barcelona was not prolonged: in autumn of the same year, he left for Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
. However, during this time he worked on the marble sculpture of the retrochoir of the Barcelona Cathedral; he did not complete this work, which was eventually finished in 1562 by Pedro Villar. This was organized as a Doric colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
crowned by a balustrade, raised over an unadorned base; the sculptures were located in the spaces between the columns. Richly adorned, this work shows aspects coinciding with the Caracciolo chapel. Ordoñez composed reliefs representing the profession of faith by Saint Eulalia before the judges (showing a strong influence from Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
) and the moment of her martyrdom, in which the flames, far from consuming her chaste, naked body, turn against the executioners. The representation related to Saint Severus
Severus of Barcelona
Severus of Barcelona is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. His legend states that he was a bishop of Barcelona and was martyred during the persecution of Christians by Diocletian in AD 304...
is also his, but the images of Saint Olegarius
Olegarius
Saint Olegarius Bonestruga was the Bishop of Barcelona from 1116 and Archbishop of Tarragona from 1118 until his death...
and Saint Raymond of Peñafort
Raymond of Peñafort
Saint Raymond of Penyafort, O.P. is a Dominican friar who compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canon laws that remained part of church law until the Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1917...
date from the 17th century.
Other possible works of his in Spain are the alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
relief Holy Conversation in the Diocesan Museum of Barcelona, poorly finished, and the Resurrection in the retrochoir chapel of the Cathedral of Valencia. On 1 May 1519, he undertook a contract for work previously contracted to Domenico Fancelli
Domenico Fancelli
Domenico Fancelli was an Italian sculptor who worked primarily in Spain, where he was one of those who introduced Renaissance art. His most notable works are the tomb of Cardinal Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, in the Cathedral of Seville, and the tombs of the Catholic Monarchs in the Royal Chapel of...
: the tombs of Philip I
Philip I of Castile
Philip I , known as Philip the Handsome or the Fair, was the first Habsburg King of Castile...
and Joanna
Joanna of Castile
Joanna , nicknamed Joanna the Mad , was the first queen regnant to reign over both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon , a union which evolved into modern Spain...
of Castile in Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
and of Cardinal Cisneros in Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares , meaning Citadel on the river Henares, is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain...
, and according to his last will, those of some of the Fonseca family. He traveled to Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
, with the intent of returning to Barcelona, but upon the death of his wife he started a new studio in Carrara; he worked feverishly there, but he himself died the following year.
He left the tomb of Joanna and Felipe for the Royal Chapel of Granada
Royal Chapel of Granada
The Royal Chapel of Granada is a mausoleum located in the city of Granada in Andalusia, southern Spain.-Mausoleum:The mausoleum houses the remains of the Catholic Monarchs :...
nearly complete. His work was much superior to that of Fancelli, whom he no doubt inspired into changing his style when he returned to the side walls of the tomb over which, in a platter, with Saint John the Apostle
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
, Saint John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
, the Archangel Michael, and the Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
at the corners, are the recumbent forms of the monarchs depicted with idealized faces. Each section of the main body of the tomb is decorated with reliefs; the most notable by Ordóñez are the Nativity
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
, the Adoration of the Kings, the Agony in the Garden
Agony in the Garden
The Agony in the Garden refers to the events in the life of Jesus between the Last Supper and Jesus' arrest. Jesus' struggle praying and discussing with God, before accepting his sacrifice, before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane also denotes a state of mind - agony.-Scriptural...
and the Descent from the Cross
Descent from the Cross
The Descent from the Cross , or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion . In Byzantine art the topic became popular in the 9th century, and in the West from the...
, but there are a plenitude of other figures and ornamental elements.
The tomb of Cardinal Cisneros, which was left incomplete, is of inferior quality; the recumbent figure of the Cardinal was completed, austere and realistic with the air of a portrait. This tomb, made for the Chapel of the Complutense University of Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
, is similar to—but smaller than—the royal tomb; the roundel
Roundel
A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours.-Heraldry:...
s are filled by the doctors of the Spanish Church and the patron saints of the monarchs are replaced by the Latin Fathers of with emblems of the liberal arts situated in the niches.
The tombs of the Fonsecas in Coca
Coca, Segovia
Coca is a municipality in the province of Segovia, central Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located 50 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital city of Segovia, and 60 kilometres from Valladolid. Coca is known for its 15th Century Mudéjar castle...
, province of Segovia, are of less artistic interest, an exchange of pieces between the two principal tombs made it difficult to distinguish the work of Fancelli from that of Ordóñez until the definitive clarification of attributions by Manuel Gómez Moreno, attributing to Ordóñez the tombs of Alonso de Fonseca and his mother, as well as those of Archbishop of Seville Alonso de Fonseca and Bishop of Burgos Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca
Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca
Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca was a Spanish bishop, a courtier and bureaucrat whose position as chaplain to Queen Isabella enabled him to become a powerful counsellor to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs...
; the latter being perfectly documented as the work of Ordóñez or his studio. The Virgin and Child and Saint John (originally in the Monastery of Saint Jerome in Zamora
Zamora, Spain
Zamora is a city in Castile and León, Spain, the capital of the province of Zamora. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50 km downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier...
, now in the Cathedral of Zamora) are according to Gómez Moreno, mentioned in the inventory of his studio by the Fonsecas.