Pedro de Mena or Pedro Mena y Medrano (August 1628 - 13 October 1688) was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 sculptor

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

.

Biography

He was born at 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...

, in Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

. He was a pupil of his father Alonso de Mena as well as of Alonzo Cano

Alonzo Cano

Alonzo Cano or Alonso Cano was a Spanish painter, architect and sculptor born in Granada. He learned architecture from his father, Miguel Cano; painting in the academy of Juan del Castillo, and from Francisco Pacheco the teacher of Velázquez; and sculpture from Juan Martínez Montañés...

. His first conspicuous success was achieved in work for the convent of St. Anthony Granada, including figures of St Joseph, St Antony of Padua, St Diego, St Pedro Mentara, St Franciscus and Santa Clara.

In 1658 he signed a contract for sculptural, work on the choir stalls of the cathedral of Málaga

Cathedral of Malaga

Cathedral of Málaga is Renaissance church in Málaga, Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located inside the limits that the missing Arab wall marked, forming a great architectonic set with the nearby Alcazaba and the Castle of Gibralfaro. It was constructed between 1528 and 1782, following the plans...

, this work extending over four years. Other works are, statues of the Madonna and child and of St Joseph in 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...

, the polychromatic figures in the church of St Isodoro, the Magdalena and the Gertrudlis in the church of St Martin (Madrid), the crucifixion in the Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Madrid), the statuette of St Francis of Assisi in Toledo

Toledo, Spain

Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...

, and of St Joseph in the St Nicholas church in Murcia

Murcia

-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

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Between 1673 and 1679 Mena worked at Córdoba

Córdoba, Spain

-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...

. About 1680 he was in Granada, where he executed a half-length Madonna and child (seated) for the church of St. Dominic. Mena died in Málaga in 1688.

He and José Mora

José Mora

José Mora was a Spanish sculptor and pupil of Alonzo Cano. He died in Granada in 1725 and was buried in the Albaicin church. His work can be usefully studied in the eight statues in the Capella del Cardenal...

 may be regarded as artistic descendants of Juan Martínez Montañés

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...

and Cano, but in technical skill and the expression of religious motive his statues are unsurpassed in the sculpture of Spain. His feeling for the nude was remarkable. Like his immediate predecessors he excelled in the portrayal of contemplative figures and scenes; Mena's drawing of Santiago leaping upon his charger is good, and the carving admirable, but the necessary movement for so spirited an action is lacking.